Contempo - It's Kicking Off (2000)

Richard Archer is the lead vocalist, guitarist, principal songwriter and main composer of indie rock band Hard-Fi, but before that he was a member of Staines-based band Contempo, which formed in 1997 and lasted for three years. The line-up consisted of Richard Archer on vocals and guitar, his brother Steve on bass, Steve Friend on guitar, Dave Teape on keyboards, and Steve Cutts on drums. In 1998 Contempo's first release was a limited 7" vinyl single on the Blue Dog label, featuring the tracks 'On The Floor' and 'Stronger'. 'My One Way Out' followed in 1999, and in 2000 Mick Jones produced demos that were intended to be released as an album, but whose release was delayed and then eventually cancelled. In November 2000 Contempo announced they had left London Records after months of a mutually tense relationship, and they released the single 'U B Naughty' on their own label Nu-Suburban Sounds, following this in 2001 with the six-track EP 'This Is Contempo', which featured the ska song 'Ain't Going Out Tonight' in two versions. A bootleg CD has since appeared of the 2000 demos, featuring early versions of what would later become the Hard-Fi tracks 'Better Do Better', 'Can't Get Along (Without You)', 'Living For The Weekend', 'Move On Now' and 'Unnecessary Trouble'. When Archer asked his publishers for some money to record new songs that he had written, they terminated his contract instead, and so he went on to form Hard-Fi, and the rest is history. This collection from Contempo includes all their singles and b-sides, plus an original song from their demo tape than wasn't later repurposed by Hard-Fi.

Track listing

01 On The Floor (single 1998)

02 Stronger (b-side of 'On The Floor')

03 My One Way Out (single 1999)

04 Waiting So Long (b-side of 'My One Way Out')
05 Big Time Promotion Man (b-side of 'My One Way Out')

06 It's Kicking Off (single 2000)

07 Twilight Zone (b-side of 'It's Kicking Off')

08 Say It Again (b-side of 'It's Kicking Off')

09 U B Naughty (single 2000)

10 Ain't Going Out Tonight (from the 'This Is Contempo' EP 2000) 
11 My Flat By The Police Station (from the 'This Is Contempo' EP 2000) 
12 London's Burning (from the 'This Is Contempo' EP 2000) 
13 Energy (from the 2000 demo recordings)

Hard-Fi - Sick Of It All (2010)

Hard-Fi formed in 2003 in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, and consisted of Richard Archer (lead vocals and guitar), Ross Phillips (guitar and backing vocals), Kai Stephens (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Steve Kemp (drums and backing vocals). Archer had returned to his hometown of Staines, crushed by the lack of success of his former band Contempo, and by the death of his father from cancer. While Archer was making demos to produce an album, he went into the Staines hi-fi shop where Ross Phillips worked, simply so he could listen to his latest demos on the shop's better equipment. Philips apparently asked Archer who had played guitar on his demos and Archer said that it was himself. Phillips said it was "shit", and was therefore recruited to play guitar for the new group. Steve Kemp was already an old friend of Archer, while it took Kai Stephens little persuasion to leave his job as at Rentokil. The band were signed to newly formed independent label Necessary Records, and most of the album was recorded in a disused mini cab office, which cost them about £300, and is known to this day as the "Cherry Lips" Studio. 1,000 copies of this record were pressed, with only 500 going on public sale, and the initial plan was to sell 1000 each time. 

However, it quickly sold out, receiving critical acclaim and radio play, proving a lot more successful than the band had imagined. In 2004 the band were licensed to the major label Atlantic Records, and they were given the chance to re-record the album in the renowned Abbey Road Studios, but they went back to the cab office to maintain their sound. The band were one of the acts opening for Green Day on their two-day residency of the Milton Keynes Bowl in June 2005, having been booked as a last minute replacement for Simple Plan, who had cancelled only a few weeks before the show. The re-issue of the 'Stars Of CCTV' album re-entered the official UK album chart at No. 4 on 1 January 2006. two places higher than it originally went in on the week of its release, and it finally got to No. 1 on 22 January. The band's re-release of 'Cash Machine' entered the official Top 40 singles chart at No. 14 on 1 January, and 'Stars Of CCTV' was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize. The band expanded the Cherry Lips "studio", making more room for equipment after having searched fruitlessly for a space, and the first single from the new album was 'Suburban Knights', released on 20 August 2007. 

'Once Upon A Time In The West' was released two weeks later, and the album cover was an orange background with the album title at the top, and "NO COVER ART." written in large, white letters below, being described by art designer Peter Saville as "a 'White Album' for the digital culture". It went straight in at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, and received positive reviews, including five stars from The Observer Monthly, and four stars from Q Magazine. During the 2008 Christmas period, Hard-Fi  announced that they would be back in the new year with "a wicked new album", but by February 2011 only six of the eleven album tracks had been mixed. On 28 April, their latest single, 'Good For Nothing', was premiered on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show, and this was followed by 'Fire In The House' on 7 August, preceding the 'Killer Sounds' album by a couple of weeks. In March 2012, Archer told Gigwise that Hard-Fi were hoping to release their next album in a shorter interval than the four years between 'Once Upon A Time In The West' and 'Killer Sounds', although no estimated release date was set, and the next release from them was a greatest hits compilation album called 'Hard-Fi: Best of 2004–2014', which appeared on 27 January 2014. 

Although they had released no new music since 2011, Archer insisted that the band had not broken up, but were on a hiatus, and in April 2022, posters appeared in various London underground stations featuring the band's trademark yellow and black camera logo, with the text "London 01.10.22", suggesting the band will be playing their first live show since 2014, and following that gig at London's O2 Forum on 1 October, the band announced their first tour in eleven years, playing at venues across England and Scotland during October 2023. They've released their first new single since 2011, with 'Don’t Go Making Plans' coming out in November 2024, and they are still touring, even though they have little new music to promote, so with the recent 20th anniversary re-issue of 'Stars Of CCTV', it seems the perfect time to tidy up their discography with a collection of their rare b-sides and oddities. 

Track listing

01 Sick Of It All (b-side of 'Cash Machine' 2005)
02 Seven Nation Army (b-side of 'Cash Machine' 2005)
03 Peaches (Radio 1 Live Version) (b-side of 'Living For The Weekend' 2005)
04 Stronger (b-side of 'Hard To Beat' 2005)
05 Polish Love Song (b-side of 'Better Do Better' 2006)
06 The Money Song (Hard-Fi vs. Red Hot Chili Peppers vs. Flying Lizards vs. Abba vs. Jay-Z 2006)
07 You And Me (b-side of 'Suburban Knights' 2007)
08 These Four Walls And I (b-side of 'Can't Get Along (Without You) 2007)
09 Pain In My Heart (b-side of 'I Shall Ovecome' 2008)
10 Empty Streets (b-side of 'I Shall Ovecome' 2008)
11 1969 (from the '1969 Key To Change' charity album 2010)