Welsh singer
Andy Bell
|
---|
Bell performing in March 2011
|
|
Birth name
| Andrew Piran Bell
|
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Born
| (
1970-08-11
)
11 August 1970
(age 53)
Cardiff
, Wales
|
---|
Origin
| Oxford
, England
|
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Genres
| |
---|
Occupation(s)
| - Singer
- songwriter
- musician
- record producer
- DJ
|
---|
Instrument(s)
| - Guitar
- vocals
- bass
- keyboards
|
---|
Years active
| 1988?present
|
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Labels
| |
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Musical artist
Andrew Piran Bell
(born 11 August 1970) is a Welsh singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and DJ. He is one of two vocalists and guitarists of the English rock band
Ride
, and was formerly the bassist of
Oasis
from 1999 until their breakup in 2009. Bell was also a member of
Hurricane #1
as well as
Liam Gallagher
's post-Oasis project
Beady Eye
until their breakup in 2014.
With Ride, Bell helped pioneer
shoegaze
, an
alternative rock
subgenre which reached its peak popularity in the early 1990s.
[1]
[2]
[3]
Bell also wrote one song or more on each of Oasis' final three albums.
Career
[
edit
]
Ride
[
edit
]
Bell formed
Ride
with
Mark Gardener
(guitarist), whom he met at
Cheney School
in
Oxford
and Laurence Colbert (drummer) and Steve Queralt (bassist), whom he met doing Foundation Studies in Art and Design at Banbury in 1988. While still at Banbury the band produced a tape demo including the tracks "Chelsea Girl" and "Drive Blind". In February 1989, Ride were asked to stand in for a cancelled student union gig at
Oxford Polytechnic
(now
Oxford Brookes University
) that brought them to the attention of
Alan McGee
. After supporting The Soup Dragons in 1989 McGee then signed them to
Creation Records
which is a key event in Bell's life.
With Ride, Bell released three
EPs
between January and September 1990, entitled
Ride
,
Play
and
Fall
. While the EPs achieved
a degree of chart success per release
, enough critical praise was received to make Ride the darlings of music journalists. The first two EPs were eventually released together as
Smile
in 1992, while the
Fall
EP was later incorporated into CD releases of their debut LP,
Nowhere
, released in October 1990, which was hailed as a critical success, with the media dubbing Ride "the brightest hope" for 1991. On
Nowhere
, Bell contributed "Seagull", "Kaleidoscope", "In a Different Place", Polar Bear", "Dreams Burn Down", "Paralysed", and "Vapour Trail".
There was a rumour in early 1991 that
Robert Smith
(
The Cure
) refused to appear in the Great British Music Weekend concert unless Ride were also in the list of acts playing. Ride did appear along with
The Wedding Present
, Carter USM and The Cure.
Nowhere
was followed in March 1992 with
Going Blank Again
. The twin rhythm guitars of Bell and Gardener, both distorted, both using wah-wah pedals and both feeding back on each other was seen as the highlight of the album's critical and chart success. On
Going Blank Again
, Bell contributed "Not Fazed", "Chrome Waves", "Time Of Her Time", "Cool Your Boots" and "Making Judy Smile".
Despite having a solid fanbase and some mainstream success, the lack of a breakthrough contributed to intra-band tension, especially between Gardener and Bell. Their third LP,
Carnival of Light
, was released in 1994, after shoegazing had given way to
Britpop
. On
Carnival of Light
, Bell contributed "Birdman", "Crown Of Creation", "Endless Road", "Magical Spring", "Rolling Thunder" and "I Don't Know Where It Comes From". The band were joined at Creation Records by Oasis, who shot to fame in 1994 with their debut
Definitely Maybe
. As label mates, Bell was an early fan of the band and became friendly with the Gallagher brothers.
1995 saw the dissolution of the band while recording their fourth album,
Tarantula
, due to creative and personal tensions between the two guitarists. Bell penned several of the songs for the album, one of which ? "Castle on the Hill" ? has been interpreted as a lament for the band's situation. Additionally, Bell contributed "Black Nite Crash", "Sunshine / Nowhere To Run", "Dead Man", "Walk On Water", "Mary Anne", "The Dawn Patrol", "Burnin", and "Starlight Motel". Upon release of the album, it was announced that it would be
deleted
after one week.
