A friend in London

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A friend in London
A Friend in London at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf
A Friend in London at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf
General information
Genre (s) Rock , pop
founding 2005
resolution 2014
Last occupation
Tim Schou
Guitar, vocals
 Sebastian Vinther
Bass , vocals
 Aske Damm Bramming
Drums , vocals
 Esben Svane

A Friend in London (Eng .: "A friend in London ") was a Danish indie band founded in 2005 . The formation, which performed under the name of their lead singer Tim Schou until around 2009, combines pop music with British indie rock in their exclusively English-language pieces . In 2011 the band represented their home country at the 56th Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf .

history

Foundation and appearances in Denmark and Canada

A Friend in London was founded in 2005 during rehearsals at a boarding school in Vostrup, near Ringkøbing Fjord in West Jutland , by singer, guitarist and songwriter Tim Schou, guitarist Sebastian Vinther, bassist Aske Damm Bramming and drummer Esben Svane. All four had met two years earlier. However, Schou had switched to acting classes in 2003, while Vinther, Damm Bramming and Svane had taken music classes and made music together. Separately from the three, Schou tried his hand at singing and writing his first lyrics, which later found favor with his bandmates. When Schou won the Danish Young Talent music competition in 2005 , he and the three of them founded the band Tim Schou and the first single Thoughts of a Boheme was recorded . In 2006, an in-house production of four songs followed and the winner of the Danish young band competition Worth listening to 2006 .

Despite the initial success, the band failed to get a record deal . Tim Schou toured Denmark over the following years, where the musicians, by their own admission, have made over 100 appearances so far. Around 2009, the name was changed to A Friend in London , as the former band name Tim Schou suggested a solo artist. At the same time, A Friend sounded more international in London and strengthened the band's togetherness. The name was inspired by Schou's trips to London. The members of A Friend in London describe their music as a combination of "the simplicity of boy band pop with the complexity of British-influenced indie rock" , supported by choral arrangements.

In 2008, A Friend celebrated its greatest success in London . The indie band took part in the world's largest band competition, Bodog Million Dollar Battle of the Bands , and won the European final in London . In 2009 she was invited to the North by Northeast (NXNE) music festival in Toronto . As a result, the band concentrated on tours in Canada in addition to gigs in their home country . Three concert tours to Ontario followed by 2011, as well as appearances at Canadian Music Week and on Canadian television, which brought them a certain popularity across the Atlantic. Tim Schou described the Canadian audience as more musical and supportive than the Danish.

The Danish radio station P3 took care of the airplay of the single Shoot Me , while the TV channel TV 2 used the piece of music Dead Beat in a competition.

Victory at the Danish Melodi Grand Prix and allegations of plagiarism

In June / July 2011, after the release of several exclusively English-language music videos (including Now You're Here and What a Way ), their first album should follow, some of which will be produced in Canada. Lead singer Tim Schou said the pieces are a combination of commercial pop and "indie influences" ranging from Justin Bieber to Radiohead . In the same year, A Friend took part in the Danish preliminary round of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix , in London . Her English-language title New Tomorrow was selected from a total of 663 entries along with six other songs. Three participants were determined internally. At the end of February 2011, the favored band prevailed in the decisive televoting against the internally selected singer Anne Noa , who competed with the pop ballad Sleepless by ESC last year's winner John Gordon . The composers and lyricists Lise Cabble and Jakob Schack Glæsner, who are experienced in the Melodi Grand Prix, were responsible for the pop rock song New Tomorrow . A Friend in London represented Denmark at the 56th Eurovision Song Contest on May 12, 2011 in Düsseldorf in the second semi-final, where they made it into the final two days later. There they finished fifth in the victory of the Azerbaijani duo Ell and Nikki . Similar to the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix , the four band members were dressed in fashionable dark clothes and appeared with hairstyles described as “alternative” . Frontman Tim Schou also shot a huge ball filled with air into the audience during the contribution, which the audience could move through the hall themselves.

New Tomorrow reached number two in the Danish singles charts, while it entered the airplay charts at number four. Shortly after winning the Melodi Grand Prix, the two composers and lyricists Lise Cabble and Jakob Schack Glæsner were confronted with allegations of plagiarism . Critics complained that the chorus of New Tomorrow was reminiscent of Sing for Me by Sweden's Andreas Johnson from 2006. Others were reminded of the 2003 song Face 2 Face by the German band Future Trance United . Both A Friend in London and the lyricist and composer Jakob Schack Glæsner denied having known the Swedish title with which Johnson came third in the Swedish preliminary round of the 51st Eurovision Song Contest in 2006. As a defense, Glæsner emphasized that the impression could easily be created since the song only consists of five tones. Henrik Smith-Sivertsen, music researcher at the Danish Royal Library in Copenhagen , rated the chorus as "almost identical" to the Swedish song , while the character, melody, tones and harmonies are very typical for the creation of a pop song.

