Hatcham Social
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Hatcham Social are an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...
band. The group first met and formed in
New Cross New Cross is an area in south-east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the London_postal_district#List_of_London_postal_districts, SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, London, St Jo ...
, London in 2006 and have since released a string of singles on indie labels, followed by three studio albums. With the debut album, they made headway in the mainstream media with ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' describing them as "irrestistible" and Tim Burgess ( The Charlatans) calling them "a wonderful pop group with the world's coolest drummer." The band is named partially after the Hatcham Liberal club on Queens Road, Peckham, and the
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
word '
Hatcham Hatcham was a manor and later a chapelry in what is now London, England. It largely corresponds to the area around New Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham. The ancient parish of Deptford straddled the counties of Surrey and Kent and ther ...
', meaning 'a clearing in the woods'. The Hatcham Liberal club was well known as 'Hatcham Social' around the time the band formed. The area in which it lies was, in previous times, known as Hatcham. Their debut
album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
'' You Dig the Tunnel, I'll Hide the Soil'' was released in March 2009 in the UK, followed by the album ''About Girls'' in 2012. The third album ''Cutting Up the Present Leaks Out the Future'' was released on Ogenisis in February 2014 and their fourth and most recent album, ''The Birthday of the World,'' was released on Crocodile Records in 2015.


History

Hatcham Social formed in New Cross in 2006 when David Fineberg met brothers Toby and Finnigan Kidd. Drummer Finnigan Kidd was still a member of
Klaxons Klaxons were an English Rock music, rock band, based in London. Following the release of several Gramophone record, 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles "Magick (Klaxons song), Magick ...
, but left in order to devote his time to Hatcham Social; they soon released their self-recorded debut
7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...
"Dance as If..." on the
indie label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...
WaKs Records (Daniel Devine). After showing considerable interest and forming a friendship with the band,
Faris Badwan Faris Adam Derar Badwan (born 21 September 1986) is an English musician, best known as the lead vocalist of the Horrors and as half of the duo Cat's Eyes. Early life Born in Bexley, Kent on 21 September 1986 to a Palestinian father and Englis ...
of
The Horrors The Horrors are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea in 2005 by lead vocalist Faris Badwan, guitarist Joshua Hayward, keyboardist and synthesizer player Tom Furse, bassist Rhys Webb, and drummer and percussionist Joe Spurg ...
(a former art student at
Central Saint Martins Central Saint Martins is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of short ...
) agreed to create the artwork for the band's second single, "How Soon Was Then?", released on PopGrooves (the label set up by David Fineberg); the artwork to the single was hand-printed on 200 limited edition 7" sleeves. The single gave the band their first national radio
airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...
on the
BBC 6Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...
show ''Mint'', hosted by
Marc Riley Marc Riley (born 10 July 1961) is an English radio DJ, alternative rock critic, musician, and former music businessman. He currently presents on BBC Radio 6 Music. Formerly a member of The Fall, he co-owned a record label, In-Tape, and also w ...
, in January 2007. Tim Burgess of The Charlatans, produced the band's next single, the
double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
of "Til the Dawn" and "Penelope (Under My Hat)". Both sides of the single were recorded with Burgess, for whom this was his production debut. Again, artwork was provided by Faris Badwan. ''Artrocker'' described the single as a "polka-dot-skirt-swirling number with credibility" whilst '' Dazed & Confused'' saw it as "carefree and irresistibly catchy." The success of the single prompted BBC 6Music DJ
Gideon Coe Gideon Jon Quantrill Coe (born 22 September 1967) is a radio DJ, presenter, sportscaster, voiceover artist and journalist. Early career He began his broadcasting career in 1976 as a child presenter on the BBC One TV programme '' Why Don't You? ...
to invite the band in for their first live radio session on Tuesday 14 August 2007, whilst the Queens of Noize chose "Penelope (Under My Hat)" as their "trophy track" on their BBC 6 Music show on 4 August 2007. ''
Artrocker Artrocker is a UK-based collective involved in music promotion and publishing. It was started by Paul Cox and Tom Fawcett who had been co-promoters of a London night called The Sausage Machine. Having started life with an online newsletter and ev ...
'' magazine also asked the band to perform a live radio session for them, and used one of the live tracks "Snap My Hands" on their cover mounted free CD in December 2007. The band's growing friendship with Badwan saw him switching from design to production for Hatcham's next single, "So So Happy Making". The single was released as a joint venture between Loog Records and Waks Records. ''Artrocker'' described the single as a "wonderful, life-affirming record" whilst 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 ...
'' proclaimed "twee-tastic basement recorded pop shouldn't be starting a south London revolution, but it is." ''
Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...
'' described it as "one of the best things we've heard all year", and '' Time Out'' magazine chose the self-recorded
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
, "Berlin", as one of their 'Picks of the Week', likening the band to
The Pop Group The Pop Group are an English rock band formed in Bristol in 1977 by vocalist Mark Stewart, guitarist John Waddington, bassist Simon Underwood, guitarist/saxophonist Gareth Sager, and drummer Bruce Smith. Their work in the late 1970s crossed ...
, Josef K and
Virgin Prunes Virgin Prunes were an Irish post-punk/gothic rock band formed in 1977 in Dublin. They disbanded in 1986 after the departure of singer Gavin Friday. The other members continued under the name The Prunes until they split up in 1991. History The ...
. The relative success of the single was proven when it reached number 14 in the Official Independent Singles Chart on 9 March 2008. Growing recognition has seen Hatcham Social headline a show at London's
100 Club The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...
in February 2008, and they have played the Camden Crawl, Great Escape and Dot to Dot music festivals in London, Brighton, Bristol and Nottingham, as well as Faraday in Barcelona, London Calling in Amsterdam and Lovebox in London. Their debut album, entitled '' You Dig the Tunnel, I'll Hide the Soil'' was produced by Tim Burgess and Jim Spencer and released in March 2009 through Fierce Panda in the UK and TBD Records in the US. It was critically acclaimed and received 10/10 in ''Vice'' magazine, 8/10 in ''NME'' and Album of the Month in ''Artrocker''. It was included in many top 20 albums of the year lists, and the single "Crocodile" was the Single of the Year 2009 in ''Artrocker''. Second album ''About Girls'' was released in April 2012 and recorded with Jim Anderson (Transgressive, Cold Specks), Laurie Latham (Echo and the Bunnymen, Squeeze) and some of the album was produced and mixed entirely by the band at Helcion Mountain in London and Drummers Hill in Wales. It received an equally good reception: ''Loud and Quiet'': "full of nagging hits"; ''NME'': "a stunner"; Steve Lamacq (6 Music/Radio 2) "...pure indie pop brilliance"; BBC America: "one of the top 5 UK bands to see at SXSW"; ''The Quietus'': "loving Hatcham Social’s new direction." "Like an Animal" was the first taster track to be released off of the second LP and was given away as a free download from the band's Bandcamp page. It was limited to 500 free downloads and then went on to being available to buy. ''Artrocker'' said the single was "awesome" and gave it a five star rating. The third studio album ''Cutting Up the Present Leaks Out the Future'' was released in February 2014. Recorded and produced by the band themselves in a 12-day stint in a studio in Wales, they recorded onto reel to reel tape, using a computer only at mixdown stage. ''Q'' magazine called the album a "career high" and "a thrilling dark night of the soul", awarding it 4 stars out of 5. A fourth studio album ''The Birthday of the World'' was released in October 2015 via Crocodile Records. A career-spanning compilation ''We Are the Weirdos'' was released in April 2022 on Fierce Panda as a collection of best and lost singles as well as featuring remixes from Tim Burgess and
Baxter Dury Baxter Dury (born 18 December 1971) is an English indie music, indie musician, originally signed to Rough Trade Records. Early life Baxter Dury is the son of Ian Dury and his wife Elizabeth "Betty" Rathmell. As a young boy he appeared on the ...
.


