In 1992 vocalist and guitarist Grant Nicholas, drummer Jon Lee and bassist Simon Blight, three of the four members of Raindancer, formed Reel, following the departure of that band's other member, guitarist John Canham. However, Blight left Reel later in 1992, and the band played with many session bassists before hiring Taka Hirose in 1994 and re-establishing themselves as Feeder. In 1994 the band sent a demo tape to The Echo Records label, and after sending an employee to see the band play live, they offered the group a record contract. In 1995, Feeder recorded their first EP, 'Two Colours', which was limited to 1,500 CDs and 1,000 7" vinyl singles, and the band sold copies at gigs. In February 1996 Kerrang! and Edge gave away a promo tape the band made with producer Chris Sheldon, called 'Two Tracker', featuring two songs destined for Feeder's debut album. In July, they released their first commercially available release, 'Swim', and following their first appearance at the Reading festival in August, they released their first single, 'Stereo World' two months later. Feeder's debut album, 'Polythene', was released in May 1997, and it was acclaimed by critics, including Metal Hammer and Kerrang!, who placed the album at first and sixth in their respective end-of-year lists. They would go on to release three further singles from 'Polythene', with 'High' becoming their breakthrough single, charting at No. 24.
In March 1999, Feeder returned with a new single, 'Day In Day Out', which charted at No. 31, while 'Insomnia' hit No. 22 and earned them an appearance on Top of the Pops. Their second album, 'Yesterday Went Too Soon', was released in August 1999, charting at an unexpected No. 8 in the UK Albums chart. The UK music press warmed to the record, making Melody Maker's Album of the Week, and in November, they released a final single from it, with a re-recorded version of 'Paperfaces'. Feeder spent most of 2000 writing and recording for their next album, previewing new material at festivals around the country, and the 'Buck Rogers' single would become the band's first top 5 entry in the singles chart. After a sell-out tour of two legs ending at the London Astoria, the album 'Echo Park' entered at number five in the UK album charts, although the response it received on a critical level was mixed. The album saw the band adopt a more 'commercial' sound, also incorporating synthesizers, and lyrically it contains both a comedic approach, as with 'Seven Days In The Sun', and dark emotions, such as those shown on 'Turn', 'Oxygen', and 'Satellite News'. In July 2001, Feeder's EP 'Swim' was re-released with extra tracks, being a selection of b-sides from their earlier singles, alongside the videos for the Polythene singles 'Crash' and 'Cement'.
In January 2002 tragedy hit the band when Jon Lee died at home in Miami, and the band kept out of the public eye for most of the year. It was during this time that lead-singer Grant Nicholas wrote a series of songs relating to their emotions and reactions to Lee's death, which formed their fourth album 'Comfort In Sound'. The album focused mainly on themes such as loss, depression, grief and positivity, while dedicating 'Quickfade' to Lee, and it was released in October 2002, to widespread critical acclaim in the British music press. Musically, 'Comfort In Sound' is mellower than Feeder's previous albums, with the use of a string orchestra on 'Forget About Tomorrow', while other tracks also used an accordion, trumpet, and a piano played by their manager Matt Page. The band were later invited to support Coldplay on their UK and Europeean tour, due to their frontman Chris Martin often saying how much he liked the 'Comfort In Sound' album and their live shows. Feeder received their only nomination to date at The BRIT Awards in 2004, in which they appeared in the "Best British Rock" category, before making their only appearance in the charts that year as part of Bob Geldof's Band Aid 20 charity ensemble. Feeder returned to the studio to record their fifth album 'Pushing The Senses', which Nicholas described as an extension to 'Comfort In Sound', as it focused on the same lyrical themes and musical styles.
When it was released in 2004 it became the band's highest-charting release, reaching number two on the UK album chart, but again the press response was mixed, with Kerrang! being brutal towards the band for all of their review. After a headline slot at 2005's Download Festival, they supported U2 for a brief period on their Vertigo Tour, then played at the Live 8 concert in Edinburgh. However, on 3 December 2005 they were forced to postpone a winter tour, after Nicholas picked up bleeds on his vocal cords the night before during a gig in Brighton, causing the show to be abandoned. After he'd recovered, Feeder returned to the studio to record three new tracks to appear on their then forthcoming singles collection, which came out in 2006. They spent most of 2007 recording, with the resulting album 'Silent Cry' being released on 16 June 2008, and 'Miss You' from the album was given away by the band's official website as a free download in April, gaining over 8,000 downloads on its first day of release. Shortly after the album was released, the band recorded a cover of Public Image Ltd's 1978 self-titled single 'Public Image', for the 'Independents Day' compilation, celebrating independently released music. The second single from 'Silent Cry' was Feeder's first download-only single, consisting of 'Tracing Lines' and the album's title track, but this failed to make the charts, and it was from this point that the band stopped adding otherwise unavailable tracks to their singles, as they had no 'b-side'.
In October 2008 the band's bus caught fire on the M62 motorway whilst travelling between Glasgow and Lincoln, destroying it and the crew's personal items. It was also announced by Chrysalis later on in the year, that Echo had been restructured into a copyright exploitation company, in which its main duty is maintaining the copyright on existing releases, while no longer releasing any new records or signing any more artists. As a result, Feeder no longer had a record contract in their own country, while still being signed to their Japanese label Victor and Play it Again Sam as their European label. After ending their tour at the Portsmouth Pyramids Centre, a six track EP titled 'Seven Sleepers' was released in Japan, which included a collection of b-sides from the 'Silent Cry' album. Over the next 15 years Feeder released a further six albums, mostly on their new label Big Teeth Music Ltd, and their most recent release was 'Black/Red' album, their first double album, which came out on 5 April 2024. Between 1997 and 2012, Feeder accumulated 25 top 75 singles, and they've headlined many of the UK's major venues, such as Wembley Arena, Birmingham National Indoor Arena, Birmingham LG Arena, Bournemouth International Centre and the Cardiff International Arena. They are also one of Wales' most popular rock bands, and so for fans who might have missed some of their more hard to find recordings, here is a 5-disc set of all their non-album b-sides and EP tracks up to the time when streaming and downloads took over.