Since the break-up, both Bell and Gardener have been more reflective on the reasons why the group disintegrated, with Bell especially admitting his own part in the process.
[
citation needed
]
In 2014 it was announced that Ride had re-formed and tour for eight months throughout in Europe and North America in 2015.
[4]
This took in two headline shows at Primavera Sound and London’s Field Day. November 2016 brought further news many Ride fans have been anticipating: there would be a new album in 2017. Producer and DJ Erol Alkan broke the news on Twitter that he had been in the studio with the band, with their first album in 20 years released in Summer 2017. 'Weather Diaries', Ride's fifth studio album, was released on 16 June 2017 on Wichita Recordings.
[5]
In August 2019, Ride released their sixth studio album,
This Is Not a Safe Place
, which reached number 7 in the UK charts. The release has been supported with a world tour.
[
citation needed
]
. While performing supporting Noel Gallagher in Taunton, Somerset in August 2023, the band confirmed that work on its latest album had been completed, with a release date yet to be decided.
Hurricane #1
[
edit
]
Bell returned in 1997 with
Hurricane #1
, another Creation signing. Inspired by Oasis, Bell had drafted in a more gutsy singer, Alex Lowe, who would sing the songs Bell wrote for him. The same year, they released their first album, also called
Hurricane #1
. Their first single, "Step into My World", reached number 29 in the UK charts (a re-mix reached number 19 that year), and other less successful singles "Just Another Illusion" and "Chain Reaction". Their second album,
Only the Strongest Will Survive
, was released in 1998 and the title track was released as a single reaching number 19. Notably, this album contains the only Hurricane #1 song not written by Bell, "What Do I Know?", which was written by Alex Lowe.
Hurricane #1 drew attention for their similarity to Oasis. Bell himself said "Hurricane No. 1 is not so much influenced by Oasis, it's inspired by Oasis". Their albums did not sell well in comparison to Ride. In 1999, it was reported in the music press that Bell would be touring as guitarist with the band Gay Dad. But this never happened because Bell had by that time been asked to join Oasis.
Oasis
[
edit
]
During 1999
[6]
with
Hurricane #1
on hiatus, Bell moved from
Oxford
to live with his wife and daughter in
Sweden
. Bell was invited to join
Oasis
because they were looking for replacements for founding members
Bonehead
and
Guigsy
. At the last minute Bell had to learn to play bass as well as the entire Oasis catalogue before his first Oasis gig.
While with Oasis, Bell regularly made songwriting contributions to the band. On
Heathen Chemistry
, Bell wrote the song "A Quick Peep". His song "Thank You For the Good Times" was featured as the B-side of "
Stop Crying Your Heart Out
" from the same album. On
Don't Believe The Truth
, he wrote "Turn Up the Sun" (which also opened every live show on that Oasis tour) and "Keep the Dream Alive". On
Dig Out Your Soul
, he wrote "The Nature of Reality".
Beady Eye
[
edit
]
Noel Gallagher
quit Oasis in August 2009, following an argument with
his brother
. Following the end of Oasis, Bell and the other former members formed
Beady Eye
. Bell changed from playing bass to guitar, his main instrument before joining Oasis, both live and in the studio for the band. Beady Eye's debut album
Different Gear, Still Speeding
contains four songs written by Bell: "Four Letter Word", "Millionaire", "Kill for a Dream", and "The Beat Goes On". Bell also contributed "World Outside My Room", the B-side of "Four Letter Word".
Bell played guitar and keyboards and provided backing vocals on Beady Eye's second album, 2013's
BE
. It contained three songs written by Bell: "Face the Crowd", "Soon Come Tomorrow", and "I'm just Saying", and also co-wrote "Flick of the Finger". He also contributed "Dreaming of Some Space" to the B-side of "Second Bite of the Apple". Beady Eye disbanded in October 2014.
