Biffy Clyro (formed 1995)
Biffy Clyro are an alternative rock band from Ayrshire, Scotland. The lineup of the band consists of: Simon Neil on guitar and vocals, Ben Johnston on drums and vocals and James Johnston on bass and vocals.
Formation & Early Years: Biffy Clyro first got together in 1995, when Simon Neil recruited Ben Johnston and a boy known as Barry to play with him. They named the band Screwfish. Barry was soon replaced with James' twin brother, James.
At this stage, the band was heavily influenced by Nirvana. They played their debut gig supporting a band called Pink Kross at East Kilbride's Key Youth Centre (now known as Universal Connections East Kilbride.
In 1997, all three members of the band moved to Glasgow. Neil attended the University of Glasgow and the twins studied at Stow College learning Electronics with Music and Audio Engineering. The trio started gigging around Glasgow and slowly built up a following. Dee Bahl noticed the band and offered to manage them, arranging an independent single release on the Babi Yaga label. The single was entitled 'name' and was released in June 1999. Subsequently, Stow College's Electric Honey label chose Biffy Clyro to release a record.
Progress: In June 2000, Biffy Clyro released their record Thekidswhopoptodaywillrocktomorrow and the tracks were given airplay on BBC Radio Scotland by the DJ Vic Galloway. Shortly before the release of the record, a Beggars Banquet representative saw the band's live set at the T in the Park festival. Biffy Clyro were signed to the label soon after.
After signing to Beggars Banquet, BIffy Clyro released '27' as a single in April 2001. In October of that year, they released a re-recorded version of 'Justboy', followed by a new version of '57' in February the following year. The first album proper from Biffy Clyro was released in March 2002 entitled Blackened Sky.
Biffy Clyro toured a great deal in support of the album, playing with the likes of Weezer.
The Vertigo of Bliss was the second album from Biffy Clyro and was recorded at Linford Manor in Milton Keynes. The album was released in 2003 and saw a growth in the band's popularity.
The third album from the Scottish trio was entitled Infinity Land and featured the singles 'Glitter and Trauma', 'My Recovery Injection' and 'There's no Such Thing as a Jaggy Snake'. When Biffy Clyro were invited onto Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show, they performed a cover of Franz Ferdinand's 'Take Me Out'. That same year (2005), Simon's side project Marmaduke Duke also released an album entitled The Magnificent Duke.
2006 saw Biffy Clyro part ways with Beggars Banquet and sign a deal with 14th Floor, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Their fourth album was recorded at Vancouver's The Warehouse Studio. The track 'Semi-Mental', from these sessions, was released as a digital download in December of that year.
In 2007, the band attained their highest chart position to date with the release of 'Saturday Superhouse', which reached number thirteen in the UK singles chart. The album resulting from their Canadian recording sessions was entitled Puzzle and was released in June 2007. The album reached number two in its first week of release; again, the highest chart position the band had achieved. Touring continued for the band, who embarked on live slots supporting Muse, The Who and Red Hot Chili Peppers and Queens of the Stone Age as well as The Rolling Stones.
The next album from Biffy Clyro, entitled Only Revolutions was released in November 2009 and Mike Vennart joined the band as an additional live guitarist.
"The people that have heard us seem to love us. And that's the important thing: there's still so many more out there who'll potentially feel the same way. But our only real ambition is to be our own favourite band and I think we're succeeding." - Simon Neil
Biography by Contactmusic.com
