Wild Beasts

Wild Beasts (formed 2004)

Wild Beasts are an alternative rock band from Kendal in Cumbria, though their notoriety began after they moved to Leeds, West Yorkshire. The lineup of the band consists of Hayden (vocals & guitar), Benny (guitar), Tom (bass & vocals) and Bert (vocals & percussion).

Wild Beasts: Formation

Hayden Thorpe and Ben Little formed a band called Fuave (which is French for 'wild beast') after meeting at Queen Katherine School. Two years later, Chris Talbot (known as Bert) joined the band and they changed their name to Wild Beasts. Tom Fleming joined the band after they relocated to Leeds.

Wild Beasts: Music

The debut single to be released by Wild Beasts was 'Brave, Bulging Bouyant Clairvoyants', on Leeds' Bad Sneakers Records, with whom they signed in 2006. Later that year, the band performed a live session on Marc Riley's session on BBC Radio 6 Music. Their second single, 'Through the Dark Night' was also released on Bad Sneakers.

The band later signed to Domino Records (home of Pavement, The Fall, Franz Ferdinand and Lightspeed Champion), and were 'tipped for the top' by NME in May of that year.

After signing to Domino, Wild Beasts released their debut studio album, Limbo, Panto. The following single from the album was 'The Devil's Crayon', released at the end of June, 2008.

Having already gained a great deal of critical acclaim, Wild Beasts' second album, Two Dancers built on their success and was very well received by critics and the public alike. The album's success culminated in a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize in 2010 (the prize was eventually won by The XX).

Wild Beasts' song 'Underbelly' was featured in a Santander advert featuring Lewis Hamilton.