Bastille
Band form
2010
Bastille (formed 2010)
Bastille is a British rock band famous for their hit single 'Pompeii'.
Formation: Bastille began in London as a solo project of Dan Smith, before turning into a band with Chris Wood, William Farquarson and Kyle Simmons. The name comes from Bastille Day, which is celebrated on Smith's birthday. Bastille was signed to Virgin Records in 2010.
Musical career: Bastille's first single was 'Flaws'/'Icarus', independently released through the Young & Lost Club label. In 2011, they released their 'Laura Palmer' EP, the title track of which was re-recorded for 'The Sims 3: Supernatural'. After gaining much recognition, they appeared at UK festivals such as Glastonbury and the Isle of Wight. Their debut single 'Overjoyed' was released in 2012 and was soon followed by their first chart entry 'Bad Blood'; the title track of their 2013 debut album which topped the UK Album Chart. The album was later re-released as 'All This Bad Blood' with additional tracks. In 2012, they toured alongside Emeli Sande and played their first headline tour 'Flaws Tour'. From 2012, they released a series of mixtapes entitled 'Other People's Heartache', as well as another EP entitled 'Haunt'. In 2013, they released the single 'Pompeii'. It went multi-platinum and reached number two in the UK. Other singles included 'Things We Lost in the Fire', 'Of the Night' and 'Oblivion', the latter of which appeared in 'The Vampire Diaries'. They were nominated for four Brit awards in 2014 and won one for British Breakthrough Act. They appeared on the Band Aid 30 rendition of Bob Geldof's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'.
Bastille - Margate Winter Gardens 10.12.2019 Live Review
By Andrew Lockwood in Music Reviews on 12 December 2019
For the last show of their current tour and their last show of the decade, Bastille rocked up at The Winter Gardens in Margate for their 'Doom Days Club Nights' tour. In support of their third studio album 'Doom Days', originally released in June this year but re-released as an extended version just six days previously, this time around Bastille were making sure they were playing their shows in more unfamiliar towns and cities.
The album was played from start to finish, in sequence with 'Quarter Past Midnight' opening the set. The band took up their places and Dan stood atop a huge turntable before he leaped (and it was a huge leap) from it onto the front of the stage. 'Bad Decisions' and 'The Waves' followed before the beat dropped for a quite extraordinary 'Divide'. With a crash of cymbals, a haunting piano melody and Dan Smith's smouldering vocal, the song gripped the excitable, youthful audience as one with arms swaying aloft in the crowd.
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Upcoming Releases: What's Coming Up For June 2019?
By Holly Mosley in Music / Festivals on 31 May 2019
From Bastille to The Raconteurs, here's June's most exciting upcoming releases.
The indie and pop worlds go hand in hand when it comes to releasing super infectious and thoroughly uplifting tunes. June promises to get the summer off to an anthemic start with these seven albums, which you should definitely have on pre-order.
Bastille - Doom Days
(June 14th)
It feels longer than three years since Wild World, but I suppose that's just down to how good it was. It's no surprise then that we're super excited for Bastille's third album Doom Days which promises to be both euphoric and emotional, as indeed we've already seen from the title track and newest single Joy.
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Neverworld 2018 Live Review
By Andrew Lockwood in Music Reviews on 08 August 2018
Neverworld brought out the bright and the beautiful over a sun-drenched three days on John Darling's Farm in Kent. In now the twelfth year of what was formerly known as LeeFest, Neverworld and its 'three immersive realms' played host to a plethora of acts in a variety of venues to the delight of a free-spirited and totally chilled out crowd.
The three day festival started on Thursday as people eased themselves into the weekend with an opening party topped out by a performance from Hollie Cook. There was a carnival atmosphere in the circus tent right from the get go with GIRLI giving a lively, somewhat haphazard, set that included new song 'Pink' as well as her better known songs 'Day Month Second' and 'Hot Mess'. Childcare were up next with Ed looking like he'd just stepped off a five-a-side pitch just in time to perform. An altogether tighter performance ensued from the London-based four-piece with a great delivery of 'Magazines' as well as the vaguely reggae infused 'Put Down Your Pen'.
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Dan Smith Opens Up About Mental Health
By Clive King in Music / Festivals on 17 March 2017
Bastille's Dan Smith doesn't want to have a ''false rock star image''.
Bastille's Dan Smith doesn't want to have a ''false rock star image''.
The 30-year-old British singer and songwriter - who makes up one quarter of the band alongside Kyle Simmons, Will Farquarson, and Chris Wood - has opened up about his battle with mental health and he wants to be ''honest'' about his anxiety because he doesn't want to give the perception he is someone who is not.
Speaking in an interview with Channel 4, which has also been reported in NME magazine, he said: ''[Mental health] definitely become normalised, but needs to be more so.
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Dan Smith and the rest of Bastille perform at the SSE Hydro, SECC, Glasgow, Scotland - Sunday 18th December 2016
Dan Smith and the rest of Bastille perform at the SSE Hydro. The band are touring their new album 'Wild World' released in September - Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom - Saturday 12th November 2016
Bastille seen their award in the press room at the 2016 StubHub Q Awards. Bastille won the 'Best Track' award - London, United Kingdom - Thursday 3rd November 2016
Bastille seen arriving at the 2016 StubHub Q Awards, London, United Kingdom - Wednesday 2nd November 2016
Bastille, (Will Farquarson, Kyle Simmons, Dan Smith and Charlie Barnes) seen arriving at the 2016 StubHub Q Awards, London, United Kingdom - Wednesday 2nd November 2016
Bastille Don't Want Fame
By Clive King in Music / Festivals on 05 October 2016
Bastille thinks it would be ''horrible'' if they had fame like Britney Spears.
Bastille don't want to be famous.
The 'Good Grief' hitmakers - comprised of Dan Smith, Chris 'Woody' Wood, Will Farquarson and Kyle Simmons - have no interested in being in the limelight and would rather people just focus on their music rather than their private lives.
Frontman Dan, 30, said: ''We feel very lucky, we love making songs, but have no interest in being famous at all. It's great when we play festivals and then be anonymous.
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Lowlands 2015! We Have Good News And Bad News...
By Holly Williams in Music / Festivals on 11 May 2015
The good news is the quality of the latest acts announced.
The 23rd edition of the Netherlands' Lowlands Festival sees yet another wave of incredible artists hit the bill ahead of the date this summer. Hot Chip and Kendrick Lamar are among the major new additions, with seventeen more acts also announced.
Following the enormous success of his worldwide number one third album 'To Pimp A Butterfly', Kendrick Lamar is bringing his hip hop talent to the festival circuit with Lowlands just being the latest in a string of gigs this summer; he will also be playing Bonnaroo, Summerfest, Outside Lands and Reading Festival in the UK. Hot Chip will be supporting their own new album, 'Why Make Sense?', which is set to be released on May 15th 2015.
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Pinkpop 2014 Announce Headliners The Rolling Stones, Arctic Monkeys, Metallica Plus Many More
Posted on12 March 2014
Coachella Festival 2014: Your Guide To This Year's Lineup
By Stephanie Chase in Music / Festivals on 24 February 2014
Coachella is litterally the hottest festival of the year, so if you're off to soak in the sun, here's 10 acts you really can't afford to miss.
The Coachella festival always manages to bring out the big names for its annual two weekend spectacular in April. This year, organizers have outdone themselves with a feast of big name acts that will take to Coachella’s sun soaked stage. From the relatively new wave makers like Lorde and Bastille to heavyweights such as Muse and of course the reunited Outkast there is something for everyone in the Californian sun. In order to really whet your appetite, we’re running down the 10 acts you simply cannot afford to miss at this year’s Coachella Festival.
Beck
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One Direction, Justin Timberlake Rack Up Brit Awards Nominations
By Jaclyn Brandt in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 10 January 2014
The Brit Awards jumped right into the middle of awards season by announcing their nominees, and there are plenty of artists from all over the world up for awards.
We are again right in the middle of awards season, and that doesn't just mean the Oscars. The Brit Awards have announced their 2014 nominations, and there aren't many surprises.
The two leading artists are, as they should be, British acts. According to MTV, Disclosure and Bastille were each nominated for four awards, but the rest of the nominations were for artists all over the world.
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Hayley Fox's Top Albums Of 2013
By Staff Writer in Music / Festivals on 23 December 2013
Hayley Fox tells us her top 10 albums of 2013
Darkside 'Psychic' - After an EP in 2011, Darkside released their debut album this year. The duo - the project of Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington - gave as good as they got on 'Psychic', honing their talents as individual musicians. Wonderfully crisp textures ride over its entirety, creating a rich, confident ambience.
Continue reading: Hayley Fox's Top Albums Of 2013