Idlewild and Summer Nights

Lead singer Roddy Woomble met drummer Colin Newton and guitarist Rod Jones at a party in 1995, and before long found shared musical interests and decided to start a band. Bassist Phil Scanlon was enlisted to play bass and Idlewild played their debut show at the Subway Club in Edinburgh, and subsequently, with over twenty songs under their belt, a host of other gigs around the country.

After the release of the band’s debut single “Queen of the Troubled Teens” in 1997, which earned considerable UK exposure thanks to BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq, led to the label Fierce Panda releasing Idlewild’s second single “Chandelier”. The single marked the departure of bassist Scanlon who was replaced by Bob Fairfoull, and the group became notorious for the punk-like chaos of their live shows, later signing with Food Records in 1998.

The label issued Idlewild’s debut album “Hope Is Important” towards the tail-end of 1998, which was succeeded by “100 Broken Windows” in 2001. Idlewild’s third full-length album “The Remote Part” proved to be their most popular and well-received, aided by the singles “American English” and “You Held the World in Your Arms”, although tensions within the band were rising. Bassist Fairfoull got the boot after a show in Amsterdam and the following year bassist Gavin Fox and guitarist Allen Stewart made tenure ahead of the American release of “The Remote Part”.

After a four-month touring hiatus in the Scottish Highlands writing songs, Idlewild issued “Warnings/Promises” in 2005. The curse of the bassist rang true again and Fox left the group after the release, making way for Gareth Russell, formerly of the band Astrid. Russel’s debut came with “Make Another World” released in 2007, after which lead singer Woomble made his solo debut with “My Secret Is My Silence” also in 2007. Sticking in to the man, Idlewild’s sixth studio album “Post Electric Blues” was given away free to fans in 2009 and represented a more melodic rock sound than their earliest releases.