The Modern (band)

The band first began to form in 2001. Fronted by Nathan Cooper and Chi Tudor-Hart, the group were then known as Dirty Blonde. In 2003, vocalist Emma Cooke joined the band, and they changed their name to The Modern.

Following Cooke's induction to the group, guitarist Telee and drummer Rees also joined. Rees then left the band to tour with Dirty Vegas, and was replaced by Bob Malkowski shortly afterwards. It was not long after this that Telee left to concentrate on his own band. The Modern line up was completed, and the group started to write and perform together. They obtained got a recording contract in 2005, when they were signed to Mercury Records. The band recorded several songs with record producer Stephen Hague, with a view towards preparing for their debut album, which was tentatively going to be called 'Life In The Modern World'. The first of these songs was released as a single. "Jane Falls Down" received little airplay on commercial radio stations. but entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 4.[1]

The group followed this with their second single, "Industry" on 6 March 2006. The song airplay on the music video channels, but due to sales irregularities, the single was disqualified from the UK Singles Chart.[2] The band conducted UK wide tours supporting these singles. They also played the 2005 Reading and Leeds Festivals and the October 2005 Whitby Gothic Weekend, as well as the 2006 Elektrofest. In July, 2006, they performed at Pride Rally's 'Prides Against Prejudice' in Trafalgar Square.

In September 2006, it was announced on the group's forum that they had parted company with Mercury Records, and that Malkowski and Robert James had left the band. The trio continued as Matinee Club. They signed to a new independent record label, Planet Clique and, in March 2007, the song "Discotheque Francais" was issued through the record label's website. Months later the band had changed record labels once again, this time moving onto Universal Music under Europa Recordings, although this was short-lived as Europa Recordings was closed down.

In October the group transferred back to Planet Clique for the digital release of "Discotheque Francais". The debut album, Modern Industry, was made available to download in December. It included a cover version of David Bowie's "Modern Love". In January 2008, the group released The Modern LP through Ninth Wave Records, albeit only in the US. It differed from the later UK release.

Matinee Club recorded a video for the American global warming awareness show, Earth Hour. In November 2008, the group reformed as The Modern, and the drummer Rees returned to the band. Signing another record deal that covered most of Asia, the band released a double album, under the same title as their US LP, in July 2009.

• The Modern official site
• The Modern/Matinee Club MySpace profile
• Ilikemusic.com
• Holytoilet.com