Idlewild

Roddy Woomble- Vocals
Rod Jones- Guitar
Allan Stewart- Guitar
Gavin Fox- Bass
Colin Newton- Drums

They met as they sat on the windowsill at an Edinburgh student party. Woomble and Newton talked all night about their shared tastes in music. With the help of Rod Jones and the drafting in of their mate Phil Scanlon, Idlewild was born and continued to play everywhere from the swankiest US TV shows, to shanty Mexican restaurants.

The band began to play gigs around Edinburgh in 1996. Their sound buzzed locally and caught the ear of Nick Watson, owner of the Human Condition record label. They agreed to sign and used their student loans to help finance the production of their seven inch record.

February 1997 saw Scanlon quit the band. Friend Bob Fairfoull takes his place. The band are noticed by DJ Steve Lamacq who was desperate to hear more of them. Before they know it, Idlewild are performing in London, being watched by DJ’s, record labels and music magazines.

Idlewild shared with Blur as they signed with Food Records/EMI. Their debut album, ‘Hope Is Important’ was released in 1998. They toured with Ash, Placebo, The Manic Street Preachers and visited Japan. They made an appearance on Top Of The Pops in 2000 and played alsongside REM and Echo And The Bunnymen.

‘100 Broken Windows’, their second album was given explosive hype in the US before it was even released. They played their song ‘Discouragement’ on The Late Show With David Letterman. That’s fame!

In 2002, Fairfoull quits and goes home to Edinburgh. Irish bass player Gavin Fox joins Idlewild for their remaining tours. 2003 saw the band tour the US and Australia, before taking a quick breather back in Scotland.

2005 anticipates a new album titled ‘Warnings/Promises’ that will be released on March 7.

Hope Is Important (1998)
100 Broken windows (2000)
The Remote Part (2002)