Aqualung
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:
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Aqualung
- Genres: Rock
Biography
Aqualung is the brainchild of British songwriter Matt Hales, who discovered his love of melodic pop music while listening to songs at his parents' Southampton record store. Inspired by the artists he heard, Hales began writing songs on the family piano at the age of four. By the time he turned 16, the young musician had earned a scholarship to Winchester College, where he studied music composition. His classes often focused on classical music, and Hales responded by writing a symphonic piece, Life Cycle, during his second year of study.Hales was also interested in popular music, however, and began merging his influences into a contemporary style. He played alongside his brother in a Police cover band and later became part of the Britpop group Ruth, which released an album on ARC Records in 1999. After leading another band, the 45's (not to be confused with the Atlanta-based garage rock revival band), and issuing two singles on Universal, Hales grew disenchanted and started working on the Aqualung project in 2002, often co-writing songs with his wife Kim Oliver and brother Ben Hales. Although initially little more than a lo-fi bedroom venture, Aqualung became quickly popularized by a VW Beetle commercial that aired in the U.K. during 2002. The TV ad featured Hales' song "Strange and Beautiful (I'll Put a Spell on You)," which coincided with the release of his self-titled debut in 2002. The song became a Top 10 hit, and the album went gold as a result.
Several singles followed into the next year, as did the second Aqualung album. Entitled Still Life, the record spawned another hit single with "Brighter Than Sunshine" and attracted attention from music supervisors on both sides of the Atlantic, eventually leading to a number of song placements in movies and TV shows. Hales then combined tracks from his earlier U.K. albums into one 12-song set for Aqualung's proper American debut, Strange and Beautiful, which surfaced in early 2005 via Columbia Records. Extensive touring throughout North America followed over the next two years, driving the album to number one on Billboard's Heatseekers chart and pushing it to sell over 250,000 copies. On the road, Hales would routinely switch up the Aqualung show with different musicians, settings, and approaches to keep things as fresh as possible. The diverse elements he explored during these shows (including the use of an echo device called the Memoryman) subsequently drove the creative process behind what would later become Aqualung's next album, March 2007's ambitiously crafted Memory Man. Aqualung released the intimate Words & Music one year later, making the band's debut for the Verve Forecast label, and returned in 2010 with Magnetic North. ~ Drago Bonacich, Rovi
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Aqualung (musician)
For other uses, see Aqualung (disambiguation).
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It has been suggested that Aqualung discography be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since August 2011. |
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This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2008) |
| Aqualung | |
|---|---|
 Matt Hales |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Matthew Hales |
| Born | 17 January 1972 |
| Origin | England |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupations | Singer/songwriter |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | Sony BMG B-Unique Columbia Verve Forecast |
| Website | Official website |
Matthew "Matt" Hales (born 17 January 1972), better known as Aqualung, is an English singer and songwriter best known in the UK for his song "Strange and Beautiful", which was featured on a television advertisement for the new Volkswagen New Beetle during the summer of 2002 and went on to become a Top 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart later that year. In the United States, Aqualung is also known for the song "Brighter Than Sunshine", which had considerable airplay and was used in the film A Lot Like Love and various television spots.
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Contents
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Biography
Early life
Hales grew up in Southampton, a city on the south coast of England, where his parents ran an independent record shop. He wanted to be—and indeed was—a musician from an early age, although he said in a BBC interview that there were a couple of years when he was about 12 that he wanted to be a stuntman. At the age of 16, he was awarded a scholarship to study music composition at Winchester College. By the age of 17, he had written his first symphony entitled Life Cycle.
Also while he was a teenager, he formed his first band, which was known by several names during its lifespan: Da Fook Mo a Dib, White Noise, and Mecano Pig. In 1990, they produced an album, Mecano Pig, but broke up soon after that.
In the Autumn of 1990, Hales moved to London to study music at City University. While he was there, he and his brother Ben formed a new band, Gravel Monsters, although they later changed their name to RUTH (and their fan club became ALAN). They released several singles and an album, Harrison, but had very little success. They changed their name again to the 45s, and in 2001 were signed to Mercury Records. However, they only released two further singles, and in March 2002 they were dropped and the band split up.
