Hard-Fi
History
The band were signed to newly formed independent label, Necessary Records, owned by Warren Clarke. Originally recorded as a nine track mini-album in a disused mini cab office; it was then mixed in a variety of unusual acoustic environments - in bedrooms, in pubs, and in their producer, Wolsey White’s, BMW. 1000 copies of this record were pressed with only 500 going on public sale. It quickly sold, receiving critical acclaim and radio play.The band were then licensed to the Atlantic Records label (a major), where they were given the chance to re-record the album. The band went back to the cab office to maintain their sound.
Mainstream success
Their debut album’s launch party was scheduled to be July 7 2005 at Cheekees night club in Staines (where their top ten single “Hard to Beat” was filmed), however this was cancelled due to the ill health of Archer’s mother. Her death resulted in the band pulling out of the Glastonbury festival. The launch party was rescheduled for July 13 2005 and the venue changed to Ladbroke Grove, London.Hard-Fi gained increased prominence in the UK when Stars of CCTV was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize. [1] It split the vote with Antony and the Johnsons who received the final casting vote.Hard-Fi supported Green Day at their two massive gigs at Milton Keynes Bowl, England.After a successful marketing campaign by Atlantic, the Stars of CCTV album re-entered the official
Hard-Fi’s first full length tour of 2006 sold out in just 15 minutes calling for more dates to be added. They played London’s Brixton Academy from May 14 to May 18, making them one of the few bands to play five consecutive nights there. The other artists to do so were The Clash, Bob Dylan, Massive Attack and The Prodigy. However, they were the only band to do it off the back of their debut album.They were also joined on stage by Paul Weller to perform Town Called Malice and Stars of CCTV. Mick Jones, formerly of the band The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite also appeared with them doing E=MC². He had previously helped produce tracks by Richard Archer’s prior band, Contempo.They also have their own video podcast, which is known as ‘Hard-Fi: Rockin’ the City’, that can be downloaded from their official website. In the first episode the bandmates discuss how they formed, and the rise of their successful album Stars of CCTV. They also discuss becoming increasingly more recognised, playing huge gigs with Green Day at the Milton Keynes Bowl, their home-town of
Current recording sessions
Hard-Fi have built their own studio for the follow up to 2005’s massive-selling debut album ‘Stars of CCTV’.Having searched fruitlessly for a space, the Staines four-piece have retreated to their hometown for the record, which frontman Richard Archer describes as “darker” and “more expansive”.The new single, Suburban Knights, is due to be released on 20 August. The new single had its first play on 18 June 2007 at 19.20 (BST) on Radio 1. The new album Once Upon A Time In The West is scheduled for release on 3 September 2007. Other tracks stated to appear on the album include R&B swagger Can’t Get Along, the 70’s ska-inspired We Need Love, Help Me Please, a track written about the death of Richard’s mother, a big piano-driven number Tonight and I Shall Overcome which echoes an early The Clash.Hard-Fi played a packed out ’secret’ headlining slot on the Leftfield Stage on 23 June 2007 at
The album cover of Once Upon A Time In The West will have a plain yellow background with the album title at the top, and NO COVER ART written in large white letters below. Their artwork for their forthcoming single, Suburban Knights, will feature a plain black background, with, EXPENSIVE BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO OF BAND NOT AVAILABLE written on the front in yellow writing. “We wanted to break the rules,” Richard Archer said to NME recently. “We don’t need some airbrushed band shot just because it might be expected. Fuck that. This is about the music.” It has been slated as one of the worst of all time[2][3] however, top cover art designer Peter Saville has described it as “a ‘White Album’ for the digital culture.”
Members
Richard Archer is the group’s frontman as the lead singer and principal songwriter. He also plays guitar live occasionally. He is a music graduate from Kingston University. The influence of
Ross Phillips contributes guitar and backing vocals. He worked in a local hi-fi shop, in Staines where Archer would come to play his demos on the latest systems. After telling Archer his music was rubbish, Phillips was recruited to play lead guitar for the group.Kai Stephens plays bass and also sings backing vocals. He initially could not travel to the
