| The Rifles | |
|---|---|
 The Rifles in concert in Doornroosje, Nijmegen, Netherlands |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Indie rock |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Sixsevenine Universal Publishing |
| Website | therifles.com |
| Members | |
| Joel Stoker Lucas Crowther Dean Mumford Lee Burgess Kenton Shinn |
|
| Past members | |
| Robert Pyne Grant Marsh |
|
The Rifles are an English indie rock band from Chingford, London.
Their debut album No Love Lost was released on 17 July 2006 and reached #68 in the UK charts. Their follow up album, Great Escape, was released on 26 January 2009 and came in at #27 in the UK charts. Their third album Freedom Run was released on 19 September 2011 reaching #37 in the UK
The band currently consists of Joel Stoker (vocals, guitar), Lucas Crowther (guitar, vocals), Lee Burgess (bass guitar), Kenton Shinn (drums, percussion), and Dean Mumford (keyboard).
Contents |
Joel Stoker and Lucas Crowther met at Redbridge College in 2003 (which is where they also met Rob Lloyd from Chingford punk outfit Betamax). They were both inspired by an Oasis concert the two attended in Knebworth, England. Guitarist Crowther revealed "From that moment on we knew we had to start a band."[1] After adding bassist Rob Pyne, who Joel knew from school, and drummer Grant Marsh, who Luke met in the Candy Box club, The Rifles performed their first gig at The Bull & Gate pub in Kentish Town, London in 2004.[2][3]
The Rifles first official release was a 7" demo of "Peace & Quiet" released by Blow Up Records. The band switched to fellow independent label Xtra Mile Recordings for their May 2005 release of the single "When I'm Alone", which would go on to reach number 64 in the UK charts. Later that year the band's next single "Local Boy" would be released via Right Hook Recordings. It would get airplay on the Saturday morning show Soccer AM and would help give the band more exposure and even help them become regular guests on the show. The Rifles released two singles, "Repeated Offender" and "She's Got Standards", ahead of the 17 July release of their debut album No Love Lost, which peaked at 26 in the UK charts. The band toured in 2006, and performed at A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise 2007 and Paaspop Schijndel 2007, two music festivals in the Netherlands. The Rifles launched their European tour to promote their new album including a gig at the Forum, London, at which Paul Weller (The Jam) appeared on stage to play the song "She's the Only One" with the band, and The Jam's single, "The Eton Rifles". The Rifles then released a free download of the song "No Love Lost" a year after their album of the same name was released.
Touring on the back of their album No Love Lost, The Rifles again released a free download, this time of their single "Talking" on 20 October 2007. The single garnered high accolades from BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe, who called it the "Hottest Record in the World". "Talking" also marks the bands label switch from Red Ink to 679 Recordings. On 21 July 2008, the single "I Could Never Lie" was released on a limited edition vinyl.The Rifles also made appearances at the Underage Festival and the V Festival in the summer and played an extensive tour throughout October and November in 2008.
When the band's second album was delayed from October 2008 to January 2009, The Rifles created The Rifles EP that fans could download on the internet. The Rifles released their second album Great Escape[4] on 26 January 2009,[5] which peaked at 27 in the UK charts and reached the number 2 slot in the UK indie charts.
It was reported by The Sun newspaper that they had to cut the Italy leg of their tour short due to getting into trouble with the Mafia. Reportedly, Grant Marsh was accused of flirting with a Sicilian promoter's wife [6] After a tour throughout the UK and Germany, The Rifles announced extensive acoustic tours for the fall and winter of 2010 and plans for a third album.
On 17 October 2010, Grant Marsh and Rob Pyne announced they had left the band.[7] Dean Mumford was added on keyboards for live performances.[8] While touring in 2010, The Rifles released Acoustic #1, an acoustic album containing new and old songs. Long time friends Lee Burgess and Kenton Shinn from the band Garda were added to The Rifles. On 15 February 2011, The Rifles began recording songs for a third studio album.[9] The new album, called Freedom Run,[10] was released on 19 September 2011.[11] The Rifles began work on a deluxe version of Freedom Run on 9 February, 2012.[12]
| Year | Album | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | |||
| 2006 | No Love Lost | 68 | |
| 2009 | Great Escape
|
27 | |
| 2011 | Freedom Run
|
37 | |
| Year | Song | UK Singles Chart[13][14] | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Peace & Quiet" (demo) | - | No Love Lost |
| "When I'm Alone" | 64 | ||
| "Local Boy" | 36 | ||
| 2006 | "Repeated Offender" | 26 | |
| "She's Got Standards" | 32 | ||
| "Peace & Quiet" (re-issue) | 48 | ||
| 2007 | "No Love Lost" | - | Free Download |
| "Talking" | - | ||
| 2008 | "I Could Never Lie" | - | Limited Vinyl |
| 2009 | "Fall to Sorrow" | - | Great Escape |
| "The General"/"Romeo & Julie" | - | ||
| "The Great Escape" | - | ||
| 2011 | "Tangled Up in Love" | - | Freedom Run |
Photos from a recent FOE gig - a friend of our friends Hold Your Horse Is - she’s gonna be big!!! Read the gig review after the jump.
Shots of North Carolina’s folk-rocking Avett Brothers’ stop in Glasgow - 22.08.11
Read the review of the gig here.
Take a look at the acts and art on offer at this year’s Latitude Festival in Suffolk. Included are the likes of Fight Like Apes, Lykke Li, Sea of Bees and Seasick Steve. Photos from our own...
Good time with Bad Guys. Photos from the May 29th gig at the Old Blue Last. Read the review by the Bad Guy himself, Stuart London after the jump.
Artrocker.com exclusive: for fans of White Lies and Crocodiles we’ve got some fresh pictures from their UK show at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire earlier this month, courtesy of Alessandro...
Follow us on
twitter here