Forward Russia 'Give Me a Wall' album

You know the story. Group of friends get together in their hometown and form a band. Move to the big city to ‘make it big’. Become the buzz band of the moment. Sign to a major label. Record that big budget album. Hit the charts… Well, throw that story out the window. Here come ¡Forward, Russia! - smashing the template & re-writing the rulebook.

Part of the story is true. The punk foursome - siblings Katie and Whiskas, and friends Tom and Rob (who had played together in the Black Helicopters) – came together as ¡Forward, Russia! in their northern English hometown of Leeds. And yes, the band launched 2006 with their ‘Twelve’ single smashing into the British top-40 charts. The rest in-between – well, that’s a whole different tale.

This one is an upstart DIY story – more Fugazi than Razorlight – where the band stayed in their Leeds hometown – becoming an anchor in the burgeoning scene there. Forming their own label - Dance To The Radio – the band’s first release was a split single with their buddies This Et Al, with an early recording of ‘Nine’. ¡Forward, Russia! then proceeded to spend the next twelve months doing more gigs than anyone could think humanly possible – playing the length and breadth of the UK.

Their debut full length, ‘Give Me A Wall’ (produced by Paul Tipler) sees ¡Forward, Russia! fulfill the promise they have shown on their four sell-out UK singles to date. Having hit the UK charts in January with 'Twelve', they followed that with a repeat performance - the newly re-recorded version of ‘Nine’ hitting the top-40 in May – an unlikely candidate, with its angular punk rock intensity. The single was perfect lead in to the release of the album – set to be one of the most startling debuts of 2006.

‘Give Me A Wall’ is searing and energetic, a statement of intent. Anyone witnessing the band live (on their brief sneak attacks into the USA - playing SXSW, NYC, LA and SF) will have seen a sharpening of this sense of purpose. Confident and focused, the band have brought a thousand ideas together and produced an exuberant record that sets out their intentions.

With buzz building at a whip smart pace, it was only a matter of time before a partner was chosen for North America – Mute Records. A label itself that was spawned as a DIY exercise – a vehicle for the self-release of founder Daniel Miller’s single by the Normal – and with a reputation for legendary releases spanning punk rock to dance classics, and the most artist friendly of environments. So, rather than a signing, it became a partnership -. Mute becoming ¡Forward, Russia!'s home, ready to launch into action September 2006 with the release of ‘Give Me a Wall’. Direct and unwavering, it is an album that demonstrates that ¡Forward, Russia! live up to their potential - the knockout punch everyone was hoping for.

¡Forward, Russia! are:

Tom Woodhead– Voice, synth
Rob Canning– Bass
Katie Nicholls– Drums, shouts
Whiskas – Guitar, shouts

A Recent History….

June 2006
¡Forward, Russia! play selected dates in the US, including NY, the legendary Troubadour in LA and in San Francisco at Popscene – home to the city’s first shows by everyone from the Kaiser Chiefs to Bloc Party.

During their first trip to NYC ¡Forward, Russia! headline a sold-out show at NYC's esteemed Mercury Lounge. A feat in itself, but in this case even more impressive as the band was up against two of the hottest tickets in NYC that month - Radiohead and Arctic Monkeys. The show garners raving reviews from every top blogger on the street.

May 2006
'Give Me A Wall' smashes onto the UK charts realizing the promise of their Paul Tipler produced UK singles, ‘Twelve’ and ‘Nine’. Both singles entered the UK charts in the top-40.

‘Give Me A Wall’ receives glowing reviews in the press:
NME - 8 out of 10
The Guardian - 4 out of 5
Rocksound - Album of the month
Hot Press - 9 out of 10

BBC One airs a half-hour ¡Forward, Russia! radio documentary. The special follows the band for a year from the first jaunt with Editors in July 2005 through to the recent NME tour.

And before…

2006

The year starts with bang on Jan 3rd with a Zane Lowe session at Maida Vale and ¡Forward, Russia! being tipped to be one of the bands for the year ahead by listeners and Radio One.

The Single Launch for ‘Twelve’ at Leeds University on Jan 14th is hosted by band friend and champion Steve Lamacq.

