The Collectable Few are a former British Indie/Alternative band from

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...

, active between 2006–2012. They released four singles, two EPs and two full-length albums. The band consisted of Tarek Al-Shammaa on lead vocals and synths, Tom Christensen on bass guitar and backing vocals, Nat Cantor on guitars, piano and synths, and Alex Hammond on drums, percussion and backing vocals.

History

Initially formed in 2006, the band began rehearsing in Shepherds Bush, sharing the same studio space as fellow London band

The Mystery Jets Mystery Jets are an English indie rock band, formed on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The founding members still part of the band consist of Blaine Harrison (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Henry Harrison (lyrics), and Kapil Trivedi (dr ...

. They played their first gig at The Enterprise, Camden towards the end of the year. By 2009, The Collectable Few had built a strong London following thanks to relentless gigging across the capital. In March, the band signed their first record deal with prestigious

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been run and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. It releases an average of six albums a year. T ...

' imprint Salvia. The "Missing Out" EP was released on the label on 9 August 2009. Towards the end of the year they began a transatlantic working relationship with New York-based, Grammy award-winning mixer/producer

Andrew Maury Andrew Maury is an American mixing engineer and record producer based in Brooklyn, New York. Career Maury has worked with artists such as Lewis Del Mar, Lizzo, Madi Diaz, Victoria Canal, Petey USA, Vagabon, Shawn Mendes, Post Malone, Colony ...

, known for his work with

Lizzo Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo (), is an American singer and rapper. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Texas, with her family at the age of ten. After college, she moved to Minn ...

Shawn Mendes Shawn Peter Raul Mendes ( , ; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian singer. He gained a following in 2013 when he posted song covers on the video-sharing platform Vine (software), Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manage ...

, Lewis Del Mar,

Ra Ra Riot Ra Ra Riot is an American indie rock band consisting of vocalist Wes Miles, bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, violinist Rebecca Zeller and drummer Kenny Bernard. History Ra Ra Riot formed in January 2006, playing at houses and ve ...

and Remix Artist Collective (RAC). In October 2010, they signed to the London-based Laissez Faire Club label. Their first single on the label was "Headstrong" released on 24 January 2011. The B-side featured an

RAC RAC or Rac may refer to: Organizations * Radio Amateurs of Canada * RATCH-Australia Corporation, electricity generator * Refugee Action Collective (Victoria), Melbourne, Australia * Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, US * Rent-A-Cent ...

remix of the title track, also mixed by

. "Headstrong" gained the band further recognition, getting regular airplay on

XFM Radio X is a British national commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. The station launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station named Q102, before being renamed Xfm in 1992. The station b ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The Collectable Few continued to gig heavily in 2011, joining the NME Radar Tour with

Anna Calvi Anna Margaret Michelle Calvi (born 24 September 1980) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her accolades include three Mercury Prize nominations, one Brit Awards, Brit Award nomination, and a European Border Breakers Award. She has b ...

and

Grouplove Grouplove (often typeset as GROUPLOVE) is an American alternative rock band formed in 2009 by Christian Zucconi (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Hannah Hooper (lead vocals, keyboards), Sean Gadd (bass), Andrew Wessen (lead guitar, backing vocals), a ...

, while also playing shows alongside other notable acts, including

Eliza Doolittle Eliza Doolittle is a fictional character and the protagonist in George Bernard Shaw's play '' Pygmalion'' (1913) and its 1956 musical adaptation, ''My Fair Lady''. Eliza (from Lisson Grove, London) is a Cockney flower seller, who comes to Prof ...

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...

Bombay Bicycle Club Bombay Bicycle Club is an English indie rock band from Crouch End, London, consisting of Jack Steadman, Jamie MacColl, Suren de Saram, and Ed Nash. They are guitar-fronted and have experimented with different genres, including folk, electr ...

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, The Maccabees, We Have Band and

The Big Pink The Big Pink are an English electronic rock band from London, consisting of multi-instrumentalists Robertson "Robbie" Furze, Akiko Matsuura and Charlie Barker. Initially a duo, they signed to independent record label 4AD in 2009 and won the ' ...

. The band released follow up single "Model Behaviour" later that year, which featured a music video starring model and actress Zoe Lister. They also featured as Replay's 'Road Trip to

Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. The name Bestival is a portmanteau of the words best and festival. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festi ...

