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Biography
The beginnings of White Lies were when Charles Cave and Jack Lawrence-Brown played together in a school performance, when they were originally called Fear of Flying. They were initially just a weekend project whilst being at school, but their following grew and grew, seeing the band land support slots on tours with The Maccabees and Jamie T. In August 2007, the band played the Underage Festival in Victoria Park. The band took a second gap year deciding to pursue the band full time, and changed their name to White Lies in October 2007. With the name change came a new level of maturity with generally darker songwriting.
With a new name and a new sound, the band played their first gig at Hoxton Square’s Bar & Kitchen on February 28th 2008 supporting Team Waterpolo and Semi Finalists. They soon began to capture the attention of record labels, and had many offers before signing to Fiction Records. The band earned themselves airplay on BBC Radio 1 when Zane Lowe named “Death” the ‘Hottest Record in the World’ on February 5th 2008. With their career beginning to snowball into something bigger by the day, they earned a headline slot on the BBC Introducing stage at Big Weekend 2008. In March 2008, they were announced as one of the four bands that would be taking part in the NME New Noise Tour. A couple of months later, they had their first performance on Later… With Jools Holland on May 30th 2008, on which they performed the songs “Unfinished Business” and “Death”.
Towards the end of 2008, the band embarked on a headline tour, which had six dates in the US. They released their debut album entitled “To Lose My Life” on January 12th 2009, and became the first British act in 2009 to achieve a number one album, which beat Lady Gaga, The Script and Kings of Leon to the number one spot. Later in 2009 the band travelled across the pond to build their following in the US. They played on Last Call with Carson Daly and the Late Show with David Letterman, the latter marking the band’s debut performance on US television. In the summer of 2009 they played Coachella and Lollapalooza.
“Ritual” was released on January 17th 2011 and became an international hit, making it to the top 20 in eight countries. It was later certified Silver by the BPI. “Big TV” was released on August 12th 2013 and made it to the top forty of six countries.
They are the recipients of three awards including a Q Award for ‘Best New Band’, a ‘MOJO Honors Lists: ‘MOJO Breakthrough Award’ and ‘Best Album Artwork’ for Big TV.
Live reviews
White Lies (formerly Fear of Flying) is the best English punk band ever! I'll admit part of the reason I have this opinion is I'm just crazy this band is because I adore Harry McVeigh, the lead singer and guitar player. McVeight is a talented musician and song writer and I was so happy when I heard White Lies would be playing near me.
I saw them at The New Parish in Oakland, California, in April of 2014. The New Parish was the perfect venue because it's small, quaint, and intimate. From the minute they hit the stage, they had the audience going. The played songs from all three of their albums, To Lose My Life..., Ritual, and Big TV. The audience was screaming and going crazy! The band made sure to keep their audience with them, talking to people, pointing at people, jumping up and down and whatever else it took to put on a good show.Their first song was one of my favorites, "First Time Caller." From there, it was non-stop entertainment, right through to the last song, "Unfinished Business." The show was so good that it almost seemed like being in one of their music videos - not a small feat considering how difficult it is to go from sounding good recorded to sounding good live.It was definitely a great show and I would love to see them again!
I came to the show with high expectations, since White Lies is one of my favorite bands. I really enjoy many of their songs and was expecting that they would be even better live. But honestly, they were worse. They only had a person playing piano, apart from the band members, and the result was worse versions of their songs. The singer Harry McVeigh seemed unsure, he was playing the wrong chord here and there and mostly his guitar didnt sound at all. The base player didnt show any charisma during the whole concert. The drummer was the only one who was really good. The others were trash honsetly. The whole concert just seemed unproffesional, they just played their songs poorly and nothing inbetween, no smooth transitions, just bad. Really bad. Im really dissapointed honestly.
jonas_strom
A year ago White Lies released a new album called Friends which happened to be incredibly important for me personally. It appeared in my life in the very right moment when I was seeking for some kind of consolation. But in the end I found not only it but also healing. My love for White Lies broke new ground and now there is no way back. Their songs literally penetrate in the darkest corners of my soul and fill the holes which seemed to be endless, bring everything together and answer the questions I have asked myself for a long time. Till yesterday waiting for the new album seemed to be unbearable but now I have the warmest memories about one of the best concerts of 2017 all due to the most wonderful Harry’s voice and his charming smile able to melt the coldest heart.
