History
In 2002, Queen Katherine School students Hayden Thorpe and Ben Little formed the duo Fauve, the French term for "wild beast", and began writing songs. In January 2004, drummer Chris "Bert" Talbot and bassist Gareth "Gaz" Bullock, joined and the band's name became Wild Beasts. The quartet recorded their eponymous demo EP in June 2004. In September 2005, the band relocated to Leeds and Tom Fleming replaced Bullock full-time bassist. They played their first Leeds gig at Trash (formerly The Mixing Tin). The new quartet recorded two further demo EPs, Esprit De Corps and All Men.
Wild Beasts signed to Bad Sneakers Records in August 2006. They recorded a live session of three tracks in November 2006 for Marc Riley's Brain Surgery on BBC Radio 6 Music. Bad Sneakers released "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants" on 20 November. With Hayden's "enormous falsetto voice, which soars over chiming guitars", the single was placed at number 17 in the UK indie chart.
In February 2007, Wild Beasts signed to Domino Records. A second single was released on Bad Sneakers Records in April 2007, "Through Dark Night". In May 2007, music magazine NME listed Wild Beasts as one of ten bands "tipped for the top". Wild Beasts' debut album Limbo, Panto, described as "shocking, funny, and above all irrevocable", was released on 16 June 2008, with "The Devil's Crayon" single following on 30 June.
The band's second album Two Dancers was released in August 2009 and was widely acclaimed; it featured in many end of year best albums lists for 2009. It was nominated for the 2010 Mercury Prize. Wild Beasts' third studio album, entitled Smother, was released in May 2011. The band subsequently announced the addition of touring band member Katie Harkin from Sky Larkin. They won the 2011 London Awards for Art and Performance.
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