Rosie and the Goldbug are a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

indie-rock Indie rock is a 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 record labels, by th ...

trio.Lester, Paul (2008-06-10)
"No 330: Rosie and the Goldbug. Today's new band are a techno-ish, keyboard-enhanced trio whose music is a (Transvision) vamp through the Blondie catalogue"
''

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 ...

History

Formation and ''Rosie and the Goldbug'' (2007 - 2009)

The band are from

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England. They formed in 2007, after lead singer and keyboard player Rosie Vanier had completed her music studies at

Roehampton University The University of Roehampton, London, formerly Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. The University traces its r ...

and returned home, eager to form a band.Meikle, Ash (2009-02-06)
Track of the Day – Rosie & the Goldbug
''

Q Magazine ''Q'' was a British popular music magazine. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series ''The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ''Q'' was published in print in the ...

'' The "Goldbug" in the name refers to a story by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

. According to ''

'', Vanier grew up in

Bodmin Moor Bodmin Moor () is a granite moorland in north-eastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and dates from the Carboniferous period of geology, geological history. It includes Brown Willy, the highest point in Cornwall, and Rough To ...

"on a plot of land with no electricity, no heat, no TV, just a piano." Her mother and part-

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

father used to go on cycle tours in Europe, playing

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

ballads along the way to entertain passers-by. The bass player and guitarist, Lee "Pixie" Matthews, is the "son of hippie-surfer parents who spent his childhood in a beachside caravan." The drummer, Sarah "Plums" Morgan, had previously played with a

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese drumming ensemble. Matthews and Morgan knew each other from being university students in

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort situated on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe, southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of settl ...

; and had played in a band together before joining Vanier. Rosie and the Goldbug have built up a reputation as a live band in Cornwall and started to attract wider attention.(2008-05-30)
Rosie and the Goldbug
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BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

'' Cornwall They toured Europe with

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

for most of 2008. The band released their music on their manager's label, Lover Records. They said that going it alone was an easy decision to make; according to the ''

'', they wanted "to make it purely on talent alone and stay true to their roots" and were hoping that without relying on the support of a major label, people would be "more honest and raw about them." They entered into writing partnerships with

Marcella Detroit Marcella Levy (born June 21, 1952), known professionally as Marcy Levy and (later in her career) Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit " Lay Down Sally" and released her debut ...

and Glaswegian band El Presidente on some of the tracks of their debut album. Their first EP and album were produced by Jim Eliot of

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

duo

Kish Mauve Kish Mauve is a British electropop group. The group was formed in 2005 in London, England, and consists of Mima Stilwell (vocals) and Jim Eliot (synthesizer, vocals). Career The group released their debut extended play, ''Kish Mauve EP'', in J ...

Disbanding and solo EP (2009 - 2014)

Despite positive response from the music press, a management dispute temporarily derailed the project. and on 14 August 2009, the band announced via their MySpace site that "Rosie and the Goldbug are over". The band members voiced regret, but did not go into any detail as to what had caused their decision. The band had planned to record a second album in the U.S., with new management. Vanier subsequently embarked on a solo project; she completed a debut solo EP in November 2010.(2010-11-04)
Rosie Vanier finishes debut solo EP
DIY Vanier and bassist Lee "Pixie" Matthews continued to work with each other, touring (with guitarist Rich Searby and drummer Joseph "Bubs" Taylor) as "Rosie and the Vandals" in 2013 and releasing the ''Bad in Love'' EP as a trio with Taylor in 2014, under the band name Lightknife.Cornish Guardian (10 July 2014)

, ''

The Cornishman The Cornishman may refer to: * The Cornishman (newspaper), a weekly newspaper based in Penzance, Cornwall * The Cornishman (train), a British express passenger train * Cornishman {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornishman, The ...

''. Retrieved 19 October 2014. Vanier subsequently stated despite the changing name, the Rosie and The Goldbug project was never completely abandoned. She told West Briton, "They were all Rosie and the Goldbug in disguise. I definitely felt like a suppressed artist for a while."

Reformation (2014 - present)

After signing a new deal with Public Records towards the end of 2014, a renewed Rosie and Goldbug - now consisting of Vanier, Matthews on bass and Taylor on drums - are once again recording and releasing new music. Single 'Running In The Dark', recorded at The Cube studio near Truro and produced by Gareth Young, is due for release on 4 May 2015. Further singles and an EP are planned for later in 2015.

Reception

The band's style mixes electronics and rock and was described as "Kate Bush on crack with Goldfrapp on synths," with Vanier's voice moving "effortlessly from seductive whispers to banshee wails." ''

'' characterised it as "somewhere between Siouxsie & The Banshees and Cyndi Lauper having a sing-off with Kate Bush; the band’s spiky synth stabs providing the perfect canvas for Vanier's enchanting howl." Simon Price, writing for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', stated that the "drama-pop trio" was like a throwback to "more interesting times", noting that "Classically trained singer-pianist Rosie Vanier has a voice which leaps from sugary pop to operatic whoops, her ivories chiming through a repertoire ranging from the turbulent to the serene, and even juddering Moroder electro-disco." Morgan's playing was characterised in an ''

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 ...

'' review of a live concert as "primal, cavewoman-with-class drum bashing". '' Clash'' announced in September 2008 that the band had become "one of the hottest names to drop on the indie scene", describing the group as "sexually charged".Murray, Robin (2008-09-04)
"Rosie And The Goldbug Single – Group Storm The Nation's Airwaves"
''

Clash magazine ''Clash'' is a music and fashion magazine and website based in the United Kingdom. It is published four times a year by Music Republic Ltd, whose predecessor Clash Music Ltd went into liquidation. The magazine won awards including the Best New M ...

Line-up

* Rosie Vanier (

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

synths A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis an ...

wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

) * Lee "Pixie" Matthews (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

) * Joseph "Bubs" Taylor (

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

)

Discography

Albums

* 2008 – ''

Rosie and the Goldbug Rosie and the Goldbug are a United Kingdom, British indie-rock trio.Lester, Paul (2008-06-10)"No 330: Rosie and the Goldbug. Today's new band are a techno-ish, keyboard-enhanced trio whose music is a (Transvision) vamp through the Blondie cata ...

EPs

* 2008 – ''War of the Roses (Because You Said So)''

Singles

* 2008 – "Lover" * 2008 – "Butterfly" * 2008 – "You've Changed" * 2009 – "Heartbreak"

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Rosie and the Goldbug talk Cyndi Lauper and Gwen Stefani
interview on the ''

ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based media production and broadcast journalism company. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York City, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washin ...

Music News'' channel on ''

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

''
Rosie and the Goldbug
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'' Cornwall
New Rosie single
interview on ''

'' Cornwall
Rosie and The Vandals
gig review of Vaniers new 2013 line up English indie rock groups Musical groups established in 2007 Musical groups disestablished in 2009 Musical groups reestablished in 2014 2007 establishments in England