About The View
The View are a Scottish indie rock band that formed in Dundee, Angus in 2005. They incorporate various styles such as punk, pop, alternative rock, and folk in their music. They are best known for their 2007 single "Same Jeans" which reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart.
The band have released five studio albums since their platinum selling debut Hats Off to the Buskers, which topped the UK Albums Chart in January 2007 and was nominated for the 2007 Mercury Music Prize.
Despite never matching this early success, they enjoy a large fanbase in their native Scotland with albums regularly topping the Scottish Albums Chart. The band also hold a reputation for their live performances with regularly sold-out tours in Scotland. The View are also regular fixtures at music festivals throughout the UK; they have played at Scotland's largest festival—T in the Park—a record eight times, with organiser Geoff Ellis saying, "The View can play every year under my watch, if they want to."
The View initially formed around a cover band at school, playing their own versions of bands such as Squeeze and the Sex Pistols. Lead singer Kyle Falconer, guitarist Peter Reilly, bassist Kieren Webster and original drummer Michael Annable all attended St John's RC High School, They began by performing a number of their own songs and cover versions at school talent contests. The deputy head teacher of St John's stated that he knew the band would go far and he told them to push for a record deal. The View entered the school talent contest four times but were only successful twice. Following this, the band set up base to write their own material in a back room of The Bayview Pub, a bar owned by Falconer's cousin. They progressed to play more cover gigs and weddings around the Dundee area, including the Centenary Bar in Central Dundee and a caravan park in Arbroath. The band were later ejected from their base in The Bayview, following singer Kyle Falconer reportedly riding a scooter along the bar.
The band continued to tour small venues around their hometown, and after their second billed gig at The Doghouse, they were signed to local independent Dundee record label Two Thumbs, and released the self-titled The View EP in early 2006. Alongside the EP, the band recorded a complete demo album at T-Pot studios in Perthshire and this was made available for download from the band's Two Thumbs management website. Videos were also made available to accompany some of the recordings.
During this period the band came to the attention of BBC Radio 1 presenters Zane Lowe, Edith Bowman and Jo Whiley as well as BBC Radio 2 presenter Dermot O'Leary who gave them airplay nine months before the album hit number one. The band's live performance of "Wasted Little DJs" featured on Zane's show of 8 February 2006, alongside established acts The Kooks and Be Your Own Pet. Soon after, tracks from the debut EP began to be played on Radio 1 and other local and national stations. In particular, Jim Gellatly, at Xfm Scotland, featured the band heavily on X-Posure Scotland, his new music show. A live acoustic session was recorded for the show broadcast 3 May 2006.
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