Selfish Cunt were a rock band 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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The band was formed in early 2003 by Martin Tomlinson and Patrick Constable, and was noted for provocative lyrics, aggressive stage shows, and electronic-influenced rock. Their mix of

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

and electronic

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

s was typically accompanied by politically charged and often sexually graphic lyrics. Later becoming a four-piece band through the addition of drums, bass guitar and ceasing to use a drum machine, they developed a sound which incorporated elements of punk and post hardcore. Reaction from critics was mixed. In 2004 ''

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 ...

'' placed Selfish Cunt at #40 on its list of "top 40 bands in Britain today".

History

Selfish Cunt was formed in 2003 at the start of a

post-punk revival Post-punk revival (also known as indie rock revival) is a Music genre, subgenre or movement of indie rock that emerged in the early 2000s as a stripped-down and back-to-basics version of Guitar-rock, guitar rock inspired by the original sounds a ...

. Blackburn-born frontman Tomlinson was working in theatre, while guitarist Patrick Constable was playing in the

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...

band Dirty Snow. Tomlinson stated: "We decided to do Selfish Cunt because although we're from really different practices, the connection is music." After touring small clubs, mainly in London, the duo released the single "Britain Is Shit" / "Fuck The Poor"; a second single, "Authority Confrontation", briefly entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 66. Selfish Cunt were banned from the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...

, On The Rocks, and The Egg after a series of destructive acts, including the sabotage of the band Snow Patrol's equipment. A brawl outside of

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

involving Tomlinson, Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty, Dominic Masters of The Others, and photographer Andrew Kendall during 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 ...

photoshoot was reported in the press in 2004. Selfish Cunt released their second

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 ...

''English Chamber Music'' in September 2008 A Third album ''Shaved'' was recorded in 2010 for Japanese label 51 Records and released only in Japan. They disbanded in 2012

Discography

Singles

*"Britain Is Shit" / "Fuck the Poor" (2003, Horseglue Records) *"Authority Confrontation" / "Full Swing" (2004, Horseglue Records) *"My Prerogative" (2004, Horseglue Records) *"The Mechanic" (2007, LoveHowlMuse) *"Avocado" (2007, LoveHowlMuse) *"England Made Me II" (2008, Sparrow's Tear)

Albums

*''No Wicked Heart Shall Prosper'' (2004, Horseglue Records) #"Corporate Slut" #"Fuck the Poor" #"Pro Patriotic" #"Coming of the White Man" #"Full Swing" #"Crackney Browns" #"I Love New York" #"My Prerogative" #"Authority Confrontation" #"Yes" #"Britain is Shit" *''English Chamber Music'' (2008, Sparrow's Tear Records) #"Intro" #"Whip Goes the Crack" #"Feel Like a Woman" #"Bullet To The Brain" #"Avocado" #"Born in a Mess" #"The Mechanic" #"England Made Me II" #"I Got It On Slow" #"Born from a Mother" #"Outro"

References

External links

Selfish Cunt at bandcamp.com

Official band videos and photographs
from 241-24-7. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
Video and photographs
from band record label ''LoveHowlMuse''. Retrieved 17 March 2011. {{Authority control English electronic rock musical groups English art rock groups Musical groups established in 2003 Post-punk revival music groups