Art Brut – live at Summer Sundae – 2005 – August 13, 2005 – BBC 6 Music –
Art Brut for a Thursday night – recorded live during the Summer Sundae 2005 Festival on August 13, 2005 and broadcast by BBC 6 Music.
Art Brut’s debut album, Bang Bang Rock & Roll, was released on 30 May 2005. The band’s sound is characterised by their straightforward guitar rock setup, as well as frontman Eddie Argos’ enthusiastic sprechgesang-style vocal delivery, and his humorous, often self-reflexive lyrics about music, relationships and other personal interests.
Argos had formed The Art Goblins and moved to London in 2001 looking to form a new band. He met guitarist Chris Chinchilla at an afterparty hosted by London indie rock band Ciccone in 2002. Argos also invited Ian Catskilkin, whom he knew from the Bournemouth music scene, to join on guitars. They were joined by Freddy Feedback, Chinchilla’s flatmate, on bass guitar and Mikey Breyer on drums; and rehearsed at Scar studios in Camden.[1] The name ‘Art Brut’ was inspired by Argos’s visit to the Musée d’Art Naïf – Max Fourny.
The band played their first gig in May 2003, at the Verge in Kentish Town. After gigging for several months, they recorded demos of “Formed a Band” and “Modern Art” with Keith Top of the Pops at Supernova Studios. The band became associated with the New Cross scene, and this version of a “Formed a Band” was released on new New Cross-based record label Angular’s compilation The New Cross: An Angular Sampler, in November 2003.
After the success of this, Fierce Panda signed Art Brut for their first album, to be called Bang Bang Rock & Roll. It was recorded with producer John Fortis. It features re-recorded versions of “Formed a Band”, “Bad Weekend”, “Modern Art”, My Little Brother”, three songs originally written for a concept project about the “Gatti Gang”, an off-shoot of the Red Brigades: “18,000 Lira”, “Rusted Guns of Milan”, “Stand Down”.
This album was trailed by new single “Emily Kane”, which made number 41, missing the top 40 only by two sales, later attributed by Argos by a failure to properly register iTunes sales. It remains Fierce Panda’s highest-charting single.
The album was released in May 2005. Art Brut played extensively in support of their album in 2005. Chinchilla left due to the pressures of touring in September 2005, and was replaced at short notice by Jasper Future, guitarist from Argos’ old Bournemouth band, The Art Goblins, for Bestival. This new line-up toured Europe, including two support slots with Oasis in October 2005 – the band made the cover of the German edition of Rolling Stone magazine in September 2005.
In 2011, Art Brut re-teamed with Frank Black to work on their fourth album, Brilliant! Tragic!, which was released later that year. The band’s first retrospective, Top of the Pops, appeared in 2013 and featured B-sides, demos, and rarities, including a version of The Beatles’ “Her Majesty” arranged by Black. That year, Breyer and Future left the group, with Stephen Gilchrist and Toby MacFarlaine taking over on drums and guitar, respectively. However, the band didn’t release any music until 2018’s Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out! Produced by and featuring ‘s Charlie Layton on drums, Art Brut’s fifth album detailed Argos’ adventures during the band’s hiatus, which included moving to Berlin; publishing his memoir I Formed a Band; having a child; and nearly dying of peritonitis.
For a reminder of their debut album and a memorable Summer Sundae appearance, Art Brut in concert as they were on August 13, 2005.
