At a time when indie rock was enjoying its raucous and so-called ‘sleaze’ moment, north London’s Bombay Bicycle Club emerged as group of refreshingly charming young men with big smiles and bright eyes. But that didn’t mean that their 2009 debut, I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose, was twee or saccharine; with explosive and cathartic choruses, and driving rhythms, the record has become a cult-classic, and in 2019 the band celebrated its 10th anniversary by performing it in its entirety at a sold out show at O2 Academy Brixton.
Jack Steadman, Suren de Saram, Jamie MacColl and Ed Nash immediately became one of the most exciting new acts on the UK indie rock scene. It was a surprise to many, then, when Bombay Bicycle Club decided to make their anticipated second full-length an acoustic folk record, not least their label, who tried to push back on the idea. Within half a year Flaws had achieved Gold status and garnered attention from mainstream radio and media. It featured acoustic originals such as ‘Many Ways’ and ‘Rinse Me Down’, as well as covers including John Martyn’s ‘Fairytale Lullaby’.
In 2011, Bombay Bicycle Club released their third studio album, A Different Kind of Fix. Including songs ‘Shuffle’, ‘How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep’ and ‘Lights Out, Words Gone’, the record saw the band return to a full-band, electrified set-up, while utilising looped samples and other elements of electronica.
2014’s So Long, See You Tomorrow developed on the band’s taste for samples and new instrumentation, influenced by Steadman’s travels to India and Turkey. The album included hits ‘Luna’, ‘Home By Now’ and ‘Feel’. After touring the record, in 2016, the band announced a hiatus as Steadman persued his solo work as Mr. Jukes and Nash with Toothless. They returned three years later, however, with Everything Else Has Gone Wrong. In 2021, the band performed to an emotional crowd at Latitude, one of the first festivals back after the Covid lockdowns.
In June 2023, Bombay Bicycle Club announced their latest album, My Big Day, would be released on 29 October, and features collaborations from Chaka Khan, Damon Albarn and Holly Humberstone.
In addition to the band’s consistent line-up, Bombay Bicycle Club have often employed the vocal talents of friends including Billie Marten, Rae Morris, Liz Lawrence and Lucy Rose.