When Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq described The Music as “the best unsigned band in Britain”, he would have known full well that his comments would lead to massive interest in the band.

After forming in 1999 while at high school in Leeds, Robert Harvey (vocals), Stuart Coleman (bass), Adam Nutter (guitar) and Phil Jordan (drums) needed just one song to convince the British music industry. That one song? Take the Long Road and Walk it. Though the song was rerecorded for the band’s 2002 debut LP, its release as a demo was enough to turn heads at Radio 1 and NME. The band’s blend of dance beats and basslines with Led Zeppelin-style riffs and psychedelic arrangements put them ahead of the pack and ultimately scored them a record deal with Hut.

After a slew of festival performances around the UK in mid-2002, The Music released their self-titled debut album in September 2002 and hit number four on the British albums chart thanks to a number of strong singles inclusing The Truth is No Words, Getaway and The People. The four-piece followed that up with a massive international touring schedule, including a spot on the Green Stage at the Big Day Out early in 2003 and another Australian tour later that year that took in an appearance at Splendour in the Grass.

After touring the album for over a year, the band returned to the studio to begin work on the follow-up. Late in 2004, The Music released album number two Welcome to the North, which, though criticised by critics as over-produced, cemented the band’s trademark sound with singles Freedom Fighters, Breakin and Bleed From Within.