Fight Like Apes (also referred to as FLApes or FLA) are an Irish

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band formed in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 2006. Their final lineup consisted of Mary-Kate " MayKay" Geraghty (vocals and synth), Jamie "Pockets" Fox (keyboard and vocals), Conor Garry (bass), Peter O'Shea (drums) and Frog Cullen. Original members Adrian Mullan (drums) and Tom Ryan (bass) left the band in 2010. They are known for their elongated record titles, usually inspired by

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

s. They have released three EPs, '' How Am I Supposed to Kill You If You Have All the Guns?'' (2007), '' David Carradine is a Bounty Hunter Whos Robotic Arm Hates Your Crotch'' (2007) and '' Whigfield Sextape'' (2014), and three albums, '' Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion'' (2008), '' The Body of Christ and the Legs of Tina Turner'' (2010), and '' Fight Like Apes'' (2015). In 2009, they released an EP for the American market titled ''You Filled His Head with Fluffy Clouds and Jolly Ranchers, What Did You Think Was Going to Happen?''. Fight Like Apes have toured the UK with The Von Bondies,

The Ting Tings The Ting Tings are an English indie pop duo formed in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 2007. The band consists of Katie White (vocals, guitar, bass drums, bass guitar, cowbells) and Jules De Martino (drums, lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, ...

New Found Glory New Found Glory (formerly A New Found Glory) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Coral Springs, Florida, in 1997. The band currently consists of Jordan Pundik (lead vocals), Ian Grushka (bass), Chad Gilbert (guitar, backing vocals), ...

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...

and

Kasabian Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and second vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karloff ...

and have played several Irish and European festivals throughout their career. They have appeared on several television shows in Ireland, including ''

Tubridy Tonight ''Tubridy Tonight'' is a talk show hosted by Ryan Tubridy that aired on RTÉ One for five seasons between 2004 and 2009. The programme featured guest interviews (usually three per show), audience participation and live music from both a guest mu ...

'', ''WeTV'', ''

The View ''The View'' is an American talk show created by broadcast journalist Barbara Walters. , in its 28th season, the show has aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC as part of the network's ABC Daytime, daytime programming block since August ...

'', '' Other Voices'' and '' The Cafe''. They have also had some success in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, where they have been signed up by

Sony Music Entertainment Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation and is ...

for an album release on that continent in April 2009. The band have been nominated for five

Meteor Music Awards A Meteor Ireland Music Award was an accolade bestowed upon professionals in the music industry in Ireland and further afield. They had been bestowed each year since 2001, replacing the IRMA Ireland Music Awards held in the 1990s. Promoted by M ...

, ''Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion'' was nominated for the

Choice Music Prize The Choice Music Prize (), known for sponsorship reasons as the RTÉ Choice Music Prize is an annual music prize awarded to music from a band or solo musician who is born in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland or holds an Irish passport. ...

and was named 31st best album of the decade by

Phantom FM TXFM (formerly Phantom 105.2) was a Dublin-based radio station, founded in 1997 as a pirate radio station. TXFM broadcast under a contract awarded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). The station ceased broadcasting on 26 October 2016 ...

at the end of 2009. Fight Like Apes were named the fourth best Irish musical act of their generation by ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' in 2009. Lacking financial stability to continue from their records, label, or merchandise sales, the band split up on 2 November 2016.

History

Formation

Fight Like Apes formed late 2006 following the breakup of the band Soft Cuddly Toys by Mary-Kate Geraghty (known as "MayKay"), Jamie Fox (known as "Pockets"), Adrian Mullan and Tom Ryan. MayKay and Pockets first met as teenagers on holiday in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

where they realised they both went to nearby schools and shared the same "extremely optimistically cynical outlook on life". When MayKay told Pockets she loved singing he had her sign a contract on a piece of tissue in a bar. Pockets's parents were unhappy with their son's "disgusting" taste in music. He dropped out of his final year of study at

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) () is a Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland, university based on the Northside, Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Highe ...

and a potential career in journalism to pursue his musical career. MayKay had been studying

medicinal chemistry Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry is a scientific discipline at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacy involved with drug design, designing and developing pharmaceutical medication, drugs. Medicinal chemistry involves the identification, ...

, and later a

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

course at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

. They habitually met from early morning and spent their days eating together before deciding to form a band. Their chosen name was inspired by

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war. He ...

's battle cry of "Now fight like apes" in what they describe as the "notoriously bad" '' Battle for the Planet of the Apes''.

