I realise some may not have heard of The Music so I will do a bit of an introduction. They were a 4 piece indie/rock group from Leeds who were propelled to medium sized fame during the 2000s. While they were never big enough to play in arenas. They did headline second stages at big festivals at the likes of Reading and leeds and T in the Park. While touring venues around the UK and beyond with capacity's around the 2000 mark.
Really I got into the Music at the earliest opportunity I could of without knowing a band personally or coming from Leeds. It was actually their first play on National radio where BBC Radio 1 presenter Steve Lamaq played "Take the long road and walk it" during his evening show which was around 2001. I listened to his show a lot during my teens and he played a lot of good music. But this track really stood out for me. In fact I didn't actually catch the bands name. So I emailed the show to ask. I never got a reply but Steve did play the song again the very next night and I was hooked and then I found out the name.
The first release they had was a double A side single "Take the long road and walk it" and "Walls get smaller". But they only released it on 7 inch vinyl and it was limited to 1000 copies. I remember going into Virgin and Avalanche in Glasgow on day of release and it was sold out by the time I got there at both shops. I did however manage to get a CD single later of this though on Amazon which was specific to the European market.
Instead of releasing a few singles then releasing an album. The Music then released 2 EPs. The first one was named "You might as well try and fuck me" EP. If I remember right they actually put a swear word in the title as they didn't want to get too big, too soon so by having a swear word in the title radio stations wouldn't be able to mention them. I thought the title track was one of the weaker tracks they released. But the other 3 tracks on the EP were good including "Too high" which would later appear on their debut album as the album closer.
The Music started playing venues up and down the country but I never saw them at this point. I remember they played the 13th Note club in Glasgow which was an over 18s venue and I wasn't quite 18 yet. I actually emailed the 13th Note club saying if it was ok I could go even though I wasn't 18 and pointing out the lead singer of The Music wasn't 18 either. I never got a reply to that :-P
The next EP they released in 2002 was "The People" EP. This EP was even better than the last one. "The People" track also appeared on their debut album and remains my favourite track by them. "Let love be the healer" was another track which appeared on here. It was such a fast and fun tune. The Music weren't your typical indie/rock band. They really wanted to make music to get you moving.
After this is was time for the self titled debut album which also was released in 2002. To coincide with this they re-released "Take the long road and walk it" with a couple of new b-sides in the shape of "Raindance" and the acoustic "Alone". The Music really couldn't do that much wrong for me. Even their B-sides were amazing. But their debut album was unreal. 10 tracks of such high quality. I remember going to see them at the Barrowlands on this tour with my brother. It was such a high energy gig and people were just going nuts.
The next album was released in 2004 and was called "Welcome to the North". This didn't do quite as well as the first album reaching number 8 in the UK charts whereas their first album reached number 4. But this was still a very good album. From the epic drum piece on "Bleedin from within" which would become a real highlight of their live show, to the ferocious "Cessation" to the more gentler "Guide" and "Into the night". I loved this album and couldn't wait to see it on tour.
When they annouced the first round of gigs I was gutted they weren't playing Glasgow. But they were playing Edinburgh. One of my friends from school, Adrian was at uni in Edinburgh and had a flat there. He had never really heard of the Music but in the end we worked out a deal that we (My brother and I) would pay for his ticket and drinks for the night if he put us up. It worked out really well. They played at the Corn exchange which was a bit of hike from the city centre but well worth it. I remember also going to see them at the Garage in Glasgow too which I'm certain was the second part of this tour.
It would be four years in 2008 when The Music would release their next album "Strength in Numbers". One of the reasons it took longer between albums this time was because of lead singer Rob Harvery's struggles with his mental health. The irony was when this album came out I was having my own mental battles. This album and lyrics in particular were all so real to me at the time and I could really relate. But as well as documenting the struggles he went through there were also very positive "light at the end of the tunnel" type songs on this album. For example "No weapon sharper than a will". To me this was such a pivotal album and helped me through a hard time. I went to see them once on this tour at the QMU. Unfortunately this album only reached 19 in the charts and they would split up after playing 2 final gigs in Leeds and London known as the Last Dance.
Overall though from when I first heard them in 2001 to when they split up in 2008 there was no doubting they were my favourite band. I think I am actually missing a gig to here but set list FM dont seem to go back that far. Plus the band name makes it extremely hard to google. I need to hunt out my old gig tickets! I think for me though one of the things I loved the most about the Music gigs was just peoples carefree attitudes. The people going weren't just head nodders or static. They would be really going all out and immersing themselves in the Music.
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