Wild Beasts were an English

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band, formed in 2002 in Kendal. They released their first single, "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants", on Bad Sneakers Records in November 2006, and subsequently signed to

Domino Records Domino Records may refer to: * Domino Records (1916), American producer of early phonograph, from 1916 to 1917 *Domino Records (1924), American record label, from 1924 to 1933 * Domino Records (Canada), produced by the Compo Company in the 1920s a ...

. They have released five acclaimed albums, ''

Limbo, Panto ''Limbo, Panto'' is the debut studio album by British art rock band Wild Beasts. It was released on 16 June 2008 by Domino Records, followed by the single for "The Devil's Crayon" on 30 June and "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants" on 16 Octobe ...

'' in 2008, ''

Two Dancers 2 (two) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a Dualistic cosmology, duality, it ...

'' in 2009, '' Smother'' in 2011, ''

Present Tense The present tense ( abbreviated or ) is a grammatical tense whose principal function is to locate a situation or event in the present time. The present tense is used for actions which are happening now. In order to explain and understand present ...

'' in 2014 and ''

Boy King ''Boy King'' is the fifth and final studio album by Wild Beasts, released on 5 August 2016 through Domino Records. Background ''Boy King'' is a concept album dealing with the self-destructive effects of modern-day masculinity. The album has a ...

'' in 2016. ''Two Dancers'' was nominated for the

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

History

In 2002, Queen Katherine School students Hayden Thorpe and Ben Little, then both sixteen years of age, formed the duo Fauve, the French term for "wild beast", and began writing songs together. In January 2004, classmates Chris Talbot and bassist Gareth Bullock joined as drummer and bassist respectively and the band's name became Wild Beasts.Hargreaves, Ellie. 2006-11-17 Westmorland Gazette
Wild about the Beasts.
At this time, the quartet had convened in a recording and rehearsal space dubbed Studio 6 in Kendal, where they recorded their eponymous demo EP in June 2004. In September 2005, the band relocated to

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

and Tom Fleming replaced Bullock as full-time bassist. All the bandmembers apart from Little studied at the local university, and played their first Leeds gig at Trash (formerly The Mixing Tin). The new quartet recorded two further demo EPs, ''Esprit De Corps'' and ''All Men''. Wild Beasts signed a deal with Bad Sneakers Records in August 2006. They recorded a live session of three tracks in November 2006 for Marc Riley's ''Brain Surgery'' on

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available on ...

. Bad Sneakers released "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants" on 20 November. With Hayden's "enormous falsetto voice, which soars over chiming guitars", the single was placed at number 17 in the UK indie chart. In February 2007, Wild Beasts signed to

. A second single was released on Bad Sneakers Records in April 2007, "Through Dark Night". In May 2007, music magazine '' NME'' listed Wild Beasts as one of ten bands "tipped for the top". Wild Beasts' debut album ''

'', described as "shocking, funny, and above all irrevocable", was released on 16 June 2008, with "The Devil's Crayon" single following on 30 June. The band's second album ''

'' was released in August 2009 and was widely acclaimed; it featured in many end of year best albums lists for 2009. It was nominated for the 2010

. Wild Beasts' third studio album, entitled '' Smother'', was released in May 2011. The band subsequently announced the addition of touring band member Katie Harkin from Sky Larkin. They won the 2011 London Awards for Art and Performance. The band released their fourth studio album ''

'' on 24 February 2014. Their fifth studio album, ''

'' was released on 5 August 2016 also on Domino Records. On 25 September 2017, Wild Beasts announced their disbandment. An EP, '' Punk Drunk & Trembling'', was released on 20 October 2017. They released a live album, titled '' Last Night All My Dreams Came True'', on 16 February 2018. The band came to an end in February 2018, with three final shows featuring songs from each of their five albums. Both Thorpe and Fleming have since gone on to pursue solo projects. Thorpe released his solo debut '' Diviner'' in May 2019, whilst in July that year, Fleming reemerged under the name One True Pairing.

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (Domino Records, 2008) *''

'' (Domino Records, 2009) UK No. 68 *'' Smother'' (Domino Records, 2011) UK No. 17 *''

'' (Domino Records, 2014) UK No. 10 *''

'' (Domino Records, 2016) UK No. 9

EPs

*''Wild Beasts'' (2004) *''Esprit De Corps'' (2005) *''All Men'' (2005) *''Reach a Bit Further'' (2011) *'' Punk Drunk & Trembling'' (2017)

Live albums

*'' Last Night All My Dreams Came True'' (2018)

Singles

* "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants" / "The Old Dog" (Bad Sneakers Records, 2006) * "Through Dark Night" / "Please Sir" (Bad Sneakers Records, 2007) * "Assembly" / "Sylvia, a Melodrama" (Domino Records, 2007) * "The Devil's Crayon" / "Treacle Tin" (Domino Records, 2008) * "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants" / "Mummy's Boy" (Domino Records, 2008) * "Hooting & Howling" / "Through the Iron Gate" (Domino Records, 2009) * "All the King's Men" (Domino Records, 2009) * "We Still Got the Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues" (Domino Records, 2010) * "Albatross" / "Smother" (Domino Records, 2011) * "Bed of Nails" / "Catherine Wheel" (Domino Records, 2011) * "Reach a Bit Further" EP (Domino Records, 2011) * "Stray" (digital download, Domino Records, 2012) * "Wanderlust" / "Byzantine" (Domino Records, 2014) * "Sweet Spot" (Domino Records, 2014) * "A Simple Beautiful Truth" (digital download, Domino Records, 2014) * "Mecca" (digital download, Domino Records, 2014) * "Woebegone Wanderers II" (digital download, Domino Records, 2015) * "Get My Bang" (digital download, Domino Records, 2016) * "Big Cat" (digital download, Domino Records, 2016) * "Alpha Female" (digital download, Domino Records, 2017)

Remixes

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

- " You and I" * 2:54 - "You're Early" *

Jessie Ware Jessica Lois Ware (born 15 October 1984) is an English singer, songwriter and broadcaster. Ware came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album, '' Devotion'' (2012), which peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart, produ ...

- "Night Light" *Nimmo and the Gauntletts - "Others" *

Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the m ...

- "Gentle Storm"

References

External links

*
Bad Sneakers Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wild Beasts 2002 establishments in England Musical groups disestablished in 2018 Musical groups established in 2002 English indie rock groups English art rock groups Domino Recording Company artists Music in Cumbria Musical quartets