Royal Blood

Royal Blood consists of vocalist and bassist Mike Kerr (born 19 June 1990) from Worthing and drummer Ben Thatcher (born 12 February 1988) from Rustington.[1] They first met around 2005 when they were teenagers; for a brief period, they were part of the same four-piece band called Flavour Country, for which Kerr was the keyboardist and keytarist.[2]

Royal Blood formed in Worthing in March 2011,[3][4][5] after Kerr met original drummer Matt Swan.[6] The band were initially a trio consisting of Kerr on vocals and bass, Joe Dennis on guitar, and Matt Swan on drums. Dennis left in early 2012, leading the band to discover what is now their signature sound, as Kerr's unique bass playing style (which sees him using various effects pedals and amps to make his bass guitar sound like an electric guitar and bass guitar at the same time) became the main focus.[7] They relocated to Swan's home country of Australia, where they recorded an EP in Brisbane. The first single, "Leaving", premiered on Australian radio station Triple J in 2012; Kerr and Thatcher later recorded a new version of the song and renamed it "Come On Over".[8] Kerr and Swan played around the Brisbane and Gold Coast area,[9] before Kerr eventually decided to return to Worthing, ending this incarnation of the band.[10][11] He was picked up at the airport by Thatcher, and the two decided to continue under the Royal Blood name together with Thatcher replacing Swan on drums.[2][12]

Initially, the new duo "couldn't get a gig in Worthing for months" and "ended up just playing a lot of open-mic nights with acoustic singer-songwriters".[2] The band developed their music in the studios of Brighton Electric, and it was during this time that they were signed by Warner Chappell Music.[1] They joined the same management company as the band Arctic Monkeys.[1] In 2013, Arctic Monkeys' drummer Matt Helders was seen wearing a Royal Blood shirt during Arctic Monkeys' performance at Glastonbury Festival, boosting interest in the band.[13] At Glastonbury Festival 2023, Thatcher returned the favour, wearing an Arctic Monkeys T-Shirt whilst playing their set on the Pyramid Stage, as the act before the Arctic Monkeys headlined the same stage.[14]

On 11 November 2013, Royal Blood released their official debut single, "Out of the Black",[15] which came with the B-side of the re-recorded "Come On Over".[16] In November 2013, it was announced that Royal Blood would be supporting Arctic Monkeys for two Finsbury Park shows in May 2014.[17] In December 2013, Royal Blood were nominated for BBC Sound of 2014.[18] Royal Blood released their second single, "Little Monster", on 11 February 2014. The band also released a four-track EP Out of the Black, featuring "Out of the Black", "Little Monster", "Come On Over" and "Hole" on 11 March 2014 in North America.[19]

Royal Blood performed at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas in March 2014;[20] at Liverpool Sound City festival and at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Glasgow in May;[21] and at Download Festival and Glastonbury Festival in June.[22] They performed at Rock Werchter and T in the Park festival in July, and at Reading Festival, but got cut short at their Leeds Festival show, as well as Osheaga in August 2014.[23]

Their debut album, Royal Blood, was released on 25 August 2014 on Warner Bros. Records. Well received by critics,[24] it was verified by the Official Charts Company as the fastest-selling British rock debut album in three years in the UK.[25] The cover artwork, by London-based contemporary artist Dan Hillier, won the Best Art Vinyl award in 2014.[26] A video clip for "Out of the Black" entered rotation as part of cable network AXN Japan's "AXN Tunes" programme in October 2014; music videos aired on-the-hour as filler, in between their regularly scheduled timetabled programming.[27]

In October 2014, Royal Blood announced details of their biggest European tour to date,[28] starting in Germany on 10 January, and ending in Sweden on 23 March. The band, along with Iggy Pop, supported Foo Fighters on selected dates during their 2015 UK, US and Canada tours. In February 2015, at the Brit Awards in London, Jimmy Page presented them with the Best British Group Award.[29] In April 2015, they played the Coachella Festival in California, in June 2015 they played twice at Rock Werchter and at Bunbury Music Festival in Cincinnati and, in September 2015, they played at the Rock in Rio festival, in Rio de Janeiro.

On 29 and 30 August 2015, Royal Blood played the main stage at Reading and Leeds 2015. During both of these performances, the band revealed a new song titled "Hook, Line & Sinker". In October 2015, the band had finished touring for their debut album. The song "Careless" is used as the opening theme of the French version of the TV show Tattoo Fixers.