New band to record album after A-levels

by Kev Geoghegan
Radio 1 music reporter

Bombay Bicycle Club's Jack and Jamie

Bombay Bicycle Club have told Newsbeat they will start recording their debut album, but only when they have finished their A-level exams.

The band formed at school in north London when they were just 15.

They were classmates with another of the UK's hottest new talents, Cajun Dance Party, and opened last year's V festival after winning a national competition.

Despite winning the praise of critics and fans alike for their debut EP The Boy I Used To Be and the follow up, How We Are, the group resolutely refused to give up their studies.

Bassist Ed Nash said: "I think it's good that no one has ever pressured us into leaving school."

Record deal

Singer Jack Steadman, who has been writing songs since the age of 14, agrees it's been difficult splitting their time between study and being in a full time rock band.

He said: "It's pretty hard but I think we're doing it quite well. It's lucky we've got a manager and everyone behind us who are understanding."

Guitar player Jamie MacColl, nephew of the late Irish singer Kirsty, agrees that having enough time to weigh up their options has been good for them.

He said: "I think when people started getting interested in us when we were 16, if we'd left school and signed a record deal it would have been disastrous for us because we wouldn't have been mature enough to do it at all."

People write songs now because if you have three good songs, you can be a popular band because people will only select those three songs from iTunes. Jack Steadman

Instead, the band followed up the example of artists like The Futureheads and set up their own label, Mmm... Records.

Their debut EP was recorded with producer Jim Abbiss, who has worked with artists as diverse as Arctic Monkeys, DJ Shadow and Kasabian.

Debut album

So, post exams, what about the debut album? Steadman reckons the band will record about "20 or so songs" and decide which tracks best fit what they are looking for.

Unlike the smash and grab approach adopted by some new bands, making one or two single tracks available for download as quickly as possible and worrying about the album later, Bombay Bicycle Club insist they're taking their time to make an album which works as a whole.

Songwriter Steadman said: "People write songs now because if you have three good songs, you can be a popular band because people will only select those three songs from iTunes.

"And we want every song to be as good as the next one."

Bombay Bicycle Club facts Went to school with Cajun Dance Party Barrred from their school's Battle Of The Bands Won the chance to play at V2006

Realistically, this means the album probably won't emerge earlier than 2009.

But MacColl agrees that it means only the best songs will make it on to the LP.

He said: "It's better because we've got more time between gigs to evaluate our songs without having to rush it like other bands.

"We've done it gradually and been able to build naturally instead of being signed and having to do everything really quickly and then disappearing."

In the meantime, Bombay Bicycle Club are playing The Great Escape in Brighton, The Underage Festival in London and Reading and Leeds festivals.