[7]
Production work
[
edit
]
In addition to being a songwriter and musician, Bell has for a number of years actively been involved in record production. He receives co-production credit for both albums recorded by Hurricane #1, namely the eponymous
Hurricane #1
and
Only The Strongest Will Survive
.
[8]
During late 1995, after the sessions for
Tarantula
were completed but prior to the official announcement of Ride's break-up, Bell undertook production duties on
Britpop
band
The Kynd
's debut single "Egotripper", which was released in October 1996.
[9]
Bell also undertook production duties for the fifth studio album
Fear & Love
by
Swedish
band
Weeping Willows
,
[10]
released in 2007. Weeping Willows draws upon early
Roy Orbison
and
The Smiths
as their main influences. On
Fear & Love
, Bell brought some English
folk music
influences, and some 1960s styled
British Invasion
sounds. The album was more or less recorded live in the studio, by playing the songs until the band got them right with minimal digital post-production. Weeping Willows prior two albums relied on extensive post-production and remix styled studio techniques. Reaching number 2 in the Swedish charts, Scandinavian music critics have given
Fear & Love
a warm welcome and compared some songs to
The Coral
,
The Verve
,
Talk Talk
and Oasis.
Solo activities and projects
[
edit
]
Bell has been good friends with Magnus Carlson, the lead singer in
Weeping Willows
, and together they have embarked on some musical projects. Bell and Carlsson were resident DJs at Swedish
club
, Bangers 'n' Mash
[11]
during the mid-noughties. Bell also undertakes occasional DJ sets in UK clubs, for example, "This Feeling" nightclub in London.
[12]
In 2003, Bell collaborated with the
Stockholm
based Irish-Swedish
electronica
/
acid house
duo, DK7, by providing guitar on the tracks "Heart Like a Demon" and "White Shadow" for their
Disarmed
album.
[
citation needed
]
During the autumn of 2006 Carlson and Bell teamed up with
Janne Schaffer
and performed at an event dedicated to the late 1970s singer-songwriter,
Ted Gardestad
. In addition to his role as producer, Bell played a number of instruments on eight of the twelve tracks on the 2007 album
Fear & Love
by Weeping Willows, ranging from
glockenspiel
and piano to guitar. He has also performed solo gigs at smaller Swedish summer festivals including the 2006 'Fest-i-val' in
Umea
Sweden.
[13]
[14]
[15]
On May 10, 2007, Bell played the bass on "
Arnold Layne
" with
Pink Floyd
regulars
David Gilmour
,
Richard Wright
,
Nick Mason
and
Jon Carin
at The Madcap’s Last Laugh, a tribute concert to Pink Floyd's recently deceased founding member,
Syd Barrett
, at Barbican Hall in London.
[16]
In July 2007, Bell appeared with friend and former fellow Ride member
Mark Gardener
onstage with Californian rock band
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
at the Oxford "Truck" Music Festival
[17]
On 19 December 2007, Bell joined Weeping Willows on stage for an event called "An Evening With Weeping Willows at Chinateatern" He lined up with other prominent guests such as
The Soundtrack of Our Lives
'
Martin Hederos
,
Echo & the Bunnymen
vocalist
Ian McCulloch
and
Jens Lekman
.
[18]
Bell has worked with Swedish band
The Most
on various recordings and contributed guitars and vocals on the song "Now I Feel" from the EP
Moderation in Moderation
(a title suggested by Bell).
[
citation needed
]
He stated on several occasions his intention to record and release a solo album.
[19]
He said, "I will get around to it, it's just waiting for the songs to turn up that suit my voice. I've got one so far, give me about five years and I'll have an album's worth."
[20]
During 2008, Bell collaborated with British-American
electronica
group
SPC ECO
on the track "Silver Clouds", on which he plays an electronic
sitar
drone machine and an old custom
dulcimer
, as well as devising the song's lyrics. The song was made available in 2009 as a bonus track to the Japanese edition of SPC ECO's album
3-D
.
