Razorlight

Razorlight is a London band with an international lineup. It was formed by Englishman Johnny Borrell and Swede Bjorn Egren in 2002. As soon as they had been joined by Carl Dalemo and Christian Smith-Pancorvo, Razorlight started laborious rehearsals. They shot their first performances with a video camera. The outcome came up interesting to the management of Toerag Studios, where the band recorded their first demo comprising three songs: Rock'n'Roll Lies, Rip It Up, and In The City. The music by the young musicians impressed John Kennedy so deeply, that decided to give the song airplay on his XFM show before the release of the professionally recorded long player of the band. In 2003, Razorlight continued recording demos. By that time, the band had already acquired their own supporters; meanwhile music recording companies had unleashed a war to win the right to sign up the promising outfit. In the end, Mercury Records prevailed.

Long before releasing the first single, Rock'n'Roll Lies, Razorlight had become a welcome visitor to London clubs and venues. The single itself was an inch within the UK Top 40. The album was anticipated nationwide. Even the Mercury manager, Steve Lillywhite took a month off to do the producing for the debut work of his new favorites. Razorlight combined their studio activity with tours across the Great Britain along with The Hope of the States, Bellrays, and The Raveonettes. Tracks of the album were recorded live at studio to render the dynamics of the concert performance. The long awaited Up All Night hit the stores in summer of 2004. Right after the release, drummer Christian Smith-Pancorvo quit the band leaving the kit to Andy Burrows. It was followed by gigs on the largest stages of the country. Razorlight were honored to support Queen & Paul Rogers, Oasis, and The Rolling Stones. In spring 2005, the new edition of Up All Night was produced to feature the unreleased song Somewhere Else, running second in the UK Single Chart.

In July 2006, Razorlight delivered the sophomore album, named after the band. In a week, it ran topped the UK Album Chart. However, the critics differed in viewing this work, which might mean that the album’s commercial success had been secured by the brilliance of the debut release. The two standout tracks of the second long player were the singles America и In The Morning, running respectively Number 1 and Number 3 in the national single chart. The third studio effort by Razorlight, named Slipway Fires was released in autumn 2008. It was the time when the band had finally found its niche and set their music free of comparison with The Stokers и The Who.