Radio 4 were an American

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band based in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. Formed in 1999, they claimed their music is "made in New York, is about New York, and sounds like New York".

History

Early years

The band was formed in 1999 as a trio comprising Anthony Roman (vocals/bass), Tommy Williams (guitar/vocals) and Greg Collins (drums). The three had been friends growing up in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, where they had been involved in the hardcore scene, appearing in bands such as Garden Variety (Roman) and Sleepasaurus. They initially formed the band under the influence of late 1970s/early 1980s punk and post-punk, recording a three-track EP which was released on New Jersey's Gern Blandsten label. Their first album '' The New Song & Dance'' was released in 2000, produced by Tim O'Heir. This record was a low-budget, gritty rock album with a slightly retro sound, drawing comparisons to

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

in particular. Around this time Anthony Roman opened a record store in Brooklyn which became a focus for the emerging scene, and the first album was followed by the ''Dance to the Underground'' EP, also produced by O'Heir. A dance remix of the title track became a club hit and was used in a

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...

advert, indicating a new direction for the band's sound.

''Gotham!'' and mainstream success

The band subsequently became a five-piece, comprising Roman, Collins, David Milone (Vocals/Guitar) (who replaced original guitarist/singer Tommy Williams in 2005), Gerard Garone (Keyboards), and P.J. O'Connor (Percussion), and teamed up with James Murphy and

Tim Goldsworthy Tim Goldsworthy is a British record producer, DJ and recording artist. Career Originally a musician/producer for Unkle with James Lavelle, he later worked with James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem and was formerly joint owner of DFA Records. Go ...

's DFA Productions to produce their second album. This collaboration signalled a new direction for the band, merging the guitar punk of their first album with electronic and dance music influences to create a dance-punk sound similar to other DFA-affiliated artists such as The Rapture. '' Gotham!'' was released in 2002 on Gern Blandsten, described as "half dance party, half political rally", leading the band to mainstream recognition and international success. The band recorded their third album, '' Stealing of a Nation'', in a basement studio in Brooklyn with Max Heyes, and it was released in September 2004, to a poor critical reception. A fourth album entitled '' Enemies Like This'' followed in 2006. Gerard Garone left the band in April 2008. They last appeared together as a full band at the CBGB Festival in New York in 2012. Roman and Milone still occasionally perform together as Orange Cassettes along with former members of Elefant.

Influences

They cite a variety of influences, including

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes due to th ...

Mission of Burma Mission of Burma was an American post-punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. The group formed in 1979 with Roger Miller (rock musician), Roger Miller on guitar, Clint Conley on bass guitar, bass, Peter Prescott (musician), Peter Prescott on drum k ...

Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock music, rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie (musician), Jim Beattie (guitar). The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simon ...

and Zero Zero, though their lively

sound combined with their militant political stance has drawn a strong comparison with

. Their name comes from a Public Image Ltd. song from that group's second album, which is itself a reference to

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

Discography

Studio albums

* '' The New Song & Dance'' (2000) * '' Gotham!'' (2002) * '' Stealing of a Nation'' (2004) * '' Enemies Like This'' (2006)

EPs

* ''Dance to the Underground'' (June 2001,

Gern Blandsten Records Gern Blandsten Records is an independent record label based in Paramus, New Jersey. The label's acts have included The World/Inferno Friendship Society, Canyon, Chisel, the Van Pelt, Radio 4, The Flesh, Weston, Native Nod and Rye Coalition. G ...

) * ''Electrify'' (August 2004,

Astralwerks Astralwerks (or Astralwerks Records) is an American record label primarily focused on electronic music that is now owned by Universal Music Group. Its material is distributed via Capitol Music Group in the United States. The label was founded in ...

) * ''Enemies Like This Remixes'' (September 2006,

) * ''Packing Things Up on the Scene'' (October 2006,

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

)

Singles

* "Beat Around the Bush" (1999,

) * "Dance to the Underground" (June 2001,

City Slang City Slang is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany. History The independent music label City Slang was founded in 1990 as a European outpost for American indie rock. Thirty years later, the imprint represents a diverse roster o ...

) – UK No. 94 * "Struggle" (May 2002,

) – UK No. 84 * "Eyes Wide Open" (May 2002,

) – UK No. 182 * "Start a Fire" (August 2003,

) – UK No. 130 * "Party Crashers" (July 2004,

) – UK No. 75 * "Absolute Affirmation" (September 2004,

) – UK No. 61 * "State of Alert" (November 2004,

) – UK No. 121 * "Transmission" (March 2005,

) – UK No. 153 * "Enemies Like This" (May 2006,

) – UK No. 162 * " Packing Things Up on the Scene" (October 2006,

) – UK No. 175 * "As Far as the Eye Can See" (August 2007,

)

Songs in other media

* "Party Crashers" in Project Gotham Racing 3 * Radio 4's song, "Caroline" is featured in "Rooney – Heart" in Nike's Joga Bonito series of advertisements. * "Dance to the Underground" is featured in the musical score of Grandma's Boy, produced by Adam Sandler's production company

Happy Madison Happy Madison Productions, Inc. is an American independent film and television production company founded in 1999 by Adam Sandler, which is best known for its comedy films. Happy Madison takes its name from the films ''Happy Gilmore'' and ''Billy ...

in 2006. * "Start a Fire" from the album Gotham! has been featured in Warren Miller's Journey, and commercials for FX's show Rescue Me * "Enemies Like This" has been featured in commercials for the

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...

's documentary series Critical Situation. * "Calling All Enthusiasts" was used in commercials for the new

Schwinn The Schwinn Bicycle Company is an American company that develops, manufactures and markets bicycles under the eponymous brand name. The company was founded by Ignaz Schwinn (1860–1948) in Chicago in 1895, and in the 20th century became the domi ...

Sting-Ray bikes in 2004. * A pre-release version of "Give it to Me" was featured in Sharpie marker's TV commercial with

David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...

in the summer of 2008.

External links

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2012 Astralwerks artists City Slang artists Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups from Brooklyn American dance-punk musical groups American electronic rock musical groups 1999 establishments in New York City Gern Blandsten Records artists EMI Group artists