Glasvegas

Glasvegas biography

Glasvegas is a Scottish indie rock band from Glasgow. The band consists of James Allan (vocals), Rab Allan (lead guitar), Paul Donoghue (bass guitar) and Jonna Löfgren (drums). The band received critical acclaim for their debut album Glasvegas which was released in September 2008, reaching No. 2 in the UK Album Charts and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in September 2009.

The NME declared, "If The Libertines defined the start of the decade and Arctic Monkeys its middle, then Glasvegas are almost certainly going to define its end and beyond." Their debut album went on to enjoy success in the UK (where it went Platinum) and in Sweden (where it went Gold). The impact of the band in the UK and success of their debut album did not go unnoticed in North America, which saw the band tour an unprecedented six times between October 2008 and September 2009. The band have mentioned on many occasions during interviews of their commitment to making the breakthrough in the USA and Canada.

On 14 December 2010, the band announced the appointment of a new drummer, Jonna Löfgren from Boden in Sweden.

Glasvegas's second album Euphoric Heartbreak was released on 4 April 2011 reaching No. 10 in the UK and No. 1 in Sweden. Despite the album receiving critical acclaim, sales were lower than their eponymous debut and just over six weeks later Columbia Records announced to the band they would be terminating their contract with them. The Indie Rock band and their major label officially parted company on 4 August 2011.

History

Formation and First Single (2003 - 2005)

The band was formed by cousins James Allan and Rab Allan in the summer of 2003 with Paul Donoghue and Ryan Ross on drums completing the line-up soon after. Local gigs in and around Glasgow were frequent and in May 2004 the band released a self financed limited edition double A-side single, "I'm Gonna Get Stabbed"/"Ina Lvs Rab" on CD. The single gained an early and positive review for Glasvegas from Rick Fulton of the Daily Record on 24 December 2004. The single (along with some early demos) gained (their first) radio airplay and favourable feedback from Jim Gellatly on his radio show 'Beatbreakers' in January 2005, which was broadcast on the now defunct Beat106FM. Although many make the obvious observation that the band name is a mix of Glasgow (where they are from) and Las Vegas (the world capital of entertainment), the band have made it clear many times that this was never the reason why the band called themselves Glasvegas. According to James (Allan) he liked the name Glasvegas as it rolled sweetly of the tongue. Another common mistake is that the band name is split into two words "Glas Vegas" (especially in the USA) which is incorrect. It has always been just one word...Glasvegas!

The Early Gigs & WaKS Records (2005 - 2006)

When (Ryan) Ross left in late 2004, the band went on a very brief hiatus until Caroline McKay was asked to join the group in early 2005. Although having never played drums before James asked her to be the drummer because she looked "cool". The band played most of their gigs in and around Scotland through 2005 and 2006 with Caroline performing basic drumming while the more intricate drum parts were taken care of by a drum sample machine on stage operated by Rab. As they played more and more gigs Caroline's skill level increased and the band became increasingly less reliant on the sample machine. It was in 2006 that the band first came to the attention of Alan McGee who saw them play third on the bill at the Glasgow venue King Tuts Wah Wah Hut. McGee was also accompanied that night by ex-Libertine Carl Barât who, on the strength of their performance, offered Glasvegas several support slots with his band Dirty Pretty Things throughout 2006.

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