Great Cynics were a punk rock group based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England.

History

Formation and debut album

Great Cynics initially started out as a solo project for

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

based singer-songwriter Giles Bidder under the name Cynics. After relocating to

in 2010 and supporting

Against Me! Against Me! is an American punk rock band, formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida, by singer and guitarist Laura Jane Grace. That same year, Grace moved to Gainesville, Florida, which is considered the band's hometown. Since 2001, the band's lineup ...

and Paint It Black across several UK dates, Bidder decided that his songs would work better with a full band behind him and teamed up with

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

Bob Barrett. Bidder and Barrett then headed into the studio to record what would become '' Don't Need Much'' with producer Peter Miles handling bass duties. Iona Cairns joined the band just before their first tour. Shortly before the album's release, the band were forced to rename themselves after American garage rock revival band The Cynics threatened legal action, and they subsequently became Great Cynics. In June 2011, Great Cynics debut album '' Don't Need Much'' was released to positive acclaim. Following the success of Don't Need Much, the band released the In the Valley EP in late February 2012.

Like I Belong and I Feel Weird

Great Cynics released their second full-length album Like I Belong in April 2013. After the release of Like I Belong Great Cynics embarked on several national and international tours alongside the likes of Broadway Calls, We Are The Ocean, Joyce Manor, Cheap Girls, Apologies, I Have None, The Smith Street Band and Gnarwolves. Over the 2013 August Bank Holiday weekend, Great Cynics opened the Lock Up Stage at the

Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...

. In late 2014, the band announced plans for their third album that would be released in 2015. In February 2015, it was announced that the album, titled I Feel Weird, would be released through Specialist Subject Records in April 2015, with Lost in You being the lead single.

Band members

*Giles Bidder – Vocals/Guitar *Bob Barrett – Drums *Ollie "Jugs" Ward – Bass (live only)

Former members

*Iona Cairns – Vocals/Bass

Discography

Studio albums

* "'' Don't Need Much''" – Household Name Records (2011) * "'' Like I Belong''" – Bomber Music (2013) * "'' I Feel Weird''" – Specialist Subject Records (2015) * "''POSI''" – Specialist Subject Records (2017)

EPs

* " ''In The Valley''" – Kind of Like Records (2012)

Splits

* Muncie Girls/Great Cynics (Split with Muncie Girls) – Specialist Subject Records (2014)

Music Videos

* Cider For Breakfast (2011) * 14 Coleman St. (2012) * Back to Hackney (2013) * Letting Go (2013) * Whatever You Want (2014) * Lost in You (2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Cynics Underground punk scene in the United Kingdom Rock music groups from London Musical groups established in 2009 Indie rock groups from London English punk rock groups Specialist Subject Records artists Lame-O Records artists