The Futureheads

Among a surge of British guitar bands that emerged in the early 2000s intent on blowing away any lingering trace of a Brit-pop hangover, Sunderland's indie heroes The Futureheads pinched the spiky, angular pop of the post punk/new wave era and injected it with a dose of rabid-fire, heart-on-sleeve, adolescent energy. Hard working, northern honesty sat beside stylised art school leaning at the core of debut album The Futureheads (2004) as the lads fought for indie-cred alongside the likes of Franz Ferdinand, The Libertines and Bloc Party. Produced by Paul Epworth and Gang of Four's Andy Gill, the album firmly established the band as favourites on the indie scene, while their infectiously catchy cover of Kate Bush's Hounds of Love "oh-oh-oh-ed" its way to Number 8 in the UK singles chart. Going on to support The Pixies, Foo Fighters and Oasis, the band provided pre-match entertainment as their home-town football club Sunderland won promotion to the Premier League in 2005, before embracing a more polished sound on second album News and Tributes (2006). Unhappy with life on a major label, the band set up their own Nul Records and released This Is Not The World (2008) and The Chaos (2010).