King Adora – live at Birmingham Academy – October 31, 2001 – BBC Radio 1 –
King Adora in concert tonight. Formed in Birmingham, England in 1998, King Adora was primarily a hard rock and Indie band, but were going in the direction of a Glam Revival. Because of that, they were hard-pressed to get signed to a label, but they had a very dedicated fanbase and were particularly known for their short and riotous live shows.
The first incarnation of King Adora went from 1998 to 2005, when finding the level of interest from Record companies negligible at best, and after finally landing a label deal (with Superior Quality Recordings) and issuing their debut album (Vibrate You), managed to get mixed to negative reviews from critics, despite the album reaching #30 on the UK album charts, decided to call it a day. Musical tastes were changing – Glam just wasn’t in the cards and so they took it as a sign of no interest and broke up.
That lasted until 2010 when the band reunited and, flushed with a renewed determination, set out to recapture the fanbase who were strong and vocal at the time. Coupled with the popularity of “eyeliner bands” such as Manic Street Preachers and Alice Cooper, King Adora managed to carve out a niche, but still remained relatively unknown outside the UK, and were still having a hard time convincing the Press that they didn’t deserve this obscurity.
This concert comes around the time of the release of their debut album, Vibrate You and their fanbase are well represented here at this concert from the Birmingham Academy and recorded by BBC Radio 1 for their In Concert series.
I’m not sure what they are up to now, after reuniting with the same lineup they were the subject of a documentary film in 2012.
If you aren’t familiar with King Adora, you can start here and work your way through their catalog – a band sadly underrated and overlooked due to changing tastes, but a worthwhile band nonetheless.
