Editors are an English rock band, formed in 2002 in Birmingham. Previously known as Pilot, The Pride and Snowfield, the band consists of Tom Smith (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Russell Leetch (bass guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals), Ed Lay (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Justin Lockey (lead guitar), and Elliott Williams (keys, synthesizer, guitar, backing vocals). During live performances, the band are joined by longtime touring member Nicholas Willes (guitar, keyboards).
Editors have released seven studio albums, with several million combined sales. Their debut album The Back Room was released in 2005. It contained the hits "Munich" and "Blood" and the following year received a Mercury Prize nomination.
Their follow-up album An End Has a Start went to number one on the UK Albums Chart in June 2007 and earned the band a Brit Awards nomination for best British Band. It also spawned another top 10 hit single, "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors". The band's third album, In This Light and on This Evening, was released in October 2009 and went to number one on the UK Albums Chart. The band released their fourth studio album, The Weight of Your Love, in July 2013, followed by the self-produced In Dream in October 2015. In 2018, the band released their sixth album Violence. Their seventh album, EBM, was released in September 2022.
History Formation (2002–2004) The band met while studying Music Technology at Staffordshire University. They lived in Birmingham and played at venues such as the Jug of Ale and the Flapper & Firkin.
The band was initially known as Pilot and played its first show under that name in 2002. While in college, the band constructed a marketing strategy which involved placing hundreds of promotional stickers across the walls of Stafford asking "Who's the Pilot?". They realised the name was already taken by a 1970s Scottish pop group, so they changed their name to The Pride.Interview: Editors (Part IV: Band Origins) , www.bigtakeover.com, 5 September 2006. Retrieved 13 May 2008
They made a promo under this name with the tracks "Come Share the View" and "Forest Fire" and made the songs available on BBC Radio 1's Onemusic Unsigned. A review of the songs read, "The Pride keep things subliminally lo-fi. Refreshingly simple and restrained, 'Come Share The View' is a lesson in welding hypnotic soundscapes with white noise while showing allegiance to the school of slo-mo on "Forest Fire"". The band took its music offline to encourage more "A&R" representatives to see them perform.
Ed Lay replaced drummer Geraint Owen, who began to focus on his Welsh band The Heights. Under this line-up they became known as Snowfield. They played their debut gig under that name at the request of Fused Magazine in March 2003. The following summer the band self-released a demo six-track EP, of which all six songs went on to become future Editors songs. In the autumn of 2003, after graduation, the band relocated to Birmingham, the home of their management and the nearest big city.
For the next year, the band members worked part-time jobs along in addition to working in the band. After regular gigging around the Midlands, it was not long until word of mouth helped them become a popular unsigned band. They sent out a one-track demo of "Bullets". The demo attracted the interest of several British labels, including thirty A&R reps who came to see them play in Birmingham. In October 2004, the group signed to indie label Kitchenware Records.Kitchenware Records Artist List , Kitchenwarerecords.com, 23 December 2004. Retrieved 31 March 2008. At that point they changed their band name to Editors.
The Back Room (2005–2006)
After supporting bands such as Puressence and Oceansize, Editors released debut single "Bullets", which was recorded with producer Gavin Monaghan, as a limited edition of 1000 copies on Kitchenware Records on 24 January 2005.Artist Biography , Surgeradio.co.uk, 3 January 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2008. The song had previously been played by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1, where it was 'Single of the Week'. The limited run sold out on the day of its release, with copies selling later the same week for more than £30 on eBay.EDITORS 'BULLETS' , Angloplugging.co.uk, 18 August 2005. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
The release of "Munich" followed in April of that year and gave the band their first top 25 hit, a sold out UK tour and a place on MTV's Spanking New Music show in Manchester. At this point, due to the band's increasing popularity, Editors and Kitchenware signed an exclusive distribution deal with Sony BMG.Editors , Sonybmgmusic.co.uk, 16 September 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2008. "Blood" was released two months later, reaching number 18 in the UK Singles Chart in its first week, selling 5,286 copies. With these releases their fanbase continued to grow and on 25 July 2005 their debut album The Back Room was released to critical acclaim and commercial success.Editors Biography, Contactmusic.com, 4 March 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2008. In its first week, the album entered the charts at number 13, selling 17,627 copies. After re-issuing "Bullets" and achieving another Top 30 hit, Editors gained a high-profile support slot, supporting Franz Ferdinand in arenas across the UK and Europe.Franz Ferdinand UK tour – the first report, NME.com, 15 November 2005. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
Editors re-issued "Munich" in January 2006, selling one and half thousand more copies than the last time it was released. The song gave Editors their first Top 10 single and an appearance on Top of the Pops. With the single release, The Back Room rose back up the album charts, peaking at number 2. It sold an additional 40,000 copies in the week of "Munich"'s release and went platinum in the process. A joint North American tour with Stellastarr* coincided with the American release of The Back Room in March 2006. It was released by Fader label and sold 35,000 albums after 20 weeks.Jessica Steinhoff, The Importance Of Being Earnest , Expressmilwaukee.com, 24 January 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008. The band went on to play influential American festivals in 2006 such as Coachella and Lollapalooza.Kyle Gustafson, DCist Interview: Tom Smith of Editors , Dcist.com, 14 January 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008. Editors proceeded to perform "Munich" on the American television show Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
At the end of March, Editors released "All Sparks" as a single in the United Kingdom, achieving a position of 21 in the singles chart.UK Top 40 Charts, BBC Radio 1, 27 March 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2006. After a European tour which included three successive nights at Brixton Academy,EDITORS 'LIVE THROUGH SUMMER 2006' , Angloplugging.co.uk, 19 April 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2008. Editors re-issued a limited edition of "Blood". It entered the Top 40, pushing the album up the chart 45 places. Shortly after this, The Back Room hit the million mark in sales worldwideJon Perks, Editors Are Back In Town , Birmingham Post, 18 February 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008. and was also nominated for the 2006 Mercury Prize.Mercury Music Prize: The nominees, bbc.co.uk, 18 July 2006. Retrieved 16 September 2008. After a string of high-profile festival shows across Europe, including slots on T in the Park, V 2006 and the Isle of Wight Festival, Editors began work on their second album.