[21]
In 2009 he released his first solo recording under the Grapefruit name, an instrumental track also entitled "Grapefruit" which he contributed to the
One by One: KZK
Adidas
Originals by Originals
compilation album, a Japan only release via
Sony Music
.
[22]
[23]
[24]
Bell released his first solo single "Plastic Bag" on 23 October 2019 on 7 inch clear vinyl as a subscription for the Sonic Cathedral Singles Club.
[25]
"Plastic Bag" and its B-side "The Commune", were reissued digitally on 10 July 2020.
[26]
His second solo single, and the first single from his debut solo album, was "Love Comes in Waves" and was released on 11 August 2020.
[27]
Bell released his debut studio album,
The View from Half Way Down
on 9 October 2020.
[28]
[29]
In 2022, Bell released a new album,
Flicker
, released as both single-CD and double-LP.
[30]
In 2023 Bell became part of a
supergroup
Mantra of the Cosmos with
Shaun Ryder
,
Zak Starkey
and
Bez
releasing their debut single "Gorilla Guerilla" in June ahead of a performance at the
Glastonbury Festival
.
[31]
Scoring and soundtracks
[
edit
]
In 2015, Bell scored the short film
Midnight of My Life
and worked as a producer on Dave Galafassi's track "Hello Halo"; it was performed by actress
Toni Collette
on the soundtrack to the romantic comedy film
Miss You Already
.
Personal life
[
edit
]
Bell was previously married to Swedish singer
Idha Ovelius
.
[32]
They have two children, a daughter, Leia, and a son, Leon. He currently resides in
London
and has been married to Shiarra, a label rep from
Universal Music Group
, since 2010. Together, they have two children, a daughter born in 2012 and a son born in 2014.
[33]
Discography
[
edit
]
Studio albums
[
edit
]
Title
|
EP details
|
Untitled Film Stills
|
- Released: November 2022
[36]
- Type: covers
|
Singles
[
edit
]
Other appearances
[
edit
]
Year
|
Title
|
Album
|
2021
|
"Tories in Jail"
(as GLOK)
|
Time at the Vortex EP
[38]
|
Compilation albums
[
edit
]
Year
|
Title
|
Notes
|
2019
|
Dissident
(as GLOK)
|
released and unreleased songs
[39]
|
2023
|
Strange Loops & Outer Psych
|
acoustic versions, remixes, covers of songs that inspired
Flicker
album
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Adrian (9 April 2021).
"We Just Have to Change the Speed: Andy Bell Interview"
.
Concrete Islands
. Retrieved
10 September
2022
.
- ^
"Ride's Andy Bell: Addicted to Noise"
.
Premier Guitar
. 8 February 2016
. Retrieved
10 September
2022
.
- ^
Raggett, Ned (9 May 2015).
"An interview with Ride's Andy Bell"
.
Fact Magazine
. Retrieved
10 September
2022
.
- ^
"Ride Reunite, Announce World Tour"
. Pitchfork.com. 18 November 2014
. Retrieved
18 November
2014
.
- ^
"Ride Announce New Album Weather Diaries, Share New "Charm Assault" Video: Watch"
.
Pitchfork.com
. 23 March 2017
. Retrieved
6 May
2020
.
- ^
[1]
Archived
21 August 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Liam Gallagher says Beady Eye are 'no longer'
- ^
Hurricane #1 & Only The Strongest Will Survive album sleevenotes.
- ^
UK.
"the kynd | Gratis muziek, tourneedata, foto's, video's"
. Myspace.com
. Retrieved
1 July
2011
.
- ^
Discography section of weepingwillows.nu
- ^
"andy bell (Bangers 'n' Mash) op Myspace"
. Myspace.com
. Retrieved
1 July
2011
.
- ^
"Oasis man set to DJ in London"
. Nme.com. 27 September 2007
. Retrieved
28 February
2012
.
- ^
"Official Fest-i-val 2006 MySpace site"
. Myspace.com
. Retrieved
28 February
2012
.
- ^
"Oasis Fansite news report of Andy Bell's appearance at Fest-i-val including photos and setlist"
. Stopcryingyourheartoutnews.blogspot.com. 14 August 2006
. Retrieved
28 February
2012
.