' band to watch that summer. The Collectable Few started the first half of 2012 touring across the UK and Europe, including joint headline dates with Dog Is Dead and Let's Buy Happiness. In June, they travelled to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to record their debut album with now longstanding collaborator Andrew Maury. Pre-production sessions took place in Brooklyn at Rubber Tracks studio. The album was then recorded and mixed between early June and mid-July at Black Dog studio in Upstate New York. After completing their "Vancouver" LP (later released under the name Diaz), the band played a handful of US dates, which included the renowned

Bowery Ballroom The Bowery Ballroom is a New York City live music venue located at 6 Delancey Street in Manhattan's Bowery neighborhood. The venue has enjoyed a fabled reputation among musicians as well as audiences. In 2013, industry insiders polled by ''Roll ...

in New York City, playing many of the album's tracks live for the first time. The Collectable Few's final appearances were at The Queen of Hoxton with

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and

Chapel Club Chapel Club were an English indie-synthpop band from London, consisting of singer Lewis Bowman, drummer Rich Mitchell, bassist Liam Arklie and keyboardists/guitarists Michael Hibbert and Alex Parry. The band parted ways with Universal imprint ...

, and two sold out nights at the Borderline on 11th and 12th December, 2012. However, they briefly resurfaced in the summer of 2013 to play the Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen and Carnaby Sound Festival under the name Diaz. The Collectable Few's second full-length album named "Retrospective" was released on 17 January 2016, featuring unreleased tracks and singles spanning the band's career. Alex Hammond is now drumming for

Pias Recordings PIAS Recordings (formerly Play It Again Sam) is a Belgian record label founded in 1982 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot, In September 2024, the company was acquired by Universal Music Group. Play It Again Sam expanded along with other European i ...

' artist Ten Fé, while Tom and Nat went on to play in

Karima Francis Karima Francis (born Karima Antoinette Francis Cunliffe, 28 April 1987 in Blackpool, England) is an English singer-songwriter. Karima was named by ''The Observer'' the number one act to watch in 2009. After performing at In The City in Manchest ...

's live/touring band and start their own production collective, Dance Lessons.

TV, film & fashion

The band's music has been featured in TV, film and fashion. "Headstrong" was used in an official promotional film for then world heavyweight boxing champion

Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in , . (born 25 March 1976) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. He held multiple heavyweight world championships betwe ...

in 2013. Their songs were also selected for

Fendi Fendi Srl () is an Culture of Italy, Italian luxury goods, luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925 by fashion designers Edoardo Fendi and ...

's global spring/summer '18 fashion commercial,

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 ...

's 2012 in-store playlist, and feature film The Knot starring

Mena Suvari Mena Alexandra Suvari (; born February 13, 1979) is an American actress, producer, fashion designer and model. The accolades she has received include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, along with nominations for a Primetime ...

and

Talulah Riley Talulah Jane Riley-Milburn''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005''; Ancestry.com. Retrieved 3 November 2015. (born 26 September 1985) is an English actress. She has appeared in films, including '' Pride & Prejudice'' ( ...

. Their song "Glamour" served as the theme song for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's emerging music show: Curated By Lyle and Scott. And in September 2011, the band were invited to play the opening of California fashion brand

Patagonia (clothing) Patagonia, Inc. is an American retailer of outdoor recreation clothing, equipment, and food. It was founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973 and is based in Ventura, California. Patagonia operates stores in over ten countries, and factories in 16 cou ...

's London flagship store in Covent Garden. The Collectable Few

Discography

*"Missing Out" Single (2009), Salvia/XL Recordings *The "Missing Out" EP (2009), Salvia/XL Recordings *"Half The Night" EP (2010), Wave Machine/ Universal Music Group (distribution) *"Headstrong" Single (2011), Laissez Faire Club *"Model Behaviour" Single (2011), Wave Machine/ Universal Music Group (distribution) *"Glamour" Single (2012), Wave Machine/ Universal Music Group (distribution)

Albums

*"Vancouver" (2014) (released under the name of Diaz), Wave Machine *"Retrospective" (2016), Wave Machine/ Laissez Faire Club/ Salvia/XL Recordings/ Universal Music Group (distribution)

References

External links

* The Collectable Few Model Behaviour single review from Faux magazine http://ireadfaux.com/2011/11/the-collectable-few-model-behaviour/ * The Collectable Few Model Behaviour single review for Beat Wolf official http://beatwulf.com/artists/collectable-model-behaviour/ * Ross Clements on The Collectable Few playing Belgium from The Word Magazine http://dev.thewordmagazine.com/music/ross-clements-and-geert-sermon/ * Record signing from Laissez Faire Club Records official http://laissezfaireclub.com/2010/10/lfc002-the-collectable-few-headstrong/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Collectable Few 2007 establishments in England 2012 disestablishments in England English alternative rock groups