The Enemy

The Enemy biography

The Enemy (The Enemy UK in the United States) are an English indie rock band formed in Coventry in 2006). The band's debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns (2007) went straight to Number 1 in the UK Albums chart on release. Their second album Music for the People (2008) went to Number 2 on the UK Albums chart.

History

Formation and Early Recordings (2006-2007)

Drummer Liam Watts and bass player Andy Hopkins originate from Coventry, while frontman and multi-instrumentalist Tom Clarke is originally from Birmingham, later moving to Coventry. Clarke and Hopkins attended Finham Park Secondary School in the city, while Watts studied at Cardinal Newman secondary school.

The Enemy met their original manager, John Dawkins, because Watts' aunt worked with one of Dawkins' family members. Dawkins asked producer Matt Terry to do him a favor and give the band cheap studio time. Terry then produced their first set of three songs: 'Heart Attack', 'Had Enough' and '40 Days and 40 Nights'. Dawkins then forwarded the demos to David Bianchi at A&R Warner.

In 2006 the band were the opening act at Coventry's Godiva Festival, an event they would play for the next 2 years, making their way to the headline slot.

They first gained acclaim when they were mentioned in NME as the act most likely to "break your windows" for 2007. They supported Oasis, The Fratellis, Kasabian, The Paddingtons, Ash, Manic Street Preachers and Stereophonics on their UK tours.

In June 2007, The Enemy played twice at Glastonbury Festival, first in the 'Guardian Lounge' on Saturday and then the much larger 'Other Stage' on Sunday. They also headlined on the Saturday night of T in the Park in the 'Futures' tent on 7 July 2007.

Their single, "Away From Here" entered the charts at number 8 and its follow-up "Had Enough" entered the charts at number 4. Building on their rapid exposure, The Enemy appeared on the NME 2007 Rock 'N' Roll Riot Tour during September and October 2007 along with Lethal Bizzle and The Wombats as well as the Jersey Live Festival. They also supported The Rolling Stones on the last night of their European tour at the O2 Arena.

In September 2007, Alex Zane, presenter of the Xfm Breakfast Show broadcast a statement declaring that the band would not be played on his show again. After playing their single "You're Not Alone" for seven seconds, he reasoned that altercations between himself and the band over a television interview meant that they would no longer be played by him. However, during the Xfm Review of 2008, the presenters Sunta Templeton and Matt Dyson commented on the band and Zane making up.

"Aggro" is featured in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour. 'Pressure' was used to advertise the third series of The Sarah Jane Adventures, a popular children's drama produced by the BBC. 'We'll Live and Die In These Towns' was used in the advert for KitKat during the 2010 World cup.

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