Hales is married to Bad Girls actress Kim Oliver, who helped him write the lyrics to "Strange and Beautiful".
Career as Aqualung
His debut single, "Strange and Beautiful (I'll Put a Spell on You)", was released in the UK on the B-Unique label on 16 September 2002, after gaining popularity as the soundtrack on an advert for the new Volkswagen Beetle, and reached number 7 in the UK Singles Chart.[1] It was also featured in the film Wicker Park. This was followed shortly after by his eponymous debut album, Aqualung.
He released his second album, Still Life, in 2003 to critical acclaim albeit limited commercial success. As part of the promotion for this album, Aqualung embarked on two contrasting tours of the U.K. in early 2004—the first as a duo comprising Hales and his brother Ben on guitar playing at unusual venues such as churches, and the second with the pair and a full backing band playing at more conventional rock venues. Two of the gigs in London were recorded and released as a live DVD through the band's website along with two compilation CDs of B-sides and remixes.
Matt Hales appeared on the 2004 Tiësto album Just Be on the track "Ur".[2]
A compilation of tracks from his first two albums was released in the United States, entitled Strange and Beautiful following a new contract being signed with Columbia Records for future worldwide releases. The track "Brighter Than Sunshine" became a big hit and enjoyed Top 40 airplay for several months, after being featured in the film A Lot Like Love. The band have also enjoyed increased notoriety through appearances on various talk shows and the use of the band's songs in shows such as Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, The O.C., Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs, Being Human (UK) and recently CSI: Miami, Cold Case, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Skins.
"Easier To Lie" was the single featured in Scrubs, the Lie to Me pilot episode and Brothers and Sisters (Episode 3).
In 2006, they were special guests on Tom McRae's Hotel Cafe Tour.
In mid 2007, the Aqualung track "Left Behind" off of the earlier release Strange and Beautiful was featured in a series of Chrysler car commercials in the U.S. giving Aqualung even more notoriety, despite the financial troubles of the struggling automaker.
In 2007, Aqualung's "Something to Believe in" was featured in the TV series Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill, as well as the last few minutes of the Season 5 finale of CSI: Miami. In January 2008 the song was also featured on ABC network's Eli Stone pilot episode.
After completing their US tour, Aqualung announced the release of his next album, Memory Man, which includes eleven new songs. It was released on 13 March 2007 in the USA, with other parts of the world following later. The first single from the album in the US was "Pressure Suit", with "Cinderella" as the first single in the UK, released on 11 June.[3]
"Good Times Gonna Come" was featured in the season 2 episode 2 of the British television drama Skins as well as a UK advert for Sky.
On 31 August, Hales released news of his upcoming album on his MySpace page, saying "I'm really very pleased with the new album... It's a mixture of some old songs and some new songs and a song by Paul Simon. And it's emotional and candid and funny and friendly. It feels like coming home. I think you'll like it." Hales completed his first UK tour since the first album in June, ending the tour at the newly re-opened Tabernacle, Notting Hill, London. He states how surprised and pleased he was with the turnout. More recently, Hales has announced his relocation to the United States and the beginning of production of a new album.
In 2009, Hales worked with Leona Lewis on her album Echo.
Aqualung's album, Magnetic North, was released on 20 April 2010.
Hales featured on the track "Who Are We Fooling?" on Brooke Fraser's 2010 album, Flags.
Discography
with RUTH
- Harrison (1999)
with The 45s
- The 45s (2002)
Solo
Main article: Aqualung discography
- Aqualung (2002)
- Still Life (2003)
- Memory Man (2007)
- Words and Music (2008)
- Magnetic North (2010)
Other appearances
| Year | Song | Album | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Who Are We Fooling" | Flags | Brooke Fraser | Co-wrote and appeared in duet |
| 2011 | "Cold" | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (soundtrack) | Lucy Schwartz | Co-wrote and appeared in duet |
References
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 27. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ McGregor, Andrew. "Tiësto, Just Be". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/pbmq/. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
- ^ aqualung
External links
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