Early EPs (2007)

Their debut EP, ''How Am I Supposed to Kill You If You Have All the Guns?'', Recorded by Lee Boylan and released by Irish indie label FIFA Records in early 2007, sold out and generated a significant amount of interest in the media and in the Irish

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

ging community in the process. In May 2007, Fight Like Apes won

's Topman Unsigned Band Search; their prize was to be a support act of

The Holloways The Holloways are an English indie rock band from North London. Their single " Generator" reached number 14 in the UK Singles Chart on 11 June 2007. They have had five No. 1 singles on the UK Indie Chart and several Top 40 singles. Their debut ...

at show in Dublin. Fight Like Apes played both Electric Picnic (their first major Irish festival) and Hard Working Class Heroes in 2007 and also performed at the

CMJ Music Marathon CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. They were also chosen to play the Futureshock stage at

EXIT Exit(s) may refer to: Architecture and engineering * Door * Portal (architecture), an opening in the walls of a structure * Emergency exit * Overwing exit, a type of emergency exit on an airplane * Exit ramp, a feature of a road interchange A ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

after sending a demo of their songs to the organisers. On 13 October 2007, Fight Like Apes performed " Jake Summers" on television chat show, ''

''. The title of their second EP, ''David Carradine is a Bounty Hunter Whos Robotic Arm Hates Your Crotch'', released on 2 November 2007(produced by Lee Boylan), was inspired by the film '' Future Force'' starring

David Carradine David Carradine ( ; born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor, director, and producer, whose career included over 200 major and minor roles in film, television and on stage. He was widely known ...

, which the band found on the internet. The EP's lead track, " Do You Karate?", was a minor hit on the Irish independent music scene. The band set off on their first UK tour after the EP's release and their "Jake Summers" single was released there through the label, Cool For Cats (sister of

Fierce Panda Fierce Panda Records is a London-based independent record label, with its first release in February 1994. It also produced a small number of releases that year by now famous artists such as Ash, The Bluetones, Baby Bird and Supergrass. Fie ...

). In February 2008, the band toured Ireland and the UK as a support act of The Von Bondies. Von Bondies member Jason Stollsteimer has described Fight Like Apes as "candy wrapped in barbed wire". Fight Like Apes were invited to participate in the sixth series of

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

's annual '' Other Voices'' music show, performing on 19 March 2008. They also appeared on

RTÉ Two (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Republic of Ireland, Irish Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, television, RT� ...

's ''WeTV'' television show. Fight Like Apes performed at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

festival in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, in 2008. Upon their return from South by Southwest in March/April 2008, they went on a national tour of Ireland. Later that year, Fight Like Apes appeared at several music festivals in Ireland and the UK, including an appearance on the Futures Stage at

T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...

, and two appearances at the 2008

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

, as well as

Oxegen 2008 Oxegen '08 was the fifth Oxegen festival to take place, following the dissolution of its predecessor Witnness in 2004. It took place on the weekend of Friday 11 July, Saturday 12 July and Sunday 13 July at Punchestown Racecourse near Naas in Coun ...

and Indie-pendence in Ireland. The single "Lend Me Your Face/Lightsabre Cock-sucking Blues" was released in the UK on 21–28 July 2008.

''Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion'' (2008)

The band spent a month in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, in early 2008, recording tracks for their debut album, produced by John Goodmanson. The album, titled ''Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion'', was released on 26 September 2008 on Model Citizen Records, selling continually well in Ireland and the UK. It was preceded by the release of the single " Something Global" on 11 July 2008. They played a sold-out launch show at Whelan's in Dublin, which was broadcast live on Phantom FM on the day of release. ''The Irish Times'' described the album as an "astonishing debut that encompasses melancholy and whimsy (both lyrically and musically)". The ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

'', on the other hand, "strongly urge all not to waste their money" on "the woeful debut" of a band with "lots of

ger and media friends, all aurally challenged".

also gave the album a lukewarm response. MayKay has said she is unbothered by any criticism as long as the album is simply being reviewed. ''Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion'' reached the top five of the

Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). The charts were previously compiled on behalf of IRMA by Chart-Track, and have been compiled by t ...

, meaning the band became the first alternative act from Ireland to achieve this for several years, and "Jake Summers" and "Lend Me Your Face" became regularly played at indie clubs throughout Ireland. They went on to support

on a sell-out UK tour, receiving kung fu lessons from their security guard Preston and a champagne bottle on the final night. They appeared on '' The Cafe'' on 16 October 2008.

personally invited the band to support them on their sold-out arena tour of the UK; all of the members are fans of Fight Like Apes and

Liam Howlett Liam Paul Paris Howlett (born 21 August 1971) is an English record producer, musician, DJ, songwriter, co-founder and leader of the British electronic band the Prodigy. Early years Liam Paul Paris Howlett was born on 21 August 1971 in Braint ...

entered their dressing room to give his regards.

signed the band for the

n release of ''Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion''. They headlined the

Levi's Levi Strauss & Co. ( ) is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's ( ) brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, ...

