Bastille
Indie Rock, Alternate Rock
How It Started
Dan Smith, lead singer, began a solo career, but later wanted to start a band. He propositioned friends, Chris Wood, Will Farquarson, and Kyle Simmons, with his idea, and they agreed to join. They got their band name from the French holiday, Bastille Day, which occurs on Smith's birthday.
In December 2010, the group was offered a contract with Virgin Records. Their first single to be included in the Top 40 charts was "Flaws", released 2012, at spot 21. Since then, "Pompeii", the band's fourth single, was released to number two on the UK Top 40 charts, and their first album, "Bad Blood", released March 2013 was number one.
Dan Smith
Lead singer, keyboard, songwriter
Chris "Woody" Wood (left) Kyle Simmons (right)
Chris- drums, back up singer
Kyle- keyboard, percussion, back up singer
WIll Farquarson
Bass, keyboard, acoustic guitar, back up singer
Bastille's Biggest Hit
Their highest rated song is "Pompeii". It was released February 2013, and was number two on UK's singles chart for seven weeks.
Dan Smith got the idea for the song after reading about the city of Pompeii one day. The song is meant to be a conversation between two of the victims ad their opinions about the disaster.
Things We Lost In The Fire
"Things We Lost In The Fire" is my favorite song by Bastille. I like the tune and the vocal arrangement a lot. It is catchy and so beautiful.
Musical Influences
Dan gets influence for his songs from "bands like Simon and Garfunkle and The Fugees..." (http://www.concrete-online.co.uk/bastille-interview/). Their harmonies appealed to him and inspired him when writing his own music. People like Kanye West, Jack White, and David Albarn remind him that he doesn't have to stick to one genre of music, but that he can experiment and try new things with his songs.