| Bond | |
|---|---|
 Bond performing at the MetroCentre, Gateshead.
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| Background information | |
| Genres | Classical crossover |
| Years active | 2001 – present |
| Labels | MCA Music, Inc. Decca Records |
| Website | www.bondmusic.net |
| Members | |
| Elspeth Hanson Eos Chater Tania Davis Gay-Yee Westerhoff |
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| Former members | |
| Haylie Ecker | |
| Notable instruments | |
| Violin, Viola, Cello | |
Bond (often typeset as bond in deference to the owners of the 007 copyright)[1] is an Australian/British string quartet that specializes in classical crossover music. Bond has been described as the best selling string quartet of all time,[2] selling over 4 million records.
Contents |
Creation
Bond was formed following initial conversations between music producer Mike Batt and promoter Mel Bush, after Batt suggested to Bush that the two of them should put together a quartet consisting of "four beautiful, talented musicians".[3] Some time later, Bush pushed ahead with the idea, recruiting producer Gareth Cousins to help choose the line up and define the band's sound. This resulted in an initial four recordings the band made, leading to Bond being signed by Decca. Three of those original recordings, "Duel", "The 1812" and "Dalalai", were the backbone of the first album, Born, with producer Magnus Fiennes providing additional tracks and Mike Batt adding a remix of "Victory", which became the first single.
The quartet currently consists of Elspeth Hanson (first violin, from Upper Basildon, England),[4] Eos Chater (second violin, from Cardiff, Wales), Tania Davis (viola, from Sydney) and Gay-Yee Westerhoff (cello, from Hull, England). Hanson replaced original band member Haylie Ecker, when she left to have a child.[5]
Genre & success
Their debut album Born was removed from the UK classical chart, apparently owing to its "sounding too much like pop music". Born later rose to the #1 position on 21 different charts around the world. Shine, their second album, went gold in six countries. Remixed, their third release, featured remixes from their first two hit albums as well as three new unreleased songs. Their third studio album Classified was a popular and successful release: Classified went double platinum in Australia, reaching the number one spot on both the classical and pop charts. Explosive: The Best of Bond, their latest release, is a "best of" collection that includes three previously unreleased songs. They also participated at the 50th annual Miss World pageant in 2000, held in London.
Appearances & recent work
The quartet spent much of 2003 touring, particularly throughout Asia, and participating in the Miss Universe 2003 held in Panama City, Panama. They also fitted in performing and filming a TV commercial for American department store chain Marshall Field's and made a commercial in Los Angeles for the Japanese karaoke manufacturer Daiichi Kosho. The group made their movie debut playing themselves in a scene in Rowan Atkinson's James Bond spoof Johnny English for which they also contributed the track "Kismet", composed by Gay-Yee, and played on the Main Theme. They also appeared as themselves in the film XXX: State of the Union, performing "Victory".
In 2009 Peugeot commissioned Bond to record Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" to advertise the 308CC.[6] The tracks are available for download from Peugeot's website free of charge.
In an interview of Tania Davis by the Birmingham Mail, Davis revealed that they are currently working on their next studio album. She also noted that the next album will have Gypsy, Folk and Eastern European influences.[7] There are unconfirmed reports that this album will be released in February, 2010.
Discography
Albums
| Release Date | Title |
| 2 October 2000 | Born |
| 15 October 2002 | Shine |
| 15 June 2004 | Classified |
Compilations
| Release Date | Title |
| 16 September 2003 | Remixed |
| 28 June 2005 | Explosive: The Best of Bond |
Promotional albums
- Raymond Weil (2001)
- Fab Field's Mix (2003)
Soundtracks
Singles
- "Victory"
- "Wintersun"
- "Viva!/Wintersun"
- "Shine"
- "Fuego"
- "Speed"
- "Atlanta/Time"
- "Viva!/Victory"
- "Explosive/Adagio for Strings"
- "Fly Samba Fly"
DVDs
Movie appearances
Image gallery
 Elspeth Hanson in 2009. |
 Eos Chater in 2009. |
 Tania Davis in 2009. |
 Gay-Yee Westerhoff in 2009. |
References
- ^ "Sex in the Symphony". 2002-03-11. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,501020318-216347,00.html. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
- ^ [1] iClassics: Crossover Café
- ^ Mike Batt's Official Website: Bond - String Quartet. Accessed March 23, 2009
- ^ "Fiddling with Becks at the Olympics...". Get Reading. 2008-08-28. http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/2034524_fiddling_with_becks_at_the_olympics. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
- ^ "Escala v Bond: battle of the girl quartets". The Daily Telegraph. 2009-04-20. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/5172062/Escala-v-Bond-battle-of-the-girl-quartets.html. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ "Peugeot 308-CC". Peugeot. 2009. http://www.peugeot.co.uk/vehicles/peugeot-car-range/peugeot-308-cc. Retrieved 2009-05-30.
- ^ "Andy Coleman talks to string quartet bond". Birmingham Mail. 2009. http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-videos-pictures/local-news/2009/06/03/andy-coleman-talks-to-string-quartet-bond-97319-23782402/. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bond (band) |
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