- ^
"Youtube footage of Andy Bell & Mark Gardener on stage with BJM"
. Youtube.com. 29 June 2008.
Archived
from the original on 22 December 2021
. Retrieved
28 February
2012
.
- ^
"Youtube footage of Andy Bell on stage with Pink Floyd"
. Youtube.com. 25 December 2019.
Archived
from the original on 22 December 2021
. Retrieved
24 April
2020
.
- ^
"News Report with photos"
. Stopcryingyourheartoutnews.blogspot.com. 23 July 2007
. Retrieved
28 February
2012
.
- ^
"Weeping Willows w Ian Mcculloch ? Winner takes it all"
. YouTube. 6 January 2008.
Archived
from the original on 22 December 2021
. Retrieved
1 July
2011
.
- ^
[2]
Archived
27 October 2007 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
[3]
Archived
12 November 2007 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"SPCECO* - 3-D"
.
Discogs
. Retrieved
15 October
2016
.
- ^
"One by One | kzk soundtrack from adidas Originals by Originals"
. Onebyone-kzk.com.
Archived
from the original on 15 July 2011
. Retrieved
1 July
2011
.
- ^
"Sony Music Online Japan : コンピレ?ション : One by One kzk soundtrack from adidas originals by originals"
. Sonymusic.co.jp. 25 February 2009
. Retrieved
1 July
2011
.
- ^
Ride News Update Mailing List E-mail 2009
- ^
"Andy Bell to release debut solo single"
.
Ride Archive
. 13 October 2019
. Retrieved
18 October
2020
.
- ^
"Plastic Bag - Single by Andy Bell"
.
Apple Music
. Retrieved
18 October
2020
.
- ^
"Love Comes In Waves | Andy Bell"
.
Bandcamp
. Retrieved
18 October
2020
.
- ^
"The View From Halfway Down, by Andy Bell"
.
Andy Bell
. Retrieved
15 October
2020
.
- ^
"Andy Bell - The View From Halfway Down"
.
Clash Magazine
. 5 October 2020
. Retrieved
15 October
2020
.
- ^
Interviews, Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews &; Murray, Robin (11 January 2022).
"Andy Bell Announces New Album 'Flicker'
"
.
Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews
. Retrieved
23 February
2023
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
"Mantra of The Cosmos unveil Gorilla Guerilla single and trippy animated video"
.
Radio X
. Retrieved
21 June
2023
.
- ^
Q Magazine, October 2008
- ^
Loughrey-Grant, Taragh (8 March 2011).
"Liam Gallagher & Beady Eye Interview"
.
RTE TEN's
. Archived from
the original
on 13 March 2011
. Retrieved
29 March
2011
.
- ^
"Andy Bell of Ride Announces New Album Pattern Recognition for September 2021 Release Under the Alias GLOK -"
.
mxdwn Music
. 4 July 2021
. Retrieved
9 September
2021
.
- ^
"Pattern Recognition | GLOK"
.
Bandcamp
. Retrieved
14 October
2021
.
- ^
Andy BELL - Untitled Film Stills EP (covers) Vinyl at Juno Records.
, retrieved
26 November
2022
- ^
"Andy Bell (2) - Plastic Bag"
.
Discogs
. Retrieved
5 September
2021
.
- ^
"Time At The Vortex EP, by Various Artists"
.
The Gun Well St
. Retrieved
9 September
2021
.
- ^
"Dissident, by GLOK"
.
GLOK
. Retrieved
9 September
2021
.
External links
[
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]
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Studio albums
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Compilations
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Extended plays
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Singles
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Studio albums
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Compilation albums
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Live albums
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Demo albums
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Singles
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Other songs
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Video albums
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Tours
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Related groups
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Related articles
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Studio albums
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Singles
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Related groups
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Related articles
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- Carlo Mariani
- Lucas Mariani
- Chris Campbell
- Andy Bell
- Alex Lowe
- Gareth Farmer
- Will Pepper
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Studio albums
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Compilation albums
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Singles
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Related
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