black rebel motorcycle club

Biography

BRMC, as they are known for short, formed in 1998, taking their name from Marlon Brando's motorcycle gang in the film The Wild One (1953).

On their first two records they played hard-driving punkish rock influenced by Iggy Pop And The Stooges, The Ramones, The Doors, Sex Pistols, and 1980s British acts like Spacemen 3 and especially The Jesus & Mary Chain. Their style also encompassed slower paced psychedelic dreamy grooves influenced by shoegazers like My Bloody Valentine and Ride. Recently, with their third record Howl, they developed a new sound somewhere between blues, folk, gospel and rock, but still with their old melancholy.

The vocals are shared between Robert Levon Been (Bass) and Peter Hayes (guitar). Been and Hayes met at high-school in San Francisco and quickly formed a band, writing music and playing together. Looking for a drummer, they met Nick Jago, who hailed from Cornwall in England, who had moved to California to be with his parents. Been used the pseudonym 'Robert Turner' on the first two records, in an attempt to not be linked to his famous father (Michael Been of The Call.) He later dropped this identity when promoting Howl.

The band were originally under the name 'The Elements' but after discovering that another band had the same name, they swiftly changed to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

Caught up in the hype of the Music-press fuelled 'New Rock Revolution' which included The Strokes and Kings of Leon in 2001 to 2003, the band quickly separated themselves from the others in both sound and image. Their second album 'Take them on, on your own' has several songs such as 'Generation' and 'US Government' that make attacks on the United States and in particular George Bush that were echoed by Green Day the next year.

After conflict with the label, the band were dropped by Virgin Records in 2004, with Nick Jago leaving the band at the end of their summer tour of the same year due to 'internal conflict' (later revealed to be a drink and drug addiction problem) .

After Jago was thrown out, Hayes and Been posted at the Official Website that the doors are open for him to come back if he has solved his problems. Hayes and Been then regrouped and recorded their third album. Several of the songs on 'Howl' are said to have been written long before the idea of the BRMC was concepted.

In 2005 the band signed to Echo in the UK, and RCA in the US, with Jago also returning. Their third album Howl was recently released to widespread critical acclaim. Jago returned after most of the album was recorded but plays on Track 7, "Promise".

They have confirmed that they have begun recording their New "Yet-To-Be-Titled" 4th album, which should be released in early 2007.

Possible influences of the band include the "beat" poet generation, particularly Allen Ginsberg. This is evident in the title of their latest album, "Howl", which is the namesake of Ginsberg's most celebrated work.

Members

• Peter Hayes: guitar, bass, vocals
• Robert Levon Been: guitar, bass, vocals
• Nick Jago: drums/percussion

Discography

Albums

• B.R.M.C. (April 2001) UK #25
• Take Them On, On Your Own (August 2003) US #47, UK #3
• Howl (August 2005) US #90, UK #14, #33 AUS
• New Album "Untitled" (Early 2007)

Singles

• "Red Eyes and Tears" (February 2001)
• "Rifles" (March 2001)
• "Screaming Gun" EP (October 2001)
• "Whatever Happened to My Rock'N'Roll" (Punk Song) (October 2001)
• "Love Burns" (January 2002) UK #37
• "Spread Your Love" (May 2002) UK #27
• "Whatever Happened to My Rock'N'Roll" (Punk Song) (September 2002) UK #46
• "Stop" (August 2003) UK #19
• "We're All in Love" (November 2003) UK #45
• "Ain't No Easy Way" (August 2005) UK #21
• "Weight of the World" (TBD 2006)

External links

• Official Website
• BRMC Forum
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club UK
• fansite - Down Here
• Rebels with a Cause fansite
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Fansite
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Lyrics
• Interview with 3:AM Magazine
• Interview with FHM
• Review of Howl
• Fabchannel.com - Free video stream of a concert at Melkweg, Amsterdam (2005)
• Interview by Alexander Laurence