Silvery are a

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 ...

-based 4-piece

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 ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

, signed to

Blow Up Records Blow Up Records (or Blow Up) is a British independent record label, that was established in London in May 1994, by Blow Up club founder and DJ Paul Tunkin. There is also an affiliated music publishing company Blow Up Songs. Music genres of re ...

(the label of the

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

night club Blow Up).

History

Early shows comprised theatrical affairs, featuring bubble machines, Victorian uniforms, sword fights and flowers, The band gained a cult following and attracted reviews in NME as well as invitations to play at venues including KOKO in Camden, and O2

Wireless festival ''Wireless'' Festival is an annual rap and hip-hop music festival that takes place in London, England, which is owned and managed by Live Nation Entertainment, Live Nation. Debuting in 2005, the festival's earlier years primarily featured rock an ...

in Hyde Park,

. In the Summer of 2007 the band was picked up by Blow Up Records. Their debut release was a double A-side single "Horrors" / "Orders", the accompanying video appeared on

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, through PMN’s MTV Entertainment Group Subdivision. The channel launched initially as an all-music ...

and in

Topshop TOPSHOP (originally Top Shop) is a British online fast-fashion retailer, which specialises in women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It is majority owned by Danish company, Bestseller. In 2024, ASOS sold 75% of Topshop and Topman to Bests ...

branches around the UK. Their next single "Devil in the Detail" and the album ''Thunderer & Excelsior'' were released on the same day in August 2008, launched at an in-store performance as part of the

Rough Trade Rough Trade may refer to: *Rough Trade (shops), London record stores *Rough Trade Records, a record label from the stores *Rough Trade Books, a publishing house from the label *Rough Trade (band), a Canadian new wave rock band * "Rough Trade" (''Am ...

East record shop 1st Year anniversary. "Devil in the Detail" won a

BBC 6 Music 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 ...

roundtable vote against

The Streets The Streets is an English musical project led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner (musician), Mike Skinner. The project was founded in the early 90s, while Skinner was still a teenager; however, no music would formally eventuat ...

and

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

, and the station selected the album as Album of the Day on 12 August 2009. Positive reviews appeared in publications such as '' The Word'', '' Q'', ''

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 ...

'' and '' Clash'', who included a track on a

covermount Covermount (sometimes written cover mount) is the name given to storage media (containing software and or audiovisual media) or other products (ranging from toys to flip-flops) packaged as part of a magazine or newspaper. The name comes from th ...

CD with their September 2008 issue.

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 ( ...

championed the band, stating that they should have been nominated for that year's Mercury Music Prize. Following the release of the album, Silvery played a series of one-off shows, most notably

British Sea Power Sea Power, previously known as British Sea Power and initially as British Air Powers, are an English alternative rock band. The group's original lineup consisted of Jan Scott Wilkinson, known as Yan; Martin Noble, known as Noble; and Alison Co ...

's ''Sing Ye From The Hillside'' festival at the Tan Hill Inn,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. The third single "Action Force" was made Lamacq's Single of the Week on his BBC 6 Music show and featured on Chris Evans'

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

Drivetime

Juke Box Jury ''Juke Box Jury'' was a music panel show which ran on BBC Television between 1 June 1959 and 27 December 1967. The programme was based on the American show '' Jukebox Jury'', itself an offshoot of a long-running radio series. The American ser ...

on 21 October 2008. The band ended 2008 with a one off

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

single, a cover of "You Give A Little Love" (by

Paul Williams Paul Williams may refer to: Authors * Paul Williams (Crawdaddy) (1948–2013), American music and science fiction journalist; founder of ''Crawdaddy'' and the Philip K. Dick Society * Paul Williams (Irish journalist) (born 1964), Irish journalis ...

from the musical ''

Bugsy Malone ''Bugsy Malone'' is a 1976 gangster musical comedy film written and directed by Alan Parker (in his feature film directorial debut). A co-production of United States and United Kingdom, it features an ensemble cast, comprising only child actor ...

'') voted Steve Lamacq's Rebel Playlist winner on his BBC 6 Music show and healthy showings of ''Thunderer & Excelsior'' in the Artrocker and Organ Top albums of 2008 lists. ''The Nishikado EP'' was released in May 2009 (featuring a new mix of a track already picked up by several album reviews as the stand out) which peaked at number 11 on the Dutch Free40 chart. In July 2010, the band emerged with a live BBC 6 Music radio session to promote their second album ''Railway Architecture'', a track from which appeared on that month's

magazine 'The Sounds of the Summer' covermount CD'. The band contributed an exclusive

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of a song by

Cardiacs Cardiacs are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (Cardiacs), Tim Smith (guitar and lead vocals) and his brother Jim Smith (bassist), Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. One ...

to a tribute album for Cardiacs mainman Tim Smith who had suffered a stroke in 2008. "Spell with a Shell" featured alongside tracks by

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (vocals, guitars) and Colin Moulding (vocals, bass), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing ...

Ultrasound Ultrasound is sound with frequency, frequencies greater than 20 Hertz, kilohertz. This frequency is the approximate upper audible hearing range, limit of human hearing in healthy young adults. The physical principles of acoustic waves apply ...

, The Magic Numbers, and Oceansize. Eighth single "Two Halves of the Same Boy" released on

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

2011 was playlisted on BBC 6 Music for five weeks at the start of the year as the band made a return to London's Koko venue for Club NME. After a download only Christmas single "Christmas Is Easy" / "Christ on a Bike" in December 2012, the band released their third album ''Etiquette'' as a free download via their website in August 2013.

Influences

While most reviews suggest a mix of Blur, Sparks and

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who originally formed in 1996 as Runston Parva, before reforming as Parva in 2000, and releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their cur ...

, Silvery themselves have often cited a wider range of interests. An interview on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

on 4 August 2008 suggested that musically, the cult British band

are an influence, as are

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

, the more

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

moments of

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, as much as the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

, and magazines such as ''

Fortean Times ''Fortean Times'' is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing (from 1991 to 2001), I Feel Good Publishing (from 2001 to 2005), Dennis Publishing (from ...

'' and a childhood obsession with obsolete

diesel locomotives A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

Discography

Albums

*
Thunderer And Excelsior
' (2008) *
Railway Architecture
' (2010) *
Etiquette
' (2013) *
London Metal
' (2022) *
The Returning
' (2022)

Singles/EPs

* "Horrors" / "Orders" (2008) * "Devil in the Detail" (2008) * "Action Force" (2008) * "You Give A Little Love" (2008) * "The Nishikado EP" (2009) * "The Naked and the Dead" (2010) * "A Deconstruction of Roles" (2010) * "Two Halves of the Same Boy" (2010) * "Christmas Is Easy" / "Christ on a Bike" (2012)

References

{{Authority control Indie rock groups from London