Biography
Amsterdam were formed on Merseyside in 1999, and the following year won an NME competition to find the best unsigned band of 2000. They were also among the winners at the prestigious music business event In the City. Amsterdam appeared on an EMI compilation album, Mersey Boys and Liverpool Girls, alongside Paul McCartney and other Liverpool musicians. They performed sell out shows in Liverpool and London to critical acclaim, and played three tracks on Janice Long's BBC Radio 2 show.
Elvis Costello invited the band to play with him live on BBC TV's Jonathan Ross Show to promote his new single. This was followed by opening for Costello in Amsterdam and at the Kings Arena in Liverpool, on his world tour. Amsterdam also made the last-ever John Peel Festive Fifty with "Does This Train Stop on Merseyside?".
Following the recruitment of new bassist Paul Hagan, the band signed to London-based indie label Beat Crazy Records, and recorded their debut album, The Journey. The first single, "The Journey" / "Stop Knocking the Walls Down", reached #32 in the UK Singles Chart in January 2005. The follow-up "Does This Train Stop on Merseyside?" also hit the chart in June 2005, to be followed by the album release. The third single, "Takin' On The World", was playlisted on BBC Radio 2 and many other stations.
The band announced on the 14 June 2006 that they had parted company with the record label, Beat Crazy. A live album, 1,2,3,4 was released, featuring fifteen live tracks, and a studio album Arm In Arm was released on 17 March 2008.
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