For a second, it’s like 2005 has barged into the pub demanding respect. Richard Archer, singer with Staines’ indie rock massive Hard-Fi, arrives at a Thames-side Richmond boozer with his bright blue eyes flashing and the jaw-length hair he sported pre-pandemic shorn back to his classic indie bovver-boy cut. He’s as energised as he ever was when leading some of the most raucous gig scenes this writer saw that entire disrespected decade, when entire Academies would be bouncing right back to the (drunk dry) bar to clock-off clubland punk anthems “Hard To Beat” and “Living For The Weekend”. He was champion of the skint but shot-crazed, a roaring mouthpiece for the left-behind street stars of surveillance culture Britain.
The haircut is appropriate: it’s now 17 years since the band’s debut album Stars of CCTV ram-raided the UK charts, but Hard-Fi are undergoing a Semtex blast of popularity.
The haircut is appropriate: it’s now 17 years since the band’s debut album Stars of CCTV ram-raided the UK charts, but Hard-Fi are undergoing a Semtex blast of popularity.
- 10/1/2022
- by Mark Beaumont
- The Independent - Music
Hard-Fi burst onto the scene in 2005 with their debut album, ‘Stars of CCTV’ that featured the popular songs, ‘Hard To Beat’, ‘Cash Machine’, and ‘Living For The Weekend’ and these all reached the top 15 in the UK’s chart. The album has sold over 1.2 million copies worldwide – 600,000 being sold in the UK. Many would say that the majority of sales were down to the band being nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize and their nomination for two Brit Awards, alongside bands such as Franz Ferdinand, Oasis and Gorillaz, and they’ve got a point.
Any band nominated for awards such as these two are going to have much more press coverage and word-of-mouth will follow and considering they were a fairly small band, compared to the other bands nominated, people became intrigued as to who they were and felt obliged to find out more about them, listen to them, love them,...
Any band nominated for awards such as these two are going to have much more press coverage and word-of-mouth will follow and considering they were a fairly small band, compared to the other bands nominated, people became intrigued as to who they were and felt obliged to find out more about them, listen to them, love them,...
- 8/21/2011
- by Rhys Milsom
- Obsessed with Film
Hard-Fi frontman Richard Archer hopes that the Gallagher brothers will reunite in the future. The singer, who is preparing to release Hard-Fi's new album Killer Sounds on August 22, insisted that the former Oasis stars were at their best when they worked together. Archer told Digital Spy: "I must admit I still have to check [Liam's] Beady Eye out - I've only heard their singles. "My dad used to have the John Lennon Best Of solo album and used to play it really loud every morning and so I really like what I've heard of Beady Eye because it really reminds me of Lennon's solo stuff." He continued: "I haven't (more)...
- 8/18/2011
- by By Lewis Corner
- Digital Spy
Hard-Fi have revealed that the release of their upcoming third album feels like "trying to break the band again". The group's debut album Stars of CCTV went double platinum after its release in 2005 and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. However, follow-up Once Upon a Time in the West was a much more moderate success, although it still reached number one in 2007. Frontman Richard Archer told the Daily Star: "We're sitting here now and don't expect for one minute to waltz back out to a number one album or sold-out arena shows. It's not that easy. "We know that we have to let people know what we have to offer and how good we are. But it's quite exciting cos it's almost like trying to break the band again - we've got some good tunes." Archer said that Hard-Fi will struggle to compete with (more)...
- 8/9/2011
- by By Tom Eames
- Digital Spy
Hard-Fi have admitted that they were upset by criticism of their second album. The band's frontman Richard Archer claimed that the negative reaction to Once Upon A Time In The West in 2008 stemmed from Peter Saville's praise for its 'No Cover Art' sleeve. Archer told BBC Newsbeat: "We got a lot of stick over the artwork and the main reason for that was that Peter Saville - the best graphic designer in the country - said it was good and that put a lot of people's noses out of joint. "But that's history now - you let all that stuff get to you a bit because you're tired and you're in it. Everyone gets it." He added: "The second album, despite all that, I really love it and I think it's (more)...
- 6/2/2011
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
Hard-Fi have revealed that their new single 'Good For Nothing' was inspired by Jay-z's '99 Problems'. The indie-rock band will release the track on June 19 and it will serve as the lead single from their upcoming third studio album Killer Sounds, which is due out in September. Frontman Richard Archer explained that he was listening to '99 Problems' while writing the song, but ensured that he made "enough changes not to be sued". "When I wrote the tune, I wrote the tune to '99 (more)...
- 6/1/2011
- by By Lewis Corner
- Digital Spy
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