Starsailor (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Origin | Chorley, England, UK |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Genres | Rock, Britpop |
| Labels | EMI |
| Members | James Stelfox Ben Byrne James Walsh Barry Westhead |
Starsailor is a British rock band from Chorley in England. As of 2006, they have had three charting albums and ten Top 40 singles in the UK since 2001.
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[edit] Early history
The band met and played at St. Michael's CE High School in Chorley, Lancashire.
Bassist James Stelfox and drummer Ben Byrne had been playing together in the north of England for a number of years. When their regular singer fell ill, they recruited young singer and songwriter James Walsh from a school choir. He was influenced by Jeff Buckley and his 1994 album Grace in his singing style. Comparing it to Oasis' (What's the Story) Morning Glory? album, which Walsh says sums up a unique moment, 'Grace' captures 'every moment'.
The band, then named Waterface had tried a number of guitarists before they asked long time friend Barry Westhead to join the band in 2000 on keyboards. He had been teaching Judo and playing organ for a church near his hometown. His arrival has been heralded as the most significant event in the band's formation. Walsh also took up the guitar, following frustration over not finding a musician right for the group. The band started to build up a reputation, and their name changed to Starsailor after the 1970 album Starsailor by Tim Buckley.
A journalist from NME saw a gig in 2000 and gave the band a glowing review. "One live encounter was enough to convince many sceptics that here was a band who were genuinely special, blessed with a singer whose voice thrummed like an emotional telegraph wire, that swerved the pitfalls of indie melancholia and were clearly in love with rock’n’roll and all its possibilities." Their performance at the Glastonbury Festival added to the bands reputation and led to a bidding war amongst UK record companies. The band signed with EMI in 2000.
[edit] 'Love Is Here' era
'Fever', the band's first single, was released in early 2001. The song, and its two B-Sides 'Love Is Here' and 'Coming Down' were cut from a demo recording session in the Summer of 2000. All three tracks went on to feature on Starsailor's first album 'Love Is Here', but the latter two were re-recorded.
March 2001 saw the band sell out their first UK Tour, which consisted of eleven dates in England. Their second single, "Good Souls", was released in April and featured a cover of Van Morrison's 'The Way Young Lovers Do' as a B-Side. During this period, the band were recording their debut album Rockfield Studios, Wales. By this time, the band were already previewing many of the album's tracks in their concerts, most notably 'Poor Misguided Fool', 'Lullaby' and 'Way To Fall'. An acoustic version of 'Alcoholic' appeared on a promotional CD for NME magazine earlier in 2001. The original release date for the album was August 2001.
Further live dates came supporting the Manic Street Preachers in Glasgow, as well as Doves on their North American tour. The band also marked their first festival appearances, playing at events such as V Festival and Germany's 'Rock Im Park'. 'Alcoholic' appeared as the third single to be taken off of their debut album, and its number ten chart position remains the band's second highest placing to date. The single version was actually an extended version of the album track.
Their album Love Is Here reached number 2 in the UK album charts in October 2001, after receiving great critical acclaim. Combining a mix of acoustic guitar and Walsh's beautiful vocals, critics said the songs leave the 'hairs on the back of your neck standing'.
The year ended with the band winning the "Brightest New Hope" award at the NME Awards, and the release of their fourth single, 'Lullaby', which reached Number Thirty-Six. Some fans complained about the difficulty in attaining copies of the single.
The band played London's Astoria on February 4th and 8th, 2002. The first date was a concert in aid of Warchild, and also included Travis and Ryan Adams on the bill. The 8th saw the debut of 'Born Again', which would eventually be released as a single. The concert is notable since the band were joined on stage by two backing singers and a cellist. James Walsh told NME.COM after the show that he thought the gig was "amazing, something really special" while bassist James Stelfox said it was "one of the greatest ever." This flirtation with these additional voices and a cello only lasted a brief period of time.
The summer of 2002 saw a feud between Walsh and Noel Gallagher of Oasis. Gallagher had called the Starsailor singer a 'cock' in an interview for NME magazine; something denied by the accused. However, when Walsh confronted Gallagher at the T In The Park festival in 2002, Gallagher claimed that if he said it, then it must be true. Noel's brother Liam got involved, allegedly squaring up to Walsh on the same day. In live shows following this, most notably at the 2002 V Festival, the Starsailor front man announced 'it is nice to be good, and good to be nice'. Gallagher went onto declare that the incident was 'the most fun Walsh has had in his life'. The feud was resolved at Glastonbury in 2004.
[edit] 'Silence Is Easy'
Starsailor teamed up with Phil Spector for their second album Silence is Easy, which was recorded in Los Angeles. The collaboration came about following Spector's daughter Nicole attending one of the band's American concerts in the Winter of 2002. Spector is said to have been fascinated by Lullaby, the band's fourth single. After meeting the producer, the band agreed to work with him on their second album. However, the collaboration was short lived; sessions at London's Abbey Road proved difficult. Spector is said to have dismissed Ben Byrne's drumming, as well as proving tricky to work with. Stelfox admitted in 2003 that he played his bass with his penis due to the frustration of the sessions. Only two tracks made the band's second album, 'Silence Is Easy' - one was the title track, the other the soaring White Dove. The band co-produced seven of the other tracks with Danton Supple and former Blur producer John Leckie was bought in to see over the recording of 'Shark Food'. The first single was Silence Is Easy, which made the Top Ten (#9, the band's highest placing). Spector's waning reputation was later made more apparent by his arrest on suspicion of murder. The album charted well, but sales were sluggish in comparison to the bands first album. The release dropped out of the Top 40 rather promptly.
