The Courteeners

The Courteeners are an indie rock band formed in Manchester, England in 2006 by Liam Fray (guitar/vocals), Michael Campbell (drums/backing vocals), Daniel Conan Moores (Guitar), and Mark Cuppello (bass). All four band members hail from the Middleton area of Greater Manchester,[1] and have known each other since they were ten years old. They all attended Cardinal Langley RC High School in Middleton.

History

Formation and St. Jude

Whilst at the University of Salford (studying Creative Writing), Liam Fray went round bars performing acoustic sets as a singer-songwriter. After getting positive reactions from the crowd, Fray decided to leave University and form a band.[2] Liam first recruited long time friend Michael Campbell, who at the time had never played the drums before in his life. They continued to play under the name 'Liam Fray' until Conan Moores (Guitar) and Mark Cuppello (Bass) joined to form the entire band.[3] They had their first gig at the Manchester Roadhouse in October 2006, and quickly went from strength to strength within Manchester, largely through a word of mouth following brought on by extensive gigging and television publicity. The Courteeners released their debut single "Cavorting" on 6th August 2007 by Loog Records.[4] A second single, "Acrylic" was released on 22nd October 2007 reaching number 44 in the UK Chart.[5]

The Courteeners were approached by legendary producer Stephen Street of Smiths, Blur and Morrissey fame through their label Polydor about the posiblity of them working with each other and together they set about working on the Courteeners' debut album.[6] They first released the single, entitled "What Took You So Long?" on the 14th January 2008, the song reached #20 in the United Kingdom.[7] Debut album, St. Jude, was released on 4th April 2008 on Polydor Records. Then, the album itself reached the No.4 position in the UK Charts,[8] and has since gone on to achieve gold status. The album was preceded by the release of single "Not Nineteen Forever" on 31st March 2008,[9] entering at #19 and becoming their highest charting single to date. A fifth single, "No You Didn't, No You Don't" was released on 23rd June 2008.

Second Album

The Courteeners have completed eight or nine songs in preparation for their second album.[10] New single "That Kiss" was released on 6th October 2008, with Stephen Street once again taking producer duties,[11] it is unknown whether the single will appear on the second album.

Tracks that are expected to appear on the album include 'Three Months Off', the pre-Courteeners Liam Fray track 'Why Do You Do It?' and 'Revolver', described by Fray as a "long lost tale about being stabbed in the back".[12] Another new track that has been played live is 'Bojangles'.[13]

Praise

Morrissey

Morrissey has mentioned his love for the Courteeners on numerous occasions. After seeing the Courteeners in Camden, Morrissey played their song "What Took You So Long" on American radio station KRCW, where he heaped praise on the band saying that "Every song was very strong and full of hooks and full of dynamics and I thought, 'this is great' and that so many groups in England, they're hyped and they're huge and they're all over the press and they don't really actually have any songs, they don't really have anything to offer... but it's different with The Courteeners, they actually do have very good, strong songs." Morrissey added to his torrent of praise that "I think they will make it here [in the US] and I think you'll come across them."[14]

Equipment

Liam Fray has used a number of guitars in the past but the only one that has stayed throughout is his Cherry Red Epiphone Riviera, which he has had since he was a teenager. He has also used an Epiphone Casino and two different Fender Telecasters (one Nashville edition and another standard American Telecaster). Conan used to use a black Gibson Les Paul but has since progressed onto a range of Fender American Telecasters. Fray usually uses Fender amps whereas Conan uses Vox and Peavey amps.

Discography

Albums

• St. Jude - 7th April 2008 #4 UK

Ep's

• Here Come The Young Men - 16th January 2008 [Japan only]
• Live At Manchester Apollo - 10th October 2008 [7Digital download only]

Singles

Band members

• Liam Fray: vocals, guitars, songwriter.
• Daniel Conan Moores: Guitar.
• Michael Campbell: drums, backing vocals.
• Mark Cuppello: Bass

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