Maxïmo Park was created by guitarist Duncan Lloyd, bassist Archis Tiku, Lukas Wooler on keyboads and drummer Tom English, and is named after Máximo Gómez Park (also known as Domino Park), located in Little Havana, Miami. Initially, the four founding members played several small shows, including Manchester's In the City, which showcases unsigned bands in the UK, but by 2003 they decided they wanted a frontman, as the original singers, Archis and Duncan, wanted to focus on writing the songs. The then-girlfriend of English noticed his friend Paul Smith singing along to Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition', and offered him the job even though they didn't know if he could sing, as they were impressed by his stage presence. Around March 2004, a friend funded 300 copies of a 7" red vinyl single 'Graffiti', which was recorded by Lloyd in his and English's flat in Fenham, Newcastle. The band's second release was a 7" single of their songs 'The Coast Is Always Changing' and 'The Night I Lost My Head', recorded by Paul Epworth.
After some time of doing gigs around their home town, Steve Beckett of the dance-electronic label Warp Records acquired one of these records and decided to sign the band to his label. In 2005, Maxïmo Park released their debut album, 'A Certain Trigger', which sold over 300,000 copies and was nominated for the Mercury Prize in July. In December 2006, the band were brought to Shanghai by Split Works and were one of the earlier big-name acts from abroad to play in China. In August 2006, the band announced that work had started on their next album, which was produced by Gil Norton and recorded at Rak Studios in London. In March 2007 they released the dingle 'Our Velocity' as a taster for the 'Our Earthly Pleasures' album, which followed in April. In October 2008, the band announced that they had started recording their third album in Los Angeles with the producer Nick Launay, known for his recent work with Nick Cave and Grinderman. 'Quicken The Heart' was released on 11 May 2009, with the first single, 'The Kids Are Sick Again' being released a week earlier.
That same year the also contributed a cover version of Vincent Gallo's 'When' to the 'Warp20 (Recreated)' compilation, as well as having their own song 'Acrobat' covered by Seefeel. On 28 March 2012, Maxïmo Park announced the fourth album title as 'The National Health', with Smith explaining "We're in a global recession and everyone is being bombarded with bouncy, happy music. The nation is out of control and the record is about taking back control, and being a force for change in your own life". It was released in June 2012, and two month later it was announced that bassist Tiku would be taking time away from touring, to be covered by Paul Rafferty of Hot Club de Paris. The band's fifth album, 'Too Much Information', was released on 3 February 2014, being recorded by Lloyd and produced by the group, with additional production by The Invisible's Dave Okumu on the track 'Brain Cells'.
Recording originally started as a 5-track EP in Sunderland, with help from Field Music's David and Peter Brewis, before turning into a fully formed album with the extra tracks recorded in the band's studio in Newcastle.
In January 2017, the band released the title track of their next album as a single, with 'Risk To Exist' debuting on BBC 6 Music's Steve Lamacq Show. They later confirmed via Twitter that Tiku had officially retired, and his live replecement, Paul Rafferty, would play on 'Risk To Exist', although he would not be an official member of the band. In November 2018, keyboardist Wooller announced his imminent departure from the band in order to emigrate to Australia, and he was replaced by touring keyboardist Jemma Freese, converting the official line-up of the band into a trio. In September 2020, the band shared a new single, 'Child Of The Flatlands', followed a month later by 'Baby, Sleep', and then in November a third single 'I Don't Know What I'm Doing', and the 'Nature Always Wins' album was released worldwide on 26 February 2021. It was expected to become their first number one album in the UK, after debuting in that position in the midweek chart, but when the chart was announced on 5 March 2021, it debuted at number two, losing out to Architects' 'For Those That Wish to Exist'. The band released their eighth studio album, 'Stream Of Life', in September 2024, with four singles being taken from it in the run-up to its release. Maxïmo Park are currently promoting the 20th anniversary re-issue of 'A Certain Trigger', and so it's the perfect time to round up all their non-album b-sides for this collection of hard to find music from the band.
Track listing
Disc I - 2004-2007
01 My Life In Reverse (b-side of 'Apply Some Pressure' 2004)
02 I Want You To Leave (b-side of 'Apply Some Pressure' 2004)
03 Fear Of Falling (b-side of 'Apply Some Pressure' 2004)
04 Isolation (b-side of 'Apply Some Pressure' 2004)
05 Trial And Error (b-side of 'Graffiti' 2005)
06 Hammer Horror (b-side of 'Graffiti' 2005)
07 Stray Talk (b-side of 'Graffiti' 2005)
08 A19 (b-side of 'Going Missing' 2005)
09 A Year Of Doubt (b-side of 'Going Missing' 2005)
10 La Quinta (b-side of 'I Want You To Stay' 2005)
11 I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) (Radio 1 Live Version) (b-side of 'Books From Boxes' 2007)
12 Obstinate Ideas (b-side of 'Books From Boxes' 2007)
13 Don McPhee (b-side of 'Books From Boxes' 2007)
14 Distance Makes (b-side of 'Our Velocity' 2007)
15 Mary O'Brien (b-side of 'Our Velocity' 2007)
16 Pride Before A Fall (b-side of 'Our Velocity' 2007)
17 Robert Altman (b-side of 'Our Velocity' 2007)
Disc II - 2007-2009
01 An Unknown (b-side of 'Girls Who Play Guitars' 2007)
02 Sandblasted And Set Free (Instrumental Demo) (b-side of 'Girls Who Play Guitars' 2007)
03 Warehouse (b-side of 'Girls Who Play Guitars' 2007)
04 (I Remember) Joe Brainard (b-side of 'Girls Who Play Guitars' 2007)
05 Jean Baudrillard (b-side of 'Karaoke Plays' 2007)
06 Jonathan Cole (Take 1) (b-side of 'Karaoke Plays' 2007)
07 George Brown (b-side of 'Karaoke Plays' 2007)
08 Like I Love You (b-side of 'Karaoke Plays' 2007)
09 Russian Dolls (b-side of 'The Kids Are Sick Again' 2009)
10 Tales Of The Semi-Detached (b-side of 'The Kids Are Sick Again' 2009)
11 History Books (b-side of 'The Kids Are Sick Again' 2009)
12 When (from the 'Warp20 (Recreated)' compilation 2009)
13 That Beating Heart (b-side of 'Questing Not Coasting' 2009)
14 Too Many Letters (b-side of 'Questing Not Coasting' 2009)
15 (Join A Society For) The Destruction Of The Twentieth Century (b-side of 'Questing Not
Coasting' 2009)
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