rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band formed 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 ...
in 1997. They released their self-titled debut album in 1998, followed by their second album, ''Night on Earth'', in 2001. Their single "Untouchable" reached the top 20 in the UK Singles Chart. In the summer of 1998, Rialto became the first ever UK chart band to release a single exclusively through the internet.
Despite finding favour with music critics, with ''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' anticipating "a fairytale future of
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentEast West, a
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...
imprint, a month before the release of their heavily promoted eponymous debut album, denting the group's chances of major commercial success.
Neil McCormick
Neil McCormick (born 31 March 1961) is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster. He has been the chief music critic for ''The Daily Telegraph'' since 1996, and presented a music interview show for Vintage TV (TV channel), Vintage TV i ...
noted that Rialto were "among the most critically acclaimed and highly touted new groups to emerge" of the late 1990s, making "carefully crafted, Beatlesque pop, with an epic, cinematic sound and slightly sinister lyrics". The group gained a following in
East
East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
and
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
, particularly in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
where their debut reached the number one spot in the album charts.
The band announced that they would release a new album in 2025.
Biography
Rialto formed from the remains of the band Kinky Machine, who featured frontman Louis Eliot, guitarist Jonny Bull and drummer Anthony Christmas. Kinky Machine released two albums: their self-titled debut in 1993 (Oxygen/
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...
) and ''Bent'' in 1994. In 1995, the band signed to
East West Records
East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in New York City.
History
After its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had its first hit wit ...
and released the single "London Crawling" which turned out to be the last release under that ame. The lineup for this last single saw a renewed band lineup, with drummer Julian Fenton replaced by Anthony Christmas.
Still signed to East West Records, Eliot, Bull and Christmas continued working on new material through 1996 and added bassist Julian Taylor, second drummer Pete Cuthbert and keyboardist Toby Hounsham to the linep.
In 1997 released their first singles, "When We're Together" and "Untouchable." The latter was re-released in January 1998 and cracked the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart. Despite the anticipated arrival of their self-titled debut album, East West Records dropped them from their label, with China Records releasing the album on 13 July 1998 instead.
A six-track EP, ''Girl On A Train'', followed in 2000, receiving accolades from ''
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 ...
magazine
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
s. By the time Rialto gathered to make a second album, Hounsham and Christmas had left the group, leaving them as a four-piece. The band released their second and final album, ''Night on Earth'', in 2001.
Although plagued with bad luck in Britain, the band ultimately found an audience in
East
East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
and
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
, notably
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, where they displaced
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...
's "My Love Will Go On" from the number one spot with double Platinum album sales for ''Rialto''. The group's strong Asian following would see Eliot play concerts in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
when he went solo in 2004.
On 19th April 2023, it was announced that Rialto have reformed, and would be performing at the Shiiine On Weekender festival in November 2023.
In January 2025, the band announced a new album entitled "Neon & Ghost Signs" would be released on April 25th on Fierce Panda Records.
The first track from it, "No One Leaves This Discotheque Alive," had its first airplay on the
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 ( ...
Following the band's original split, Eliot released his
solo
Solo or SOLO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Characters
* Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character
* Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity
* Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character
* Napoleon Solo, fr ...
debut, the '' Everybody Loves You When You're Dead'' EP, in 2002, followed by his full-length debut, ''Long Way Round'', on Iodine Records in 2004. In 2010, he released ''Kittows Moor'' under the name Louis Eliot and The Embers. Since 2011, Eliot has toured extensively as a full time member of
Grace Jones
Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...
's band.
In 2014, Eliot and
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Lily Allen, Her accolades include a Brit Award, alongside nominations for a Grammy Award and a Laurence Olivi ...
teamed up to cover the late Tarka Cordell's "Shelter You" for a compilation album commemorating his life. Eliot helped Cordell write the song originally and the chords echo Rialto's "Summer's Over".
Bull co-wrote the song "Friday Night" with
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Lily Allen, Her accolades include a Brit Award, alongside nominations for a Grammy Award and a Laurence Olivi ...
at his
studio
A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater.
The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal.
Types Art
The studio of any artist, esp ...
in
southwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. The song ended up on her debut album ''
Alright, Still
''Alright, Still'' is the debut studio album by English singer Lily Allen, released on 13 July 2006 by Regal Recordings. After being rejected by several record labels, Allen signed to London Records, who eventually lost interest in her, leading ...
''.
Toby Hounsham now plays keyboards for
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1974. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the ...
and
Mungo Jerry
Mungo Jerry (formerly known as Mungo Jerry Blues Band) are a British rock band formed by Ray Dorset in Ashford, Middlesex, in 1970. Experiencing their greatest success in the early 1970s, with a changing line-up always fronted by Dorset, the ...
.
Band members
* Louis Eliot – lead vocals, guitar, songwriter
* Jonny Bull – guitar, programming, backing vocals, producer
* Julian Taylor – bass, backing vocals and trumpet
* Pete Cuthbert – drums
* Toby Hounsham – keyboards (1997–2000)
* Anthony Christmas – drums (1997–2000)
Discography
Albums
* ''Rialto'' (1998) – UK No. 21
* ''Night on Earth'' (2001)
* ''Neon and Ghost Signs'' (2025)
EP
* ''Girl on a Train'' (2000)
Singles
* "When We're Together" (1997)
* "Monday Morning 5.19" (1997) – UK No. 37
* "Untouchable" (1998) – UK No. 20
* "Dream Another Dream" (1998) – UK No. 39
* "Summer's Over" (1998) – UK No. 60
* "Anything Could Happen" (2001) - UK No. 85
* "London Crawling" (2001)
* "No One Leaves This Discotheque Alive" (2025)
* "Car That Never Comes" (2025)
* "Remembering Me Forget" (2025)
* "Neon & Ghost Signs" (2025)