Influences and sound

Hatcham Social derive heavy influence from
indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...
of the
1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 335px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Space Shuttle Columbia, Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union, Soviet General Secretary of the Communist Party of ...
including bands such as
The Pastels The Pastels are an indie rock group from Glasgow formed in 1981. They were a key act of the Scottish and British independent music scenes of the 1980s, and are specifically credited for the development of an independent and confident music scen ...
,
Orange Juice Orange juice is a liquid extract of the orange (fruit), orange tree fruit, produced by squeezing or reaming oranges. It comes in several different varieties, including blood orange, navel oranges, valencia orange, clementine, and tangerine. As ...
and Josef K, as well as
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
and
shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...
bands such as The Jesus & Mary Chain and The Fall. Their music (particularly their early singles) also features a 1960s
beat music Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music Music genre, genre that developed around Liverpool in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from British rock and roll, British and Music of the United St ...
influence, including the pop sensibility of
The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...
. They have also taken an influence from story books and children's literature, most notably through their rendition of the
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...
poem "
Jabberwocky "Jabberwocky" is a Nonsense verse, nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' ...
", which they performed live at their 100 Club gig with a performing arts group, SKIPtheatre (they also made a brief appearance in the
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
to "So So Happy Making"). The band's love of story books and children's literature (and as a nod to the 1980s) influenced them in choosing to release two cassette tapes of their self-recorded material, ''Found in the Woods'' (versions 1 & 2). The first edition brought together the five tracks on their first two vinyl only singles, and was released on 25 May 2007. The second edition brought together six other previously unreleased self-recorded tracks, and was released on 31 December 2007.


Associated artists

Hatcham have frequently played with bands including
The Violets The Violets were an English post punk/ indie/ pop band from the New Cross area of London, England. Formed initially as a bassless garage punk trio, The Violets early gigs saw them playing stark, spiky and minimalist punk that evoked early art-s ...
,
Neils Children Neils Children are an England, English rock band, formed in 1999 in Harlow, Essex, England, by lead singer and guitarist John Linger, drummer Brandon Jacobs and bassist Tom Hawkins. The band were originally based in their hometown of Cheshunt ...
, and Electricity in Our Homes, and are associated with The Horrors and The Charlatans (whom they have supported in a number of concerts) through their work with Faris Badwan and Tim Burgess. Finnigan Kidd, as well as having drummed for Klaxons before concentrating on Hatcham Social, is also a part-time member of the
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
supergroup collective
The Chavs The Chavs is an English rock supergroup band originally formed in London in 2004, by former Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things guitarist Carl Barât. Alongside Barât in the band are Tim Burgess of The Charlatans and drummer Andy Burrows ...
. Hatcham Social have also played and been associated with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Crystal Stilts, Veronica Falls, The Maccabees and Cold Specks.


Discography


Studio albums


Compilations


EPs


Singles


References


External links


Hatcham Social's Myspace

Music Weekly Podcast interview with band on ''The Guardian'' website




{{Authority control Musical groups established in 2006 English pop music groups English indie pop groups Fierce Panda Records artists MapleMusic Recordings artists Musical groups from the London Borough of Lewisham