A full UK Tour began in Autumn 2003 shortly after the release of the album, culminating at London's Brixton Academy. The show featured the only known performance of 'Restless Heart', the closing track on the Silence Is Easy album. Mark Collins, from The Charlatans joined Starsailor for all dates between August 2003 to December 2004, playing additional and lead guitar
The album spawned just three singles; the second of which, Born Again had evolved from a B-Side to Poor Misguided Fool, released in early 2002. The song was re-recorded for the album, and cut down for a radio edit. Four to the Floor, which was also remixed by Thin White Duke, became a popular club hit. Walsh wanted the track to become the band's 'I Am The Resurrection'; something to be played in 'Indie Disco's everywhere'.
[edit] 'On The Outside' - Present Day
EMI allowed the band plenty of time to record their follow up album; having targeted producer [Rob Schnapf] to produce it, the group relocated to Los Angeles to record. Five possible titles appeared; (Faith, Hope, Love/Here I Go/Ashes or In the Crossfire/I don't know/Counterfeit Life), but the band settled for 'On The Outside', a statement of the their position in the music industry. The sound was different to the previous two releases; it was far heavier than its predecessors. Starsailor had always received praise for their live sound, but the releases seemed 'puny' in comparison, admitted Stelfox. The lyrical content was more aggressive too; 'In The Crossfire' (originally called 'Ashes') mentions the Iraq War in its chorus, while 'Jeremiah' is about Jeremiah Duggan, an anti-War protester who died in circumstances that are seemingly unresolved. (http://www.justiceforjeremiah.com./ ). The recording was all done to tape, and the band did not use Editing software such as ProTools to 'perfect' the recording. Byrne later remarked that his drum-track on 'White Light' took a long time to nail; highlighting the band's desire to make the record they were truly happy with.
Starsailor released their third album, On The Outside, in the UK on 17 October 2005 from which the first single from the album, "In The Crossfire" was taken. Critics raved about the release, with many citing it as a return to form. Despite this, promotional appearances including a short live set and signing at London's HMV Oxford Street did not aid sales- the album charted at number 13.
Since September 2005, Richard Warren has joined the band when playing live, aiding Walsh with additional guitar, vocals and also harmonica parts. Again, the band's UK tour ended at Brixton Academy. Following that, the band have toured Europe, playing several dates in France, where 'Four To The Floor' was a number one hit in 2004. Following the Paris concert on April 3rd, Walsh and Warren were the DJ's at the Aftershow party.
The album has spawned three singles; 'This Time' and 'Keep Us Together' followed 'In The Crossfire'. Despite promoting the single with appearances in London and Leeds, 'Keep Us Together' was the first single not to reach the UK Top 40. The promotional video for 'This Time' appears to be a cultural reference to the film Run Lola Run, but may not be intentional.
Starsailor are playing numerous festivals in the Summer of 2006; most notably 'Hyde Park Calling' on July 1st 2006, alongside Roger Walters, and the V Festival, which is held in Stafford and Chelmsford. They will also be supporting the Rolling Stones on their 'Bigger Bang' Tour in Munich and Hamburg.
The summer also saw the announcement that 'On The Outside' would be released by Artists Addiction Records in the USA on the 22nd August, with American dates including New York on 09/11/06.
Starsailor are currently on a very successful world tour with James Blunt.
[edit] Trivia
- Walsh and Byrne are Liverpool supporters, whilst Stelfox attends Manchester United games frequently. The band were on stage on May 25th 2005, when Liverpool won the Champions League final; Byrne proceeded on jumping at the front of the stage having found out the result.
- Their song "Way to Fall" plays during the end credits of the video game Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
- A music video of "Bring My Love" is being featured on DVD 2 of the 2 DVD set of Oldboy, released in Germany and Austria. The video consists entirely of clips from the movie.
- The song "Four to the Floor" was remixed and included on the soundtrack to the film Layer Cake.
- 'Keep Us Together' has been used frequently by 'Match Of The Day'.
- Peter Kay joined the band on stage at their 2002 Christmas Concert held in Warrington's Parr Hall. Photos available at http://www.goodsouls.org.uk/
- They are currently opening for James Blunt on his North American Tour.
[edit] Band members
As of 2000, the band consisted of:
- Ben Byrne - born in Warrington, Cheshire - (Drums)
- James ‘Stel’ Stelfox - born in Warrington, Cheshire - (Bass)
- James Walsh - born on 9 June 1980, in Chorley, Lancashire - (Guitar / Vocals)
- Barry Westhead - born in Wigan, Greater Manchester - (Keyboards)
Regular 'Additional' Performers:
- Mark Collins - (Additional Guitar and Vocals, 2003-2004)
- Richard 'Echoboy' Warren - (Additional Guitar,Vocals and Harmonica, 2005-)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
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[edit] UK singles
From Love Is here:
- Fever (B/W 'Love Is Here', 'Coming Down') (05/02/01) 18
- Good Souls (B/W 'The Way Young Lovers Do') (23/04/01) 12
- Alcoholic (B/W 'Let It Shine', 'Grandmas' Hands') (17/09/01) 9
- Lullaby (B/W 'From A Whisper To A Scream', 'Tie Up My Hands' (Live KCRW)) (10/12/01) 36
- Poor Misguided Fool (B/W 'Born Again') (18/03/02) 23
From Silence Is Easy:
- Silence Is Easy (B/W 'Could You Be Mine', 'She Understands') (01/09/03) 8
- Born Again (B/W 'At The End Of The Show', 'Silence Is Easy' (Live 2003)) (17/11/03) 40
- Four To The Floor (B/W 'A Message') (01/03/04) 24
From On the Outside:
- In the Crossfire (B/W 'Always') (13/10/05) 22
- This Time (B/W 'Believe Me', 'Push The Button' (Live, BBC Radio One)) (23/01/06) 24
- Keep Us Together (B/W 'Rise Up') (08/05/06) 47