One to Watch Tour in November 2008. In December 2008, a video of students of the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

in New York, featuring several females miming to "Digifuckers", was released.

Eurosonic, UK, US and Japan (2009)

Fight Like Apes represented Ireland in the

Eurosonic Festival ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) is an annual four-day music showcase festival and conference held in January in Groningen, the Netherlands. The first three days of the festival (Eurosonic) feature artists from all over Europe, the last day of the f ...

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, in January 2009, This appearance led to the band qualifying for admission into the European Talent Exchange Programme, allowing the band to be booked for music festivals across Europe, including Glastonbury and T in the Park. ''Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion'' was released in the UK on 26 January 2009. The band played a studio session for

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with BBC Radio 6 Music. Lamacq was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire ( ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

around this time, with Maykay also encountering

Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show '' Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s and early 2010s, hosted his ow ...

, a fan of the band who has played their music on his show. They released a video for a new single, " Tie Me Up with Jackets", later that month and performed the song on ''

'' on 10 March 2009. Also In March 2009, came the release of the EP ''You Filled His Head with Fluffy Clouds and Jolly Ranchers, What Did You Think Was Going to Happen?'' for the US market as well as a return to South by Southwest. ''Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion'' was released in Japan in April 2009, with Fight Like Apes filming a music video for the international release of their "Something Global" single in Whelan's, Dublin. On 3 April 2009, ''The Irish Times'' named Fight Like Apes the fourth best contemporary Irish musical act, above Lisa Hannigan and below

Cathy Davey Catherine Davey (born 1979) is an Irish singer-songwriter. She has released one extended play, "Come Over" (2004), and four albums, '' Something Ilk'' (2004), '' Tales of Silversleeve'' (2007), '' The Nameless'' (2010) and ''New Forest'' (2016) ...

, Jape and David Holmes. The newspaper claimed that "Ireland has, quite simply, never seen a band like Fight Like Apes", reasoning that this was due to them "acting as a palette-cleansing antidote to the dour "woolly jumper brigade" that dragged Irish music into the depths of despair not a decade ago". They played at the 2009 Trinity Ball in May, an event likened to "a mini-Oxegen without the mud". The band's 2009 summer tour consisted of both domestic and European festival dates, and an appearance in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Their performance at

Festival Internacional de Benicàssim The Festival Internacional de Benicàssim (), commonly abbreviated as FIB, is an annual music festival that takes place in the town of Benicàssim, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It focuses mainly on pop, rock, and electronica artists, as ...

was cancelled due to a fire and extreme winds. Their performance at Oxegen 2009 was their second at the festival, with band members banging chairs during their performance and ''

'' tipping them to appear on the Main Stage in 2010. At the end of 2009, Fight Like Apes performed a show in The Academy inside a specially constructed wrestling ring. Their music was also being used to promote television series such as '' Making the Band'' and ''

Valemont ''Valemont'' is an American supernatural television miniseries on MTV that premiered on September 21, 2009. Two episodes premiered on Tuesdays during ''The Hills (TV series), The Hills'' and ''The City (2008 TV series), The City''. For six conse ...

'' in the United States. The first album was named 31st best album of the decade by

at the end of 2009. They will appear at Electric Picnic 2010.

Second studio album, Adrian's departure (2010 - 2013)

'' The Body of Christ and the Legs of Tina Turner'', the second album by Fight Like Apes, was released in Ireland on August 27, 2010, through Model Citizen Records. The first single was released as a download only in Ireland on August 20, 2010, with the lead single being "Hoo Ha Henry". The band began promoting the album in Ireland on July 30, with live performances in

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

and at Electric Picnic in County Laois. The band appeared on Beat 102 103 to promote their new album on August 8, 2010. Adrian Mullan left the band in 2010 due to "creative differences" and was replaced by Lee Boylan. On Friday September 3, 2010, ''The Body of Christ and the Legs of Tina Turner'' entered the Irish charts at number 3. On 1 November, they announced an extension to their end-of-year national tour. In March 2011, they announced an Irish nationwide tour and released the single "Jenny Kelly". The band performed at The Trinity Ball 2011 with new bassist Conor Garry as Tom Ryan had gone back to college to study.

Whigfield Sextape EP and Fight Like Apes Third Album

On April 9, 2013, Fight Like Apes launched its Fund It campaign to help facilitate the making of their third album. The band received €20,000 in donations to cover the cost of PR, album artwork, equipment, mastering among other things. Donations ranged from €10 which would get the donor a signed version of the album up to €5,000 where the donor would receive VIP tickets to regular gigs and festivals. The band aimed to receive all donations within 34 days, and they were successful within a few days. In the run-up to the launch of this new album, the band performed at two dates one in Dublin and another in Cork in December 2013. The band played a number of new tracks at both live venues. Fans who funded the new album were to receive a special EP. On May 12, 2015, Fight Like Apes released the Whigfield Sextape EP. In early 2015, the band played a number of dates in Japan and Ireland. They released their self-titled third studio album on May 15, 2015.

Breakup

On 2 November 2016, Fight Like Apes announced that their upcoming three shows would be their last, posting the following on their Facebook wall:

''Stick a fork in us, we're done.'' ''We've been quiet for a while now. We've had a lot of thinking and talking to do.'' ''We'd be here all year if we started listing the people we wanted to thank, so we'll just do that in our own time.'' ''You'll see us all again under different musical guises but, these 3 shows will be Fight Like Apes' last. We want to call it a day while we're all still pals and are proud of what we've done.'' ''And we are very, very proud.'' ''It's a deadly time in so many ways to be in a band; you can have so much control over your work if you're clever; you can release it how and when you like and in our opinion, right now, Ireland is the healthiest it's ever been in terms of talent and diversity.'' ''But, there are massive challenges for a lot of bands, mostly financial, that make this a tough job and sadly, those obstacles have become too big for us. I think we all know that we're going to hear announcements like this more often. A lot of people don't seem to understand that we can't keep producing records if you keep not paying for them. Bands are having to sell beautiful albums for €2.99, labels can't give you as much support since they're losing income too and our alternative radio stations* are practically non existent now, meaning so many wonderful bands will not get a chance to get played on radio as they'll be competing with huge pop acts.'' ''Please buy your music in independent record stores or directly from the band.'' ''Don't fool yourself in to thinking that your £10 subscription to Deezer and Spotify helps us at all. It does not. Look how many bands are on there and do the maths.'' ''Please go to gigs. Please buy merch.'' ''Thanks to all you entirely crazy, wonderful people who have supported us and danced and screamed with us over the past 10 years. We could never thank you enough.'' ''I still can't believe some of the amazing things we've done together and how far we came.''

Return

On 23 April 2023 Fight Like Apes announced their return stating they'll be playing at Electric Picnic that year, posting the line up and the following on their Instagram: ''The first & worst festival appearance we ever made was @epfestival in 2007. Absolutely tanked it.'' ''It's time for some redemption.'' ''See you in Stradbally'' On 11 May 2023 they announce on Instagram their participation at the All Together Now festival. On 6 September 2023 they announced their planned gig at 3Olympia Theatre for 6 April 2024.

Style and influences

has described Fight Like Apes as a "great Misfit band" inhabiting "a lonely place out on the

periphery Periphery or peripheral may refer to: Music *Periphery (band), American progressive metal band * ''Periphery'' (album), released in 2010 by Periphery *"Periphery", a song from Fiona Apple's album '' The Idler Wheel...'' Gaming and entertainme ...

of the indie rock world". At one show in June 2008, he witnessed them "thrash about on their guitars and keyboards and wotnot like it's some kind of pop

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be do ...

" and saw them "rolling around the empty dancefloor playflighting ".

Today FM Today FM is an Irish commercial FM radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio Ireland Limited. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it broadcasts mostly music, with a daily news and current affairs programme. Today FM holds a licen ...

presenter

Alison Curtis Alison Curtis (born 1 November 1977 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada) is a presenter of radio on Irish radio station Today FM She currently presents her own show, "Saturday Breakfast with Alison Curtis" on Today FM which airs every Saturday from ...

has described them as "really talented... kind of rocky and metallic and their front girl is extremely watchable, almost going into

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...

territory". The band's influences include

s, computer games,

kung-fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to c ...

and

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

. "Do You Karate?", "a thumping bass driven flourish of a song", displays the band's "trademark twin-synth attack" and the Pixies-style " Canhead" has been described as "a concise ode to fish and chips". Musically they are fond of My Bloody Valentine,

Mclusky Mclusky (often stylized as mclusky), originally known as Best, are a British post-hardcore band formed in Cardiff in 1996. The group originally consisted of Andrew Falkous (vocals, guitar), originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, Geraint Bevan ( ...

