Who we've worked with
Reuben
The story of Reuben goes way back into the murky depths of time and started more or less when Jamie and Jon, who had been playing songs together for a few years, asked Jason Wilcock to play drums for them and formed Angel in 1998. They all knew each other from school, and after a year or so of tireless rehearsing, they started to play shows around their local area, most of which were at their nearest music venue, The Tumbledown Dick in Farnborough. They released a few demos and played as much as they could, sometimes twice in one week, sharing the stage with bands like Dreyfuss, Vex Red and Floor, who later became Hundred Reasons, all of whom were part of a thriving community of local bands that more or less centred around the place.
Then when Jason left in March 2000, Jon and Jamie asked Mark Lawton, another friend from school, to play drums in their band. The three of them formed a quick bond and began writing the songs that would eventually end up on the Pilot EP, which they recorded in September of that year and released the following January, shortly after changing their name from Angel to Reuben. Their popularity and reputation as a live act grew and they played several shows under both names with bands like Fungus, Earthtone 9, and of course Hundred Reasons. Shortly after the release of Pilot, Mark left to live in Canada for six months as a chalet boy, so the remaining two auditioned several drummers to fill in for him until they settled on Guy Davis, whom they met through Backline studios, where they rehearsed. They continued to play as many shows as possible, eventually branching out into London, where they were spotted by top industry bloke Andy Ross, head of Food Records, then home to acts like Idlewild and Blur. Reuben got themselves an agent and a press company and even found a place of their own to practice, renting out a shed on a farm in Farnham that had belonged to Vex Red before they were snapped up by America. They were put in touch with Paul Tipler of Idlewild and 80s Matchbox fame, and when Mark returned from Canada in the summer they recorded some demos with him at EMI studios. These later turned up as b-sides.
Mark then decided to go to university, so Jon and Jamie called up Guy and asked if he'd like to join permanently which, thankfully, he did. They recorded with Tipler again in December, and released the resultant single 'Scared of The Police' on Andy Ross's Bossmusic label in March 2002. It was a limited release, but the promo video they had made with director Tim Mattia, more for fun than anything else, was picked up by MTV2 and received a lot of play, eventually reaching No.2 in the most wanted chart and whacking them in the face of the nation. Since then they have continued to release independent singles on small labels, and have toured the country several times, playing with the likes of Vex Red, Elviss, Hell Is For Heroes, Engerica, Kenesis, Miss Black America, Serafin, Funeral For A Friend, the D4, Jet Plane Landing, The Datsuns and Biffy Clyro. The singles have all dented the top 100 and the band have been blessed with top spots on MTV2 charts and Radio One singles of the week on a few occasions. Highlights of the past previous years include playing a packed out Astoria in support of Vex Red and sitting on the Gonzo couch with modern legend Zane Lowe to celebrate the success of the 'Let's Stop Hanging Out' video, at that time the fastest video to reach the No. 1 request position. The record companies continued to talk and talk while this was all going on, but no deal materialised, so in August 2003 the band entered the studio and recorded their self-financed debut album, 'Racecar is Racecar backwards', with a view to releasing it on their press company's own label, Xtra Mile. They were later evicted from the shed on the farm and now practice at the Rooms in Northcamp. Since then the band have played numerous gigs including Download 2005.
