The Magic Numbers is an
English indie
rock band comprising two pairs of brothers and sisters who all
attended The Cardinal Wiseman Roman Catholic High
School
in Greenford
. The group was formed in 2002, releasing
their critically acclaimed debut album titled
The Magic Numbers on
June 13, 2005. Their follow-up album,
Those the Brokes was released on
November 6,
2006.
The Magic Numbers are: Romeo Stodart (
lead
guitar,
vocals), Michele Stodart
(
bass, vocals), Sean Gannon
(drums) and Angela Gannon (
melodica,
percussion,
glockenspiel, vocals).
History
Backgrounds
The
Stodarts are the children of a Scottish father and a Portuguese mother and were born in
Trinidad
in the
Caribbean
, where their mother was an opera singer and had her
own TV show. When the family fled an Islamic coup attempt there
in 1990, they were raised in New York
.
In the
mid-1990s, when Romeo was 16 and Michele was 10, they moved to
London
.
The
Gannons are of Irish descent but lived in Hanwell
, London where they
became friends with their neighbours the Stodarts. Prior to
forming The Magic Numbers, Romeo and Sean spent time trying to form
a band together under various guises, and previously performed
under the name 'Guess'.
Early years
In late 2002 The Magic Numbers formed in their present guise, and
they began touring the London circuit, gradually developing their
sound and building a small cult following, not least amongst some
already established artists including
The Chemical Brothers,
Travis, and
Ed
Harcourt, with the latter later influential in their signing to
record label
Heavenly Recordings,
narrowly beating off competition from
Rough Trade Records.
Their rise came swiftly, beginning in the summer of 2004 and later
that year when they began supporting well-known artists such as
Travis, Ed Harcourt and
Snow Patrol and
appearing on the bill of some low-key UK festivals, building an
intense following as they did so. In November 2004 they released a
very limited edition 7” vinyl single, "Hymn for Her", to coincide
with a three-show residency at The Borderline in London.
The Magic Numbers
On the
back of releasing just one commercially-available single, "Forever
Lost", and even before their debut album was released they played a
sold-out show to a crowd of over 2,000 at The Forum in Kentish Town
, London. They played their first live
session on UK radio on the Dermot O'Leary Show, BBC Radio 2.
The eponymous debut album was recorded in late 2004 and early 2005
at
Metropolis Studios in London,
and released on
13 June 2005. The album was produced and recorded by American
Craig Silvey. Prior to release only "Forever Lost" was promoted as
a commercial single and this was followed up by later releases
"Love Me Like You", "Love's a Game" and "I See You, You See
Me".
Following
the release of their debut album, the remainder of 2005 and the
first few months of 2006 were spent touring and promoting their
album and singles, throughout the UK
and USA
, across
Europe and also in New
Zealand
, Australia and Japan
.
Their Japanese tour was featured as a side documentary on the 2006
version of
Jonathan Ross's
Japanorama series.
Although heavily played down, they received a large amount of press
attention for being the first band to walk off the TV show
Top of the Pops after host
Richard Bacon allegedly insulted their
physiques (he denied "a fat melting pot of talent" was intended to
be insulting), shortly before they were due to appear on the show
to promote their single "
Love Me
Like You". According to an interview with New Zealand's
Groove Guide magazine, it was rather that the band were
not happy with the show's policy of
lip
synching rather than anything else.
The album was shortlisted in 2005 for the coveted
Mercury Music Prize.
Those the Brokes
After their heavy touring and promotion of their self-titled debut
The Magic Numbers would return in autumn of 2006 with their
follow-up album,
Those the
Brokes.
The band is currently continuing to promote
and tour for the album, including supporting The
Who in Southampton
, and an appearance at the 2007 Glastonbury
Festival
.
The album was partly recorded in New York at Allaire Studios in
Spring 2006, a venue which has also been used in the past by
David Bowie,
The
Strokes and
Ryan Adams, and was
recorded and engineered by Richard Wilkinson.
Discography
Studio albums
Eps
Singles
From The Magic Numbers
| Title |
"Forever Lost" |
"Love Me Like You" |
"Love's a Game" |
"I See You, You See Me" |
| Date |
23 May 2005 |
8 August 2005 |
24 October 2005 |
16 January 2006 |
| UK Singles
Chart |
#15 |
#12 |
#24 |
#20 |
| B-sides |
"Idea of a Feeling"
"I Hope You Don't Mind"
|
"Drunk on Your Words"
"Delphina's Song"
"Travelling Souls"
|
"Keep It in the Pocket"
"Last Night I Fell"
|
"Forever Lost" (cover by 'Magic Fractions')
"Close Your Eyes"
"There Is a Light
That Never Goes Out"
"Crazy in Love"
|
From Those the Brokes
| Title |
"Take a chance" |
"This Is a Song" |
| Date |
23 October 2006 |
19 February 2007 |
| UK Singles Chart |
#16 |
#36 |
| B-sides |
"I Hear You Knockin'"
"Everytime"
"There Is No One"
"Cowgirl in the Sand (live)"
|
"Oh, You Might as Well Live in My Head Now (The Jump Rope
Song)"
"Steal Me a Dream"
"Take Me Out"
|
Contributions
The Magic Numbers have made appearances on various other artists'
releases, including:
- Duke Special - "Our Love Goes
Deeper Than This" (backing vocals)
- The Chemical Brothers -
"Close Your Eyes" (vocals)
- The Concretes – "Your Call"
(vocals), "Sunbeams" (backing vocals)
- Ed Harcourt – "Revolution in the
Heart" (backing vocals)
- David Kitt – "Up to You" and "Guilty
Prayers, Pointless Ends" from the album, Not Fade Away (backing
vocals)
- Jane Birkin - Fictions
- The Boxer Rebellion - "Flashing Red Light Means Go" (backing
vocals by Angela) - from their newly released album,
Union.
Compilation contributions
References
External links
Wikis
Quiz
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