and

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

, Grand Pocket Orchestra, Adebisi Shank, Jape and Giveamanakick. They dislike guitars and have been known to perform with kitchen implements such as pots and pans when on stage; MayKay and Pockets even play keyboards with their heads. They purposefully construct lengthy record titles to "piss off" journalists and radio presenters and their self-defined "karate rock" genre was directed at the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' after the British magazine tried to place them in the same category as two other female-fronted bands. Vocalist MayKay has been described as one of Ireland's "most mesmerising front women" in recent history, with her long black hair and

banshee A banshee ( ; Irish language, Modern Irish , from , "woman of the Tumulus#Ireland, fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or kee ...

wail. She is known for lyrics such as "you're like

Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's s ...

but without the taste" and "you're a fucking disappointment to the human race", taken from the song "Jake Summers", a song inspired by former teen idol of ''

California Dreams ''California Dreams'' is an American teen sitcom that aired on NBC. It was part of the network's Saturday morning block, TNBC, premiering on September 12, 1992. Created by writers Brett Dewey and Ronald B. Solomon, and executive produced by ...

'' fame. Pockets writes most of the band's songs, plays the keyboard and provides vocals for some of the band's songs. Adrian and Tom tend to remain in the background, choosing not to be photographed. The band claim to have never written anything fictional and their lyrics have been described by Nadine O'Regan in ''

The Sunday Business Post The ''Business Post'' (formerly ''The Sunday Business Post'') is a Sunday newspaper distributed nationally in Ireland and an online publication. It is focused mainly on business and financial issues in Ireland. Founding to Irish financial crisi ...

'' as "occasionally literally gynaecological in their detail and regularly relatively shocking in their honesty". MayKay and Pockets claim that most of their lyrics are shaped by one person who has broken each of their hearts.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion'' (2008) * '' The Body of Christ and the Legs of Tina Turner'' (2010) * '' Fight Like Apes'' (2015)

Awards

Choice Music Prize

The band's debut album, ''Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion'', was nominated for the

in January 2009. The award was won by Jape for the album ''

Ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

'' on 4 March 2009. '' The Body of Christ and the Legs of Tina Turner'' was nominated for the Choice Music Prize in 2011. , - , 2009 , , '' Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion'' , , Irish Album of the Year 2008 , , , - , 2011 , , '' The Body of Christ and the Legs of Tina Turner'' , , Irish Album of the Year 2010 , , , -

Meteor Music Awards

Fight Like Apes were nominated for two Meteor Awards in 2008, one for Best Irish Live Performance for their November 2007 show at Whelan's in Dublin and the other for Best Irish Band. In 2009, they were nominated for three Meteor Music Awards, for Best Irish Band, Best Irish Live Performance and Best Irish Album. , - ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, , Fight Like Apes , , Best Irish Band , , , - , 2008 , , Whelan's , , Best Irish Live Performance , , , - ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, , '' Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion'' , , Best Irish Album , , , - , 2009 , , Fight Like Apes , , Best Irish Band , , , - , 2009 , , Whelan's , , Best Irish Live Performance , , , -

UK Festival Awards

In September 2009, Fight Like Apes were nominated in the Best Breakthrough Artists category at the UK Festival Awards, competing against three British and one American acts—

Florence and The Machine Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band formed in London in 2007 by lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, drummer Christopher Lloyd Hayden and harp ...

Little Boots Victoria Christina Hesketh (born 4 May 1984), known professionally as Little Boots, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ. She was previously a member of the band Dead Disco. Since performing as a solo artist, she has released four albums: ''H ...

Passion Pit Passion Pit is an American indie pop band from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Formed in 2007, frontman and keyboardist Michael Angelakos is the band's primary recording member. As a touring act, the band currently consists of Angelakos (vocals, syn ...

and

Friendly Fires Friendly Fires are an English indie rock band from St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. They are currently signed to Polydor Records. Their self-titled debut album was released on 1 September 2008, and was announced as one of the shortlisted twe ...

. , - , 2009 , , Fight Like Apes , , Best Breakthrough Artists , , , -

IMTV Music Video Awards 2009

"Something Global" won the award for Most Original Concept at the 2009 Irish Music Television Awards. The video was directed by Eoghan Kidney. , - , 2009 , , "Something Global" video , , 2009 Irish Music Television Video Music Awards , , , -

References

External links

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{{Authority control Musical groups from Dublin (city) Irish alternative rock groups Musical groups established in 2006 Alcopop! Records artists