Bloc Party

London musicians Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack formed the first incarnation of Bloc Party in 1999 at the famous Reading Music Festival. It wasn’t until 2003 – after the additions of Gordon Moakes (bass, backup vocals) and Matt Tong (drums, backup vocals) and a plethora of different band names – that Bloc Party came to exist as we know them today. The band broke through that year when Okereke gave a copy of Bloc Party’s single “She’s Hearing Voices” to Steve Lamacq, a BBC Radio host, at a Franz Ferdinand concert. Lamacq would play the song on his show and call it “genius.”

Bloc Party’s debut album, Silent Alarm, went platinum, won New Musical Express’s album of the year in 2005, and reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart. “So Here We Are/Positive Tension” – the album’s first single – reached number 5 on the UK Top 40 chart. Bloc Party’s second album, A Weekend in the City, was released in 2007 and hit number 2 on the UK Albums chart. Two of the album’s tracks, “The Prayer” and “I Still Remember” topped charts in both the UK and U.S. Bloc Party only released one more album – Intimacy in 2008.

Bloc Party is an indie rock band heavily influenced by Radiohead, The Cure, Sonic Youth, and The Smiths, among others. The band has been nominated for various awards at shows including MTV Europe Music Awards, PLUG, and the GLAAD Media Awards.