The Fratellis are a Scottish alternative rock band from Glasgow, Scotland. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Jon Fratelli (born John Lawler), bass guitarist Barry Fratelli (born Barry Wallace), and drummer, backing vocalist, occasional guitarist and banjo player Mince Fratelli (born Gordon McRory). During live shows, they are assisted by pianist/rhythm guitarist, Will Foster. The groups debut album Costello Music (2006) brought success to the band and the album debuting at #2 on the UK Album Charts. Their second album Here We Stand was released in 2008, debuting at #5 on the UK Album Charts.

History

2005-2006: Beginnings and The Fratellis EP

The band's name comes from the surname of the criminal family in the 1985 film The Goonies, although, by coincidence, Barry's mother's maiden name was also Fratelli. They played their first show on 4 March 2005 in the O'Henry's bar in Glasgow across the road from the famous Horseshoe bar, and received their first radio playing in 2005, on central Scotland's Beat 106 (later XFM Scotland, now Galaxy Scotland) Beatscene show hosted by Jim Gellatly. They were signed by Fallout Records.

The Fratellis EP was released 3 April 2006, featuring the tracks "Creepin' Up the Backstairs", "Stacie Anne" and "The Gutterati?". The NME ran a two page feature on The Fratellis in the 10 August 2006 issue, proclaiming them "the best new band in Britain". "Creepin' Up the Backstairs" was never a single released by the band, even though a video was made for it. It was not eligible for the charts. The first single released by the band was "Henrietta", which was released on June 12 2006 and charted at number 19 on the UK Charts.

2006-2007: Costello Music

Costello Music was the The Fratellis debut album and was released 11 September 2006. It charted at number two in the UK album charts for three weeks. The success of the album led to The Fratellis winning the BRIT award for Best British Breakthrough Act in 2007, an award that was voted for by BBC Radio One listeners.

The Fratellis supported Kasabian in December 2006 on their UK tour before playing 10 dates by themselves in February and March 2007. The locations included Nottingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and London. Following the release of the album, The Fratellis embarked on a tour of the UK festival circuit, playing at Glastonbury and headlining at festivals such as NME's Rock 'n' Riot tour, OXEGEN 2007 and T in the Park 2007, amongst others. They also opened for The Police Reunion Tour in the summer of 2007 in some of the North America dates.The Fratellis also recorded some cover songs during the year including "All Along the Watchtower" for Radio 1's 40th Anniversary Double Album, Radio 1: Established 1967, and "Solid Gold Easy Action" for the soundtrack of the film "Hot Fuzz", which also included the single "Baby Fratelli"

On 1 October 2007, they released their first live DVD "Edgy In Brixton" in the UK, which was recorded at the Brixton Academy in London. The DVD contains a full live performance of the debut album Costello Music, B-Sides from various singles and a new song called Pretty Like a Girl. Extras on the DVD include the band being asked questions by members of The Fratellis' website, and on the deluxe edition, highlights from the T in the Park 2007 festival. It was released in the United States on 30 October 2007.

2007-2009: Here We Stand

The band's second album Here We Stand, was first mentioned being worked on during November 2007, the Fratellis' official website stated that work had begun on the second album in rehearsal space in Glasgow. The band stated that they were self-producing the album and had their own studio to record in. Recording finished on 13 January 2008

On 22 February 2008, they played a small show for fans at Queen Margaret Union to debut new songs from the upcoming album. About eight new songs from their new album were played, including "Mistress Mabel", "Acid Jazz Singer", and "Look Out Sunshine!".. This performance introduced two new touring members, a guitarist called Robin and a keyboard player, Will Foster. However, after the Teenage Cancer Trust show in 2008, Robin departed the tour for unknown reasons. Will Foster now plays both Keyboard and Guitar during live performances.

The album, was released on 9 June 2008 in the UK and 10 June 2008 in the United States. The band marked the US release of the album with sold-out shows in New York City, Boston, and Los Angeles. The first single from the album was called Mistress Mabel and was released on 26 May 2008. During a BBC Radio 2 live session, The next single was Look Out Sunshine!, released on 18 August 2008 and with money going towards the Teenage Cancer Trust. The third single was A Heady Tale, released on 22 December. The Fratellis released a deluxe edition of Here We Stand internationally on 8 December. The CD included a new song titled Moriarty's Last Stand and the accompanying DVD which features "The Year of the Thief" (A documentary of the band on the road in the US); A live show filmed on June 18 2008 at the Fillmore, San Francisco; performances of Milk and Money, Flathead and Mistress Mabel from Abbey Road Studios and the videos for the singles Mistress Mabel and Look Out Sunshine!.

On 10 February 2009, three songs from the album Costello Music, "Creepin' Up the Backstairs", "Flathead" and "Henrietta" were made available as downloadable content (DLC) for the video game Rock Band 2.

2009-present: future plans

Jon originally stated in interviews that fans can expect at least two new albums in 2009, one in early 2009 and another later. However, he later retracted the statement and said that it just wouldn't be possible at the moment.

The band did a mini-tour of Australia and Japan during February and March 2009. Barry has said that they will be taking some time off after these dates. No date or location is confirmed for the recording of album number three. The Fratellis headlined the Island Records 50th anniversary show on the 27th of May 2009 where they debuted their new track to be included on the Island 50: 50 Years of Island Records which was Bob Marley's "Stir It Up". The band also headlined the Hop Farm Festival 2009 on July 4, with a gig at the Middlesbrough Empire on July 3 to prepare for the upcoming headline slot.

Since then, Jon has formed a new band with Lou Hickey called Codeine Velvet Club. He stated that he would be touring with his new band and that work with the Fratellis will "reconvene when the rain comes, ready to take on the world."

Discography

• Costello Music (September 2006)
• Here We Stand (June 2008)

Awards

Date	Award	Awarding Body
4 July 2008	Best British Band	33rd Silver Clef Awards 2008
27 January 2008	Best European Border Breaking Act- United Kingdom	2008 European Border Breakers Awards
14 February 2007	Best British Breakthrough Act	BRIT Awards 2007

References

1. BBC News Online - Timberlake takes album top spot
2. NME.com - Fratellis win BRIT for British Breakthrough Act
3. Sunday Mail - Fratellis Celebrate Finishing Second Album
4. [1] - Fratellis Fans Get Chance To Hear New Songs
5. SubbaCultcha.com - The Fratellis - Jon Fratelli
6. [2] The Fratellis - Gig preview
7. The Fratellis' newsletter entitled "Calling all Fratellis fans", promoting the Codeine Velvet Club

External links