Before their performance at the Eurovision Song Contest, the band received an invitation to Canadian Music Week in early March 2011 . At the same time it should lead to another tour through Canada. At the end of the same month, A Friend appeared in London with their ESC contribution in the finale of the Danish version of the talent show X Factor in front of 40,000 spectators.

First studio album: Unite

On January 21, 2013, the first studio album Unite was released in Denmark. The first single was Rest From the Streets with Carly Rae Jepsen .

Before the album was released, the band supported the New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys on their European tours. As a result, a version of New Tomorrow with Howie D. of the Backstreet Boys was released as an iTunes bonus track.

On January 29, 2014, Páll "Tim" Schou announced the split of the band on Facebook.

Discography

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
Unite
  DK 14th 02/01/2013 (1 week)
Singles
New Tomorrow
  CH 39 05/29/2011 (1 week)
  DK 2 03/04/2011 (7 weeks)

Albums

  • 2012: Smukfest 2012 (live)
  • 2013: Unite

Singles

  • 2005: Thoughts of a Boheme
  • 2005: Dead Beat
  • 2006: Shoot Me
  • 2007: What a Way
  • 2007: Freddie
  • 2008: Break and Fall
  • 2009: The Light
  • 2010: Now You're Here
  • 2011: New Tomorrow
  • 2012: New Tomorrow (vs. Crystal Lake)
  • 2012: Calling a Friend
  • 2012: Get Rich in Vegas
  • 2013: Rest From the Streets

swell

  1. ↑ Does he have a friend in London irrelevant? ( Memento of March 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) at jp.dk, February 26, 2011 (accessed on March 26, 2011).
  2. ↑ a b c Interview at rivetingriffs.com, May 2010 (English; accessed on March 26, 2011)
  3. ↑ bio. Band biography. In: www.afriendinlondon.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012 ; accessed on July 6, 2013 .
  4. ^ Band history at myspace.com (English; accessed on March 26, 2011).
  5. ↑ A Friend In London (Denmark) 1st press conference ( Memento from June 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) at eurovision.tv, May 5, 2011 (accessed on May 7, 2011).
  6. ↑ Interview ( memento of March 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) with Tim Schou at urartist.com, February 15, 2011 (English; accessed March 26, 2011).
  7. ↑ a b Storvik-Green, Simon: A Friend In London's weapon is their voice at eurovision.tv, April 27, 2011 (accessed April 29, 2011).
  8. ↑ Foght, Thomas: Her er Grand Prix favorit terne ( Memento from 1 March 2011 at the Internet Archive ) at jp.dk 25 February, 2011 (accessed on 26 March 2011).
  9. ↑ http://eurofire.blog.de/2011/02/26/daenemark-schickt-new-tomorrow-duesseldorf-10701570/ straight-line | url = http: //eurofire.blog.de/2011/02/ 26 / daenemark-schickt-new-tomorrow-duesseldorf-10701570 / | date = 2018-08 | archivebot = 2018-08-21 17:34:16 InternetArchiveBot}} (link not available)
  10. ↑ Balls-a-bouncing for Denmark at eurovision.tv, May 4, 2011 (accessed May 7, 2011).
  11. ↑ Portrait at dr.dk (Danish; accessed on March 26, 2011).
  12. ↑ Knubbede ord mod Grand Prix vinder . In: Politiken & Politiken Weekly, February 28, 2011 (accessed via LexisNexis Wirtschaft ).
  13. ↑ Var vindersangen en kopi? ( Memento of March 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) at jp.dk, February 27, 2011 (accessed on March 26, 2011).
  14. ↑ Hornung, Lise B .: Forsker: MGP-vinder har en dårlig sag ( memento of March 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) at jp.dk, February 28, 2011 (accessed on March 26, 2011).
  15. ↑ De kendte strømmer til X Factor-finale at jp.dk, March 25, 2011 (accessed on May 7, 2011).
  16. ↑ https://danishcharts.dk/showinterpret.asp?interpret=A+Friend+In+London
  17. ↑ a b Chart sources: DK , CH

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