An End Has a Start (2007–2008)
Editors recorded their second album An End Has a Start with producer Jacknife Lee in Grouse Lodge, Ireland over a two-month period beginning in late November 2006.Client List Grouselodge.com, 12 February 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008. It was released on 25 June 2007 and went straight to number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 59,405 copies in its first week., Reuters UK, 1 July 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2008. The album was preceded by the top 10 single "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" on the 18th. The song was Editors' highest-charting single, reaching number 7. It also earned its own Making the Video episode on MTV.
Just after the album's release, Editors played at the Glastonbury Festival with a second from top slot on The Other Stage.Other Stage Glastonbury Festival 2007, efestivals.co.uk, 31 May 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2008. They also played many other festivals such as Oxegen, Lowlands and Pukkelpop over the following weeks, as well as playing their first ever tour dates in Australia and New Zealand. They then released the album's title track "An End Has a Start" in September to coincide with their North American tour. Editors went on to play the song live on American television shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Upon returning to the UK, the band contributed a cover of the Cure's "Lullaby" to the Radio 1 Established 1967 compilation, again working with producer Gavin Monaghan, which was released on 1 October 2007. Shortly after this, Editors played a 75-minute set for the BBC Electric Proms at KOKO in London with backing from a classical string quartet. In November, they released "The Racing Rats" as the third single off the album. Editors played it live on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and it helped the song reach number 26 on the UK charts. It also reached number 12 on the Dutch Top 40, the band's highest ever single charting outside of the UK at that point."The Racing Rats" chart positions aCharts.us. Retrieved 20 December 2007.
For the first two months of 2008, Editors played 30 shows on a tour across America and Canada. During the tour Editors were nominated for a Brit Award, in the Best British Group Category. Also as a result of the nomination, one of the North American tour dates had to be cancelled, as the band had to return to London to attend the prize ceremony. A month later, Editors announced "Push Your Head Towards the Air" to be the fourth single from An End Has a Start. This release was a limited special edition which was ineligible to chart.Editors Limited edition single release , Columbia.co.uk, 25 February 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008. Along with this release Editors engaged in their biggest and most extensive British tour to date. They played arenas such as the 12,000 capacity National Indoor Arena in Birmingham and two sold out dates in London's Alexandra Palace.Editors sell out Ally Pally , rahimlive.com, 7 March 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
In June, they released "Bones" as a download only single in Continental Europe to coincide with the summer festival season, the video of which was directed by the band's bassist Russell Leetch.Tom & Ed Interview, youtube.com. Retrieved 20 September 2008. Shortly afterwards, Editors played at the Glastonbury Festival, playing on the pyramid stage for the first time. The band then played their second major support slot of their history supporting R.E.M. on a 16 date summer tour across Europe alongside their festival dates which included the headlining of the Lowlands Festival in August.
In This Light and on This Evening (2009–2010)
Lead singer Smith revealed that the band will explore a new direction on their next album, pursuing a new, rawer sound. Before January 2009, Editors had written around eighteen new songs for the new albumSteve Lamacq, BBC 6 Music, 8 December 2008 and they have been described as some of the most synthetic, raw and anthemic songs they have written to date.Colin meets Editors, bbc.co.uk, 10 May 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2008 In October the band went to the studio to record some demos. The band spent the first week of April recording the album and on 8 April, they released a short video with information about the recording process. It announced that Mark 'Flood' Ellis would be the producer for the album. Earlier on in the year, the sound of the album was said to have a very electric feel; the band often using the Terminator theme song as a reference.