BLOC PARTY

Bloc Party

Bloc Party are a British indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Russell Lissack (lead guitar), Gordon Moakes (bass guitar, synths, backing vocals, glockenspiel), and Matt Tong (drums, backing vocals). Their brand of music is said to have been drawn from such bands as The Cure, Mogwai, Siouxsie and the Banshees and in their more recent work Radiohead.

The band was formed at the 1999 Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack. They went through a variety of names before settling on Bloc Party in 2003. Moakes joined the band after answering an advert in NME magazine, while Tong was picked via an audition. Bloc Party got their break by giving BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and Franz Ferdinand's lead singer, Alex Kapranos, a copy of their demo "She's Hearing Voices".

In February 2005, the band released their debut album Silent Alarm. It was critically acclaimed and was named 'Indie Album of the Year' at the 2006 PLUG Awards and NME Album of the year which both honour indie music. That year, the record was also certified platinum in Britain. The band built on this success in 2007 with the release of their second studio album, A Weekend in the City, which reached a peak of number two in the UK Albums Chart and number twelve in the Billboard 200. In August 2008, Bloc Party released their third studio record, Intimacy. The band went on a hiatus in October 2009 to focus on side projects, and reunited in September 2011, releasing their fourth album, Four, in 2012. As of May 2012, Bloc Party have sold two million albums worldwide

Origin: London, England

Genres: Indie rock, rock, post-Britpop, alternative rock, dance-rock

Years active: 2003–present

Labels: Frenchkiss, Wichita, Atlantic, Dim Mak, Transgressive, Trash Aesthetics, Vice, Arts & Crafts

Associated acts: Pin Me Down, Young Legionnaire

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Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (Full Album)

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STEREOPHONICS

Stereophonics

Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band that formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in Cynon Valley, Wales. The band currently comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Kelly Jones, bassist and backing vocalist Richard Jones, drummer Javier Weyler, guitarist and backing vocalist, Adam Zindani and touring member Tony Kirkham (keyboards), the group having originally also included Stuart Cable on drums. Stereophonics have released seven studio albums, five of which have topped the UK Albums Chart. Their seventh, Keep Calm and Carry On, was released in November 2009 but did not make the Top 10. A successful compilation album was also released in November 2008 – Decade in the Sun charting at number two in the United Kingdom. The band is part of the Cardiff music scene.

Described as "classic UK rock delivered with whiskey vocals," the band have been summarised as possessing a sound akin to the genres of alternative rock and "British traditional rock." Stereophonics' debut album, Word Gets Around, was released in August 1997 and instantly charted at number six in the UK, aided by the singles "Local Boy in the Photograph", "More Life in a Tramps Vest" and "A Thousand Trees", all of which failed to affect the top 20. The band reached mainstream success with the release of Performance and Cocktails (and its promotional singles "The Bartender and the Thief", "Just Looking" and "Pick a Part That's New") in 1999 and have achieved a total of ten top-ten singles as well as one number-one: 2005's "Dakota". The band have also been praised for their live performances, which have landed them headlining slots at many of the UK and Ireland's most high-profile music festivals, including Reading and Leeds in 2000, Glastonbury in 2002, V festival in 2002, the Isle of Wight in 2004 and 2009, and Oxegen in 2010.

Origin: Cwmaman, Mid Glamorgan, Wales

Genres: Post-Britpop, indie rock, alternative rock

Years active: 1992–present

Labels: V2

Members:Kelly Jones, Richard Jones, Javier Weyler, Adam Zindani

Past members: Stuart Cable.

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Stereophonics @ Riverside Studios, London 2008 

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COLDPLAY

Coldplay

Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a drummer, backing vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, completing the line-up. Manager Phil Harvey is often considered an unofficial fifth member. The band renamed themselves "Coldplay" in 1998, before recording and releasing three EPs; Safety in 1998, Brothers & Sisters as a single in 1999 and The Blue Room in the same year. The latter was their first release on a major label, after signing to Parlophone.

They achieved worldwide fame with the release of the single "Yellow" in 2000, followed by their debut album released in the same year, Parachutes, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize. The band's second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), was released to very favourable reviews and won multiple awards, including NME's Album of the Year, and has been widely considered the best of the Nelson-produced Coldplay albums. Their next release, X&Y, the best-selling album worldwide in 2005, was met with mostly positive reviews upon its release, though some critics felt that it was inferior to its predecessor. The band's fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008), was produced by Brian Eno and released again to largely favourable reviews, earning several Grammy nominations and wins at the 51st Grammy Awards. On 24 October 2011, they released their fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto, which was met with mixed to positive reviews, and was the UK's best-selling rock album of 2011.

The band has won a number of music awards throughout their career, including seven Brit Awards—winning Best British Group three times, four MTV Video Music Awards, and seven Grammy Awards from twenty nominations. As one of the world's best-selling music artists, Coldplay have sold over 55 million records worldwide. In December 2009, Rolling Stone readers voted the group the fourth best artist of the 2000s.

Coldplay have been an active supporter of various social and political causes, such as Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign and Amnesty International. The group have also performed at various charity projects such as Band Aid 20, Live 8, Sound Relief, Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, The Secret Policeman's Ball, and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Origin: London, England,United Kingdom

Genres: Alternative rock, post-britpop

Years active: 1996–present

Labels: EMI, Parlophone, Capitol, Fierce Panda

Associated acts: Apparatjik

Members: Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, Will Champion.

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Coldplay in Madrid Las Ventas Full Concert 26.10.2011. Unstaged

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Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto Full Album