Svetuuuun
Probablemente una de las mejores bandas inglesas de la última década.
No necesitan de mucho despliegue tecnológico para volver loca a su audiencia, solo basta con la estupenda ejecución en directo que ofrecen y que los hace sonar incluso mejor en vivo que en sus álbumes.
Es un "must" para aquellos que gozan del rock con tintes de new wave.
Highlights del evento: "Farewell to the Fairground" y la multitud coreando al unísono el estribillo.
"First Time Caller" fue tocada luego de no haber sido interpretada en lo que va de la gira actual.
El cierre con "Come On" y la potente y contundente "Bigger Than Us."
FrankMcF
With a great light show emitting from the stage, an electronic sound and Harry McVeigh’s powerful vocals, White Lies delivered a faultless enjoyable show. They played a good blend of new songs from new album Friends (all very well received) and fan favourites all played at the right time keeping the audience thoroughly engaged singing along to every note.
With the sound they have, performances like this I am sure White Lies can sell out bigger venues than Stylus (Leeds university) and kick on again. They perform at Live at Leeds in April and I will be hoping to catch them again.
glossfella
The band played a tight set focusing on their latest release, Friends.
After opening with 'Take it out on Me' they roared through tracks from Friends and fan favorites from their entire catalog finishing with Bigger Than Us.
A keyboard player joined the trio to complete the often keyboard heavy sound. The bass and lively drumming held it all together with guitar adding a final layer.
Henry McVeigh was chatty and happy throughout the set, opting to stay onstage and run straight through 3 encore songs without the typical stage exit and return.
Definitely a band to see live.
johns_pint
A 6/10 from me . The recent tunes just don't seem to do it for me . Saw these guys at the Cluny starting out and glad to say they've been hugely successful . A lead guitarist is needed to fill out and expand their repertoire . Big TV , unfinished business , death - top tunes , couple of new ones shone out . Full crowd who gave the band a hearty reception and good applause for the 2 hour show. The Boiler shop is the best of the larger venues in Newcastle area - recommend all decent bands to play here over the shitty O2. Farewell ....to the fairground.
Bellchels
Hola chicos,
Magnifico el concierto que nos ofrecieron.
El sonido fue muy bueno y la comunión con el publico fantástica.
Estuvieron amables y pendientes del publico, sobre todo el cantante.
El ambiente era soberbio, con todo el mundo bailando y cantando las canciones al mismo tiempo.
El set-list, inmejorable, tocaron todos y cada uno de los temas que se esperaba de ellos.
No faltaron los temas importantes del ultimo disco, y las canciones mas importantes de su carrera.
Un gran concierto para recordar.
Saludos,
Juan Carlos Trinidad
ThePantom
ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!! A VERY EMOTUONALLY CHARGED EXPERIENCE!! STANDING FOUR FEET AWAY FROM THE BAND, LISTENING TO TRACKS RANGING FROM ALL FIVE ALBUMS, YELLING LYRICS TO WVERY SONG, PUNCHING FISTS IN THE AIR TO THE DRUMBEAT, AND DELICIOUS BASS!! THE CROWD SATURATED IN THEIR ADORATION OF MUSICALITY. INTIMATE, SOULFUL, TIMELESS, AND THE CRESCENDO OF THE FINAL SONG SET TEARS IN MOTION WHILE TRIPPING OVER THE LYRICS RETURNED BACK TO THE PASSIONATE PERFORMERS!! THANK YOU, I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS EXPERIENCE!! SO GLAD TO SEE THEM LIVE!! XXX
motionblurr
Saw this band at a wonderful club, the Music Box, in San Diego. The crowd was very appreciative of the band & the band responded. They played from their new CD and great backlist songs. Band has been around for over a decade and seem so comfortable with themselves. Great sound (vocals/instruments), solid work & steady. Everyone sang along and all had a great time. I'm an old fart but have all their cds and really love their sound. Absolutely recommend a hear at a local club near you.
ChipinNC
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