British pioneering indie rock band Razorlight announced the reunion of their classic line-up after a 10-year hiatus. The news came alongside the announcement of the band’s forthcoming ticketed live concert, airing as a streamed one-off TV performance on June 2nd. Purchase tickets here
The re-union will see members of their classic line-up: Johnny Borrell, Andy Burrows, Björn Ågren, and Carl Dalemo and will mark the first time the band have played live together in 10 years.
Speaking on the reunion, Andy Burrows said “It feels incredible. We’ve spent the past week or two rehearsing. Playing these songs has been an absolute joy. The emotions that were going through me when we started playing ‘America’, I forgot to play the first half of the song – it was totally nuts. It’s been amazing., It’s so powerful playing these old tunes. It’s very very special”.
Johnny adds “I’m really enjoying reconnecting with Andy and Carl, it’s like getting to know people again. I’m enjoying it because you never want to lose friends. It’s a horrible thing to think. It doesn’t really make sense. It definitely feels good to me on a personal level. On a creative level – amazing. We’ve been in the studio rehearsing and recording. As soon as the four of us are in the room, it just sounds amazing, straight away”
Since forming the band in 2002, Razorlight have achieved worldwide success and have cemented their place as one of Britain’s Classic Indie-Rock bands. Their vertiginous rise saw them tour their way from squat parties in London’s East End to the 2005 global TV charity event Live 8, where they established themselves at the urchin rock’n’roll challengers most likely to go stadium.
Razorlight was formed by lead singer and guitarist, Johnny Borrell in East London, 2002. Joining him as founding members were Björn Ågren, Carl Dalemo, and Andy Burrows who took over drums in 2004. The band soon found success with the release of their debut album ‘Up All Night’ in 2004 which peaked at number 3 in the UK Album’s chart, as well as receiving glowing reviews from music tastemakers NME, Q Magazine and Billboard. By the mid 2000s they were at the epicentre of the UK’s gangly guitar band re-surgence channelling the leftfield influences of Television, Patti Smith and the Velvet Underground into the pop mainstream, and in fractious alliance with The Libertines and Amy Winehouse, taking the Camden waster rock scene into the tabloids.
Their success grew jet wings with their 2006 self-titled second album, which debuted at number 1 in the UK, and gave them their first UK Number 1 single ‘America’. They headlined the infamous Reading Festival the following year, touring globally and supporting rock legends The Rolling Stones and U2. Having condensed their rise into four years of overdoing and under-apologising, peaking with Johnny and his white jeans (and Natalia Vodianova), shot by Mario Testino for the cover of a 2007 Vogue, the band did not do the expected and slip into cruise control.
Their third album ‘Slipway Fires’ in 2008, was to be the last album with founding members Carl Dalemo, Bjorn Agren and Andy Burrows. The album peaked at number 4 in the UK Albums charts but the band decided to take a hiatus, lasting 10 years (give or take the odd festival with a changed line up) as the core members pursued other musical opportunities. In 2018, they returned with ‘Olympus Sleeping’ (featuring David Ellis on guitars and Skully on drums) supported Noel Gallagher on his 2019 outdoor summer shows and, played to huge crowds across festivals in the UK and Europe. The pre-lockdown days of early 2020 saw them playing to packed UK arenas as Special Guests of Kaiser Chiefs.
The history of Razorlight is rich in iconic moments. They have been photographed by Mick Rock and David Bailey and dueted with rock legend, Roger Daltry, actress Jane Birkin and The Kinks’ Ray Davies. They performed with Sir George Martin. The band were also invited to write the music for one of Hedi Slimane’s most memorable fashion shows, based on their look. The likes of Award-winning actor, Guy Pearce and household comedian, Noel Fielding have made appearances in their music videos as well as Oscar-nominated Steven Frears directing their music video for ‘Wire To Wire’. Razorlight were also the first-ever band to record with Chris Thomas in Mark Knopfler’s famous British Grove Studios.
Alongside their musical impact, the band also became notable for their activism, with front-man Johnny writing a front page for the Independent about Climate Change. They were the first band to record a fully carbon-neutral single, ‘Funeral Blues’ with the UK action group, Friends Of The Earth. Razorlight were great supporters of Nelson Mandela’s AIDs charity, performing at the charity’s fundraiser concert twice.
Razorlight command over a million monthly listeners on Spotify, boast a UK Number 1 Album and Single, Three Top 5 UK Albums, Two Platinum Selling Albums and Eight Top 20 UK Singles. They have scooped up various music awards and nominations including one NME Award Win and two Nominations, two BRIT Award nominations amongst others.
The re-union event will see the classic line-up of Razorlight perform live for the first time in 10 years, and is one not to miss.
