Razorlight is a British-Swedish underground rock and roll band formed in the summer of 2002 around 22 year old singer/writer Johnny Borrell. Their sound is perhaps best described as post punk New Wave music stripped-down to the acoustic as opposed to the synthetic.
Their lineup is as follows:Johnny Borrell - Vocals/guitar
Björn Ågren - Guitar
Carl Dalemo - Bass
Christian (Smith) Pancorvo - Drums (2003-2004)
Andy Burrows - Drums (2004)
Their debut album, Up All Night, was released on June 28th, 2004. On July 4th it reached number 3 in the UK album charts. The critical reception was generally reasonably good, receiving good reviews from NME, Q magazine and Billboard, although they were also accused of lack of imagination and unoriginality for allegedly borrowing ideas off other influential bands. They appear to polarize opinion. NME wrote that the album "bristles with passion, energy and, most importantly, amazing songs", while they were described by another as "nearly everything wrong with rock and roll today". Their fans, though, embrace the music for its usage of layering simple melodies to achieve their token multi-layered, catchy, and easy-going compositions.
Frontman Johnny Borrell gained widespread controversy and varying proportions of incredulity and surprise when he appeared to liken himself to 1960s legend Bob Dylan, quipping "If Dylan's making the chips then I'm drinking the champagne". This led to suggestions of self-promotion. The band became very popular on the London music scene when they arrived earlier in the year. Large demand caused the band to play extra shows, including a 7,000+ capacity gig at Alexandra Palace. The album was heavily marketed in the UK, which lead to an almost equal explosion in the use of the term "hyperbole" with regard to the band's prospects. However, the album is now recognized somewhat as one of the pre-eminent albums of a 2004 which included success by bands in the same vein including The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, and Kings of Leon.
Razorlight have been frequently compared to the aforementioned bands, sometimes unfavourably as impostors, and at other times as extenders of the growing back to basics rock scene.
Up All Night will be re-issued in April 2005, including the new and previously unreleased single "Somewhere Else" which peaked at #2 that month, giving them their biggest hit single so far in their short career.
In July 2005, the band performed at Hyde Park in London, as part of the Live 8 series of concerts. However, the band has come under fire for not donating their extra revenue to charity. Razorlight claims that due to their "fledging status", they're unable to make such a commitment. http://www.nmefestivals.com/t_in_the_park/news/112932
Up All Night (2004) - #3 UK
Up All Night Re-issue (2005) - #5 UK
Singles:
From Up All Night:"Rock 'N' Roll Lies" (2003) - #56 UK
"Rip It Up" (2003) - #42 UK
"Stumble And Fall" (2004) - #21 UK
"Golden Touch" (2004) - #9 UK
"Vice" (2004) - #13 UK
"Rip It Up" (Re-release) (2004) - #20 UK
From Up All Night Re-issue:"Somewhere Else"/"Keep The Right Profile" (2005) - #2 UK
Razorlight homepage
The Light Brigade message board
Their lineup is as follows:
Their debut album, Up All Night, was released on June 28th, 2004. On July 4th it reached number 3 in the UK album charts. The critical reception was generally reasonably good, receiving good reviews from NME, Q magazine and Billboard, although they were also accused of lack of imagination and unoriginality for allegedly borrowing ideas off other influential bands. They appear to polarize opinion. NME wrote that the album "bristles with passion, energy and, most importantly, amazing songs", while they were described by another as "nearly everything wrong with rock and roll today". Their fans, though, embrace the music for its usage of layering simple melodies to achieve their token multi-layered, catchy, and easy-going compositions.
Frontman Johnny Borrell gained widespread controversy and varying proportions of incredulity and surprise when he appeared to liken himself to 1960s legend Bob Dylan, quipping "If Dylan's making the chips then I'm drinking the champagne". This led to suggestions of self-promotion. The band became very popular on the London music scene when they arrived earlier in the year. Large demand caused the band to play extra shows, including a 7,000+ capacity gig at Alexandra Palace. The album was heavily marketed in the UK, which lead to an almost equal explosion in the use of the term "hyperbole" with regard to the band's prospects. However, the album is now recognized somewhat as one of the pre-eminent albums of a 2004 which included success by bands in the same vein including The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, and Kings of Leon.
Razorlight have been frequently compared to the aforementioned bands, sometimes unfavourably as impostors, and at other times as extenders of the growing back to basics rock scene.
Up All Night will be re-issued in April 2005, including the new and previously unreleased single "Somewhere Else" which peaked at #2 that month, giving them their biggest hit single so far in their short career.
In July 2005, the band performed at Hyde Park in London, as part of the Live 8 series of concerts. However, the band has come under fire for not donating their extra revenue to charity. Razorlight claims that due to their "fledging status", they're unable to make such a commitment. http://www.nmefestivals.com/t_in_the_park/news/112932
Discography
Albums:Singles:
From Up All Night:
From Up All Night Re-issue: