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?'.
Biography by Contactmusic.com
