Idlewild formed in December 1995 in Edinburgh, Scotland when a 19-year-old Roddy Woomble met drummer Colin Newton at a party. The two discovered that they had much in common, including similar musical interests and record collections, and by the end of the night they had discussed forming a band together. On the same night, the two were introduced to guitarist Rod Jones and the three kept in contact afterwards, meeting up to listen to music. The trio were soon writing songs together, and as they needed a bassist, they brought in Phil Scanlon into the fold as he owned ones. They named themselves Idlewild, after the quiet meeting place in 'Anne Of Green Gables', and after playing their first show in early 1996, they srated gigging around Edinburgh throughout the course of the year. By May the band had over twenty songs written, and so they entered Split Level Studios to record some of them, with the resulting tape earning the band many bookings at various venues around Scotland, including Glasgow. Scanlon decided to leave the band in February 1997 to concentrate on his studies, so Woomble asked Bob Fairfoull to replace the departing bassist, and this new line-up recorded the band's debut single 'Queen Of The Troubled Teens, which was released on 17 March 1997, and built upon the chaotic reputation of their shows. It was supported by BBC Radio Scotland DJ Peter Easton, and influential Radio One DJ Steve Lamacq, who was so impressed with the track 'Self Healer' that he asked on air if anyone knew anything about the band, and that they should contact him.
In the summer of 1997, Idlewild played their first London shows which were attended by the likes of Lamacq, and representatives from Deceptive Records, and they were later asked to record a single for Fierce Panda, and to record an EP/mini-album with Deceptive Records. In October 1997, the band spent six days with producer Paul Tipler in South London, and the result was 'Captain', which the band describes as "an innocent, frank nugget of noise pop magic". After the release of the 'Chandelier' single, the band signed a deal with Food Records/EMI in December 1887, and the following year was when the public became actively aware of Idlewild, who kicked off the year with their first UK tour, supporting the band Midget. The release of 'Captain', on 18 January, received positive reviews in the NME, Melody Maker and Kerrang!, and in February the band re-entered the studio, again with Paul Tipler, to record their first full-length album for Food Records. Two singles were released before the album's release, 'A Film For The Future' and 'Everyone Says You're So Fragile', and alongside notable appearances at summer festivals the helped expand the group's fanbase. October marked the arrival of their debut album 'Hope Is Important', which was followed by tours supporting Ash, Placebo and Manic Street Preachers.
Idlewild eventually returned to Edinburgh in 1999 to begin writing new songs, and contacted engineer Bob Weston, who recorded six songs with them in London. These songs held a more aggressive, emptier sound than those previously, and the band were pleased with the results, although they remained unsure of their direction. During the summer they were invited to play at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, which was a momentous day for Scottish history. They soon returned to the studio with producer Dave Eringa and recorded 'Little Discourage' and 'Roseability', and being happy with the results they continued to record what would become their second full-length album, '100 Broken Windows'. In March the following year the band released 'Actually It's Darkness', and embarked on their biggest UK tour to date, where it was noticeable that their sound had evolved from simplistic punk-rock to a more mature sound resembling R.E.M., Echo & the Bunnymen, and The Smiths. When it was released in 1999, '100 Broken Windows' reached silver status in the UK and the band went on tour in Europe and North America. As 2001 began, they re-entered the studio, this time with producer Stephen Street, to record songs written in the last half of 2000. In the meantime '100 Broken Windows' was released in America in April, and received other rave reviews in the American press.
Eventually moving up to the highlands of Scotland, they began writing and demoing songs for the follow-up to '100 Broken Windows', and the remainder of the year was spent recording and mixing the new album in various locations with producer Dave Eringa. The first single from the album, 'You Held The World In Your Arms', entered the UK Singles Chart at number nine, and marked the band's biggest hit to date. On its release in 2002, 'The Remote Part' entered the album charts at number three, and was considered a record of considerable depth, as well as one of the most melodic records of the year. The album went gold in the UK and a third single, 'Live In A Hiding Place', was released as the band embarked upon a four-month European tour in September. In October 2002, Idlewild officially announced the departure of Fairfoull due to "personal problems", with him having become increasingly distant from the band, and his drinking habits were having a negative impact on his bass playing. On 20 November, Idlewild unveiled Gavin Fox of the Irish band Turn as their new bassist, with touring guitarist Allan Stewart also becoming a permanent member of the group. 2002 was Idlewild's most successful year, with 'The Remote Part' entering many 'Best Of The Year' lists, and after its US release in March 2003, the band embarked upon a cross-continent, nine-week headline tour, playing their biggest US shows in New York City and Los Angeles.
