Biography
Bearsuit first came to public attention following their championing by Radio 1 DJ John Peel, and their debut single "Hey Charlie, Hey Chuck" was voted number four in the Peel programme's Festive Fifty of 2001. They recorded four Peel Sessions in 2001 and 2002 and their single "Chargr" was number two in the first Festive Fifty after Peel's death.
Since their full-length album ‘oh:io’ in 2007, the band have undergone a dramatic line-up change, swapped violins, flutes and horns for dirty synths and fierce guitars, notched-up their sound, brought in big time producer Gareth Parton (The Go! Team, Pete and the Pirates, Foals, The Breeders) and recorded a perfectly off-the-wall pop masterpiece – ‘The Phantom Forest’ (released in 2011).
'Please Don’t Take Him Back' was the debut single from the album (released in October 2010) on the UK label Fortuna Pop!, home to The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Crystal Stilts. As well as being playlisted on BBC 6 Music, the track received airplay on Radio 1 and XFM, and was reviewed in NME, Vice, Artrocker, Clash Magazine, and many more online.
A free download single 'A Train Wreck' was released in December followed by 'When Will I Be Queen' in March. The band toured the UK in March/April, followed by a European Tour in July.
As well as touring extensively in the UK, the band have toured the US, and played various festivals including Latitude, Bestival, The Great Escape and Offset, as well as several abroad including SXSW, Emmaboda (Sweden), Primavera (Spain), Contempopranea (Spain) and CMJ in New York, where they were voted ‘Best Breakthrough Act’ in a New York Times poll of badge-holders and received shining reviews, including Pitchfork.
The band have also supported the likes of Crystal Castles, Melt Banana, You Say Party, Future of the Left, Factory Floor and Hot Chip.
They have previously released records on Fantastic Plastic Records (Ash, Ikara Colt, Futureheads, The Guillemots), Happy Happy Birthday To Me (US) (Bunnygrunt, Lovely Eggs, Hotpants Romance) and Micro Indie (US) (Sodastream, The Universe, The Icicles).
Bearsuit have been championed by BBC radio DJs including John Peel, Steve Lamacq, Huw Stephens, Zane Lowe, Rob Da Bank, Phill Jupitus, Marc Riley, Tom Ravenscroft, Tom Robinson, Colin Murray, Gideon Coe and John Kennedy on XFM.
Accolades include scooping 'Vinyl of the Week' in the NME, 'Pick of the Week' in The Guardian, and 'Album of the Fortnight' in Artrocker.
Charlene and Joe of Bearsuit also play in Tell Me How. Members have previously played in the Polyphonic Spree, Cruiser Chimps, Evader, Keytarded, Hyper Kinako, The Bavarian Rocket Group, Velvia and The Aprons.
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