Alfie

Alfie are now currently one of the most talked about bands in the UK but at a time when the country was awash with drab guitar bands, Twisted Nerve records sifted through all the wannabe fakers and signed the one that wasn't. For label heads Badly Drawn Boy and Andy Votel, there was something different about this bunch and they didn't waste any time in taking them to join the ranks of Twisted Nerve. As Votel pointed out 'They just stood out... the french horn, double bass, amazing songwriting and Lee's vocals just create something very special.' The day after they signed to the label, they were whisked off by Badly Drawn Boy on tour as both his support and backing band. Taking in everywhere from Tokyo to Paris to Leicester, they quickly captured people's attention but it was lead singer, Lee Gorton, who was to make headlines. Whilst in Japan, he showed his true Rock'n'Roll credentials by getting arrested for scuffling with the Flaming Lips in a McDonalds. Although all in good humour, the authorities failed to see it that way and it was Badly Drawn Boy himself who had to stump up his bail money. Earlier in the year a gig with Icelandic rockers Sigur Ros in London earned them glowing reviews and even left the NME speechless... "Imagine the young Stone Roses infusing their laconic Manc cool into the Beta Band's meandering 21st-century folk. Then imagine it sounding more dishevelled and dewy fresh than that." They followed this with their debut release in February 2000 - a beautiful three-track 7" simply entitled the 'Alfie EP'. Two more limited edition vinyl-only EPs followed; 'Bookends' in August and 'Montevideo' in November. All received heaps of praise, especially from NME who, having decided to invent a genre called the New Acoustic Movement (NAM), recently described Alfie as the 'front-runners'. The turning point for Alfie came from their storming live performance at All Tomorrows Parties at Camber Sands. They played alongside the likes of Stereolab, Sonic Youth and Mogwai but their performance was still considered by most as THE gig of the weekend. Alfie have to be seen live to really get what the fuss is all about and the rest of the year was spent gigging; first a ten date summer tour with Brassy & Snow Patrol and more recently a massive 16-date tour support at the request of Embrace. Keeping it in the family, Mum & Dad's Joe Robinson provides some nifty production which captures perfectly their beautifully baggy orchestral folk. Their debut album is out now and it won't be long before their infectious songs will be hummed by the nation.

The Manchester quintet Alfie (singer Lee Gorton, guitarist Ian Smith, cellist Matt McGeever, bassist Sam Morris, and drummer Sean Kelly), came about in the late '90s after Gorton became increasingly fed up with the local music scene -- when most bands at the time were merely rehashing Oasis songs. The band caught a break with their very first show when the U.K. publication NME was doing an article on several different British music scenes, and happened to come upon the new group, reviewing the show and printing a picture of the band. The band soon befriended Damon Gough (better-known as Badly Drawn Boy), who promptly signed the group to his newly founded Twisted Nerve label. Shortly after, Alfie issued several singles/EPs -- The Alfie EP, Bookends, and Montevideo, while their full-length debut, If You Happy With You Need Do Nothing, saw the light of day in 2001. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide