The Wombats

The Wombats are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 2003. The band comprises native Liverpudlians Matthew Murphy (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard), Daniel (Dan) Haggis (drums, percussion, guitar, keyboard and backing vocals) and Norwegian-born Tord Øverland Knudsen (bass guitar, guitar, keyboard and backing vocals). The band is signed to 14th Floor Records in the United Kingdom and Bright Antenna in the United States. The Wombats have sold over 1 million copies worldwide.

History

A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation (2003–08)

Matthew "Murph" Murphy attended Liverpool College, then moved on to LIPA. The three band members met in 2003 at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts; soon becoming friends, they formed as "The Wombats". Over the course of 2004 to 2005 the band released many EPs such as "The Hangover Sessions", "No.3" and "The Daring Adventures of Sgt. Wimbo and His Pet Otter". In 2006, the band released their debut album Girls, Boys and Marsupials which was only available as a release in Japan.

In January 2007 the band released a second limited edition vinyl called Moving to New York, then in May that year they released a third single entitled "Backfire at the Disco", which reached number 35 in the UK Singles Chart. This was followed by then band's first full single "Kill the Director" in late July. Their debut album, entitled A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, coincided with the release of "Let's Dance to Joy Division" in October 2007, and peaked at number 11 in the UK Albums Chart. It was followed by a European tour ending with a thanksgiving party at Liverpool Academy.

The band started 2008 as the opening act at the opening ceremony of Liverpool, European Capital of Culture at Liverpool Arena. "Moving to New York" was re-released on 14 January 2008 and reached number 13 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming their highest charting release to date. On 28 February 2008 the band was awarded "Best Dancefloor Filler" for their single "Let's Dance to Joy Division" at the NME Awards.^[2]

The Wombats EP (2008–10)

In April 2008 the band put out their first US release on Bright Antenna, The Wombats EP. Following this release the band went on a full UK tour, as well as playing dates in Europe and Japan. The band also played for Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 1 where they covered the Take That song "Patience", as well as the Postman Pat theme tune, which Tord sang in his native Norwegian language.

The summer of 2008 saw the band perform live at a number of major festivals including Glastonbury Festival in June and T in the Park in July, opening the BBC Radio 1 / NME Stage set on the Friday. They also played Reading and Leeds Festival on the Saturday and Friday respectively on the Radio 1/NME Stage supporting Babyshambles. In September 2008 the band were filmed for a cameo appearance on Australian soap Neighbours.^[3]

The band also announced via their MySpace blog that they would be releasing two singles, a seasonal 'Anti-Christmas' themed "Is This Christmas?" on 15 December 2008, followed by a track titled "My Circuitboard City" on 3 March 2009.

This Modern Glitch (2010–13)

In September 2010, the band announced they were near to completing their second studio album, This Modern Glitch in the MRG Recording Studio in Los Angeles, California. The band worked with producers Eric Valentine and Jackknife Lee.

The first single to be released from the album, "Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)" was released in the UK on 27 September 2010^[4] and debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 23; marking the band's fifth Top 40 hit and third most successful single to date. The accompanying music video was shot in Los Angeles, CA during August 2010 and was directed by The General Assembly. Following the rumoured release of "Techno Fan" as the second single from the album, the track "Jump into the Fog" was confirmed for a release on 24 January 2011.^[5] "Anti-D" was the next single, with the album following two weeks later. The album, entitled This Modern Glitch, was released in April 2011 as a CD, digital download and also on 7" and 12" vinyl.^[6] The Wombats also played at the 2011 Southside and Hurricane music festivals in Germany.

The Wombats' song "Techno Fan" was previously used in European airline easyJet's television and Facebook campaigns.

Glitterbug (2013–present)

The Wombats at Lollapalooza 2015.

On 11 September 2013, a mysterious hashtag message appeared on the band's Facebook page which read "#yourbodyisaweapon". A second message on 16 September stated: "Seismic activity is going on! Excited to announce that our new track "Your Body Is a Weapon" will be out on October 2nd." The single was then played on BBC Radio 1 on 1 October at 7:30PM as Zane Lowe's Hottest Record and on XFM at 8PMand was officially released on iTunes the next day and on YouTube, featuring a cartoon-like styled lyric video.

Lead singer Matthew Murphy confirmed that their next album would be released at some point in 2014, however this did not come to pass.^[7]

On 17 December 2014, the Wombats announced that their new album, Glitterbug, will be available to pre-order from January 2015 as well as revealing the official album cover. The album's second single titled 'Greek Tragedy' was premiered 7:30PM as Zane Lowe's Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1. On the same day, the video was aired to those subscribed to their mail list and was shortly after publicly aired. A third track 'Emoticons' was published 16 February, with the third single from Glitterbug 'Give Me A Try' being released on 13 April in tandem with the album. The full album leaked online more than a week prior to its release on 13 April.^[8] To celebrate the album's release the Glitterbug B Sides EP was released on the same day.

To support the album the band toured extensively across the world, including dates in Europe, the United States and Australia. They also performed Greek Tragedy on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

It was announced on 11 May that Be Your Shadow would be the album's fourth single.

On 16 February 2016 the band announced a summer US tour with Coast Modern as support.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

• The Daring Adventures of Sgt. Wimbo and His Pet Otter (2004)
• The Hangover Sessions (2004)
• No.3 (2005)
• The Wombats Go Pop! Pop! Pop! (2007)
• The Wombats EP (2008)
• This Acoustic Glitch (2011)
• Glitterbug B Sides EP (2015)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Official website
• Official USA Website
• The Wombats at The Indie Music Database