The video for ‘Twelve’ hits the NME/MTV Top-Ten Chart, in the esteemed company of Queens of the Stone Age, The Strokes, Editors, Arctic Monkeys, Hard-Fi and Arcade Fire.

The band plays the NME Brats show at the London Astoria with Elbow and Duke Spirit on February 21st. The month also sees the release of the Dance To The Radio compilation ‘What We All Want’, featuring ‘Two.’ ¡Forward, Russia! then headline a Dance To The Radio tour in February/March before heading to South By South West in Texas to play 4 buzz shows, including the NME BBQ (with Dirty Pretty Things & the Longcut), a much coveted slot on the Fader Party, and an official showcase with We Are Scientists and Be Your Own Pet. Dates in LA follow at Spaceland & Hollywood hipster hangout Cinespace. With a huge mailing list and internet fan base, tickets for shows are selling as soon as they are announced and the band’s distinctive exclamation mark t-shirts are being spotted in many places, including Editors' performance on Top of The Pops.

After storming SXSW the band tour the UK and Ireland with We Are Scientists in April and then embark on another headline tour to celebrate the re-release of ‘Nine.’ The video once again hits the NME/MTV2 UK top-ten chart.

With another Top-40 single under their belt ¡Forward Russia! hit the road on the NME Tour with Boy Kill Boy, The Long Blondes and the Automatic, before heading back to the US in June 2006. Their follow-up single, ‘Eighteen,’ released in the UK July 24th, entered the mainstream UK charts in the top-40 and hit #1 on the UK indie charts the week of release. Their debut album ‘Give Me a Wall’ is scheduled for release on Mute North America September 2006.

2005

A series of limited edition releases causes a stir at Radio One and NME, ‘Nine’ is released on Dance To The Radio Records (run by guitarist Whiskas) in April 2005 and in August ‘Thirteen’ sells out on release, after being featured on Lamacq Live, Zane Lowe and XFM. While on tour with Editors in July/August 05, the bands forge a strong bond.

"¡Forward, Russia! rule and ‘Thirteen’ is one of this year’s best singles. They scare me into wanting to dance! Katie baked us an incredible sponge cake when we went on tour with them." – Tom Smith from Editors (NME bands to watch - Leeds/Reading Festival feature)

¡Forward, Russia! storm TruckFest and Leeds/Reading Festivals and tour from July right through to the end of 2005 becoming “the hardest working band in the UK” (Radio One). Their diverse sound and energetic live show has them touring with the likes of The Bravery, Duke Spirit, Editors, Wolfmother and Oceansize before heading out on their own headline dates.

Stars of the year's In The City Festival in October, the band plays two shows, including Lamacq Live on Radio One with Nine Black Alps and Arctic Monkeys. Legendary music impresario Seymour Stein reportedly cites them as the best live band of the week, while Steve Lamacq says, “I’ve seen this band more than any other this year, they are one of my favourite new groups.”

After extensive UK radio play and a double page NME Radar feature, the band’s 35-date headline tour sells out and the stage invasions sometimes get out of hand. The Leeds and London shows have to be stopped a number of times to either get the audience back into the pit or to rescue Tom, who has a habit of jumping off the stage and into the crowd!

Hundreds of fans come from all over UK to be in the video for ‘Twelve’ at The Cockpit in Leeds. ¡Forward, Russia! (and fans) go straight from the video shoot to take up an invitation to play with The Subways at Blank Canvas in Leeds. The video also features a cameo from Howard Marks. Watch it here "http://www.documentuk.com"

At the end of November, NME makes ‘Twelve’ a Single of the Week and feature Whiskas on their annual Cool List. ‘Thirteen’ is included on the Cool List cover mount CD. While the magazine features the video for 'Twelve' as a Hot New One, broadcasting a Behind the Video feature a week later. MTV UK playlist ‘Twelve’ with heavy rotation right through December into 2006.

And the explanation of those song titles? “We had been calling the first four songs ‘One’, ‘Two’, ‘Three’ and ‘Four’ and then it stuck!” said Tom, explaining how it all started in an interview on Radio One.

¡Pay attention, now!

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Forward Russia - Give Me a Wall