As 2004 began, Idlewild spent the first four months of the year writing and demoing new songs up in the Scottish Highlands, and in Roddy's flat in London, and they then flew out to Los Angeles and spent the next three months recording and mixing the new songs. They finished the record in October 2004 in New York, and after living with the album for a few months, they titled it 'Warnings/Promises' at the end of the year. The first single appeared in February, and 'Love Steals Us From Loneliness' became Idlewild's fourth Top 20 hit, with the album following two weeks later, and debuting in the UK Top Ten. In November, the band announced that they had parted ways with their record company Parlophone after being with them for eight years, leaving them without a record deal, but at the same time denying rumours that they were breaking up. The year ended with a Christmas show at Barrowlands, a famed Glasgow venue and the band's "spiritual home", after which Fox left the band, with Woomble citing his reluctance to be in a touring rock band. The band then spent many months writing new material, which was recorded with producer Dave Eringa in their rehearsal room, and the resultant album 'Make Another World' was released on 5 March 2007 by 1960s label Sequel, which was reactivated by music group Sanctuary. The band continued to play more gigs while working on their next album, and after a new song, 'City Hall', appeared in a setlist, the band entered the studio in January 2009 for more recording.
On 21 November the band sent an email to fans on the mailing list offering them a chance to pre-order the new album, and those who did would have their name appear in the CD booklet and on a roll call on the band's official website. 'Post Electric Blues' was eventually mailed out on 10 June 2009, two months later than fans had expected, and it was officially released in October, preceded by the single 'Readers & Writers'. In April 2010, Woomble announced that the band would enter a hiatus following the band's tour in support of 'Post Electric Blues', and would not be writing and recording any new material. This lasted until September 2013, by which point Gareth Russell and Allan Stewart had left to be replaced by multi-instrumentalist Luciano Rossi, and they started recording a new album in January 2014, with 'Everything Ever Written' being released in February 2015. Idlewild continue to tour and record new music, with their last album 'Interview Music' appearing in 2019, but their most productive period was the decade between 1997 and 2007, during which time they released over 40 non-album tracks on the b-sides of their singles. This post collects them all together in one place, showing their progression from the edgy and angular sound of their early material, to the sweeping, melodic rock that was displayed on 'The Remote Part' and 'Warnings/Promises'.
Track listing
Disc I - 1997-1999
01 Queen Of The Troubled Teens (single 1997)
02 Faster (b-side of 'Queen Of The Troubled Teens')
03 Chandelier (single 1997)
04 I Want To Be A Writer b-side of 'Chandelier')
05 House Alone b-side of 'Satan Polaroid' 1998)
06 Mince Showercap (Part 1) (b-side of 'A Film For The Future' 1998)
07 What Am I Going To Do? (b-side of 'A Film For The Future' 1998)
08 Mince Showercap (Part 2) (b-side of 'Everyone Saya You're So Fragile' 1998)
09 Theory Of Achievement (b-side of 'Everyone Saya You're So Fragile' 1998)
10 Mince Showercap (Part 3) (b-side of 'I'm A Message' 1998)
11 This Is Worse (b-side of 'I'm A Message' 1998)
12 (1903-70) (b-side of 'When I Argue I See Shapes' 1999)
13 Palace Flophouse (b-side of 'When I Argue I See Shapes' 1999)
14 Chandelier (10.15 Version) (b-side of 'When I Argue I See Shapes' 1999)
15 A Tone (b-side of 'Little Discourage' 1999)
16 Broken Windows (b-side of 'Little Discourage' 1999)
17 You Don't Have The Heart (b-side of 'Little Discourage' 1999)
18 1990 Nightime (b-side of 'Little Discourage' 1999)
Disc II - 2000-2002
01 Meet Me At The Harbour (b-side of 'Actually It's Darkness' 2000)
02 West Haven (b-side of 'Actually It's Darkness' 2000)
03 Forgot To Follow (b-side of 'Actually It's Darkness' 2000)
04 It'll Take A Long Time (b-side of 'Actually It's Darkness' 2000)
05 There's Glory In Your Story (b-side of 'These Wooden Ideas' 2000)
06 When The Ship Comes In (b-side of 'These Wooden Ideas' 2000)
07 Rescue (b-side of 'These Wooden Ideas' 2000)
08 Thousand (b-side of 'Roseability' 2000)
09 I've Only Just Begun (b-side of 'Roseability' 2000)
10 A Distant History (b-side of 'You Held The World In Your Arms' 2002)
11 I Was Made To Think It (b-side of 'You Held The World In Your Arms' 2002)
12 All This Information (b-side of 'You Held The World In Your Arms' 2002)
13 No Generation (b-side of 'You Held The World In Your Arms' 2002)
Disc III - 2002-2007
01 Poor Thing (b-side of 'American English' 2002)
02 These Are Just Years (b-side of 'American English' 2002)
03 The Nothing I Know (b-side of 'American English' 2002)
04 We Always Have To Impress (b-side of 'American English' 2002)
05 Great Times Wasted (b-side of 'Live In A Hiding Place' 2002)
06 Everything Flows (b-side of 'Live In A Hiding Place' 2002)
07 I Found That Essence Rare (b-side of 'Live In A Hiding Place' 2002)
08 Hold On To Your Breath (b-side of 'Love Steals Us From Loneliness' 2005)
09 Pleasure And Pain (b-side of 'I Understand It' 2005)
10 The Work We Never Do (b-side of 'I Understand It' 2005)
11 The Bronze Medal (b-side of 'El Capitan' 2005)
12 Winter Is Blue (b-side of 'El Capitan' 2005)
13 Lookin' For A Love (b-side of 'No Emotion' 2007)
14 Hidden Ways (b-side of 'No Emotion' 2007)
