Turin Brakes

The English act Turin Brakes rests on a pair of childhood friends, Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian, who first received guitars for Christmas at the age of ten. Their paths split when Knights went to film school and Paridjanian formed the London experimental rock band 100 Moments, but a later attempt to form a group in Toronto brought them back together. Their early EP The Door, released in 1999 on Anvil Records, drew the attention of larger labels, and today long-term collaborators Rob Allum and Eddie Myer complete the line-up. The band have sold about one million records worldwide.

Their debut, The Optimist LP, reached a Mercury Music Prize nomination and gold status in 2001, with Underdog (Save Me) climbing to number 39 in the UK singles chart. Ether Song followed in 2003, a move away from the acoustic approach of its predecessor, and reached number 4 in the UK albums chart. Its single Painkiller (Summer Rain) became their biggest hit, lodging in the UK top 5. In 2004 they joined the Band Aid 20 cast for Do They Know It's Christmas, their only chart-topper to date.