Track listing
Disc I - 1995-1997
01 Chicken On A Bone (from the 'Two Colours' EP 1995)
02 Pictures Of Pain (from the 'Two Colours' EP 1995)
03 Change (b-side of 'Stereo World' 1996)
04 World Asleep (b-side of 'Stereo World' 1996)
05 Swim (single 1996)
06 Sweet 16 (b-side of 'Swim')
07 W.I.T. (b-side of 'Swim')
08 Shade (b-side of 'Swim')
09 TV Me (b-side of 'Tangerine' 1997)
10 Elegy (b-side of 'Tangerine' 1997)
11 Rhubard (b-side of 'Tangerine' 1997)
12 Rain (b-side of 'Tangerine' 1997)
13 Forgiven (b-side of 'Cement' 1997)
14 Rush (live) (b-side of 'Cement' 1997)
Disc II - 1997-1999
01 Here In The Bubble (b-side of 'Crash' 1997)
02 Undivided (b-side of 'Crash' 1997)
03 High (single 1997)
04 Wishing For The Sun (b-side of 'High')
05 Women In Towels (b-side of 'High')
06 Eclipse (b-side of 'Suffocate' 1998)
07 Cockroach (b-side of 'Suffocate' 1998)
08 Spill (b-side of 'Suffocate' 1998)
09 I Need A Buzz (b-side of 'Day In Day Out' 1999)
10 Don't Bring Me Down (b-side of 'Day In Day Out' 1999)
11 Can't Dance To Disco (b-side of 'Day In Day Out' 1999)
12 Honeyfuzz (b-side of 'Day In Day Out' 1999)
13 Space Age Hero (b-side of 'Insomnia' 1999)
14 Living In Polaroid (b-side of 'Insomnia' 1999)
15 Divebomb (b-side of 'Insomnia' 1999)
16 Fly (b-side of 'Insomnia' 1999)
Disc III - 1999-2001
01 Getting To Know You Well (b-side of 'Yesterday Went Too Soon' 1999)
02 Tomorrow Shine (b-side of 'Yesterday Went Too Soon' 1999)
03 Rubberband (b-side of 'Yesterday Went Too Soon' 1999)
04 Slider (b-side of 'Yesterday Went Too Soon' 1999)
05 Oxidize (b-side of 'Yesterday Went Too Soon' 1999)
06 Whooey (b-side of 'Paperfaces' 1999)
07 Crash Mat (b-side of 'Paperfaces' 1999)
08 Purple (b-side of 'Buck Rogers' 2001)
09 Heads (b-side of 'Buck Rogers' 2001)
10 We The Electronic (b-side of 'Buck Rogers' 2001)
11 21st Century Meltdown (b-side of 'Buck Rogers' 2001)
12 Reminders (b-side of 'Seven Days In The Sun' 2001)
13 Forever Glow (b-side of 'Seven Days In The Sun' 2001)
14 Home For Summer (b-side of 'Seven Days In The Sun' 2001)
Disc IV - 2001-2003
01 Come Back Around (b-side of 'Turn' 2001)
02 Bring It Home (b-side of 'Turn' 2001)
03 Bad Hair Day (b-side of 'Turn' 2001)
04 Just A Day (single 2001)
05 Emily (b-side of 'Just A Day')
06 Slowburn (b-side of 'Just A Day')
07 Can't Stand Losing You (b-side of 'Just A Day')
08 Feel It Again (b-side of 'Come Back Around' 2002)
09 Bullet (b-side of 'Come Back Around' 2002)
10 Opaque (b-side of 'Come Back Around' 2002)
11 Broken (b-side of 'Just The Way I'm Feeling' 2003)
12 The Power Of Love (b-side of 'Just The Way I'm Feeling' 2003)
13 Redemption (b-side of 'Just The Way I'm Feeling' 2003)
14 Lose The Fear (b-side pf 'Forget About Tomorrow' 2003)
15 Bring It Together (b-side pf 'Forget About Tomorrow' 2003)
16 Remember The Silence (b-side of 'Find The Colour' 2003)
17 Circles (b-side of 'Find The Colour' 2003)
Disc V - 2005-2008
01 Shatter (b-side of 'Tumble And Fall' 2005)
02 Victoria (b-side of 'Tumble And Fall' 2005)
03 Bruised (b-side of 'Feeling A Moment' 2005)
04 Murmer (b-side of 'Feeling A Moment' 2005)
05 I For You (b-side of 'Pushing The Senses' 2005)
06 Crowd Of Stars (b-side of 'Pushing The Senses' 2005)
07 Feel It Again (b-side of 'Pushing The Senses' 2005)
08 Eclipse (b-side of 'Pushing The Senses' 2005)
09 Shatter (New Version) (single 2005)
10 Everybody Hurts (b-side of 'Shatter (New Version)')
11 Lost And Found (single 2006)
12 High 5 (b-side of 'Lost And Found')
13 Save Us (single 2006)
14 Purify (b-side of 'Save Us')
15 Calling Out For Days (b-side of 'We Are The People' 2008)
16 Somewhere To Call Your Own (b-side of 'We Are The People' 2008)
17 Public Image (from the 'Independents Day' compilation 2008)
