The Fratellis are a rock band from Glasgow, Scotland that formed in 2005. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Jon Fratelli, bassist and backing vocalist Barry Fratelli, and drummer and backing vocalist Mince Fratelli. Live performances have included contributions from Will Foster who has played keyboards with the band since 2008 and previously provided guitar during the Here We Stand tour in 2008-2009.
Early Beginnings and Costello Music (2005-2007)
The Fratellis formed during early 2005, responding to an advert placed in local music shops in Glasgow by Mince, then known by his birth name of Gordon McRory. The advert was given with the name Graeme, so to avoid the detection of his then-band mates. Jon attempted to contact “Graeme” as stated on the poster, but was told there was no one of that name there by Mince’s father. Eventually, Jon managed to get a hold of Mince and they started to discuss forming the band. With Barry and a drummer known only as Chris, the Fratellis eventually formed with Mince originally on guitar. Jon and Barry later named the band and their first album while having some drinks in a bar after their first rehearsal.
The band played the first official gig at O’Henry’s on 4th March 2005, and it was a sell out show despite being unknown. After the show, Mince broke his back and had to undergo surgery, with a chance that recovery would take months. Luckily he healed quickly, and they eventually started gigging again as a three piece with Mince taking up the drums instead. The band were signed quickly to Fallout Records. In April 2006, the band released their first EP The Fratellis EP which featured the breakout song “Creepin’ Up the Backstairs”, with a music video released that featured the band roaming around Glasgow.
The band then traveled to Los Angeles in order to record their debut LP with Tony Hoffer in Sunset Sound Studios. The result was Costello Music and it was released in 2006. It was promoted with “Henrietta”, and then “Chelsea Dagger” which led to the band gaining mainstream success in the UK with the single charting at #5 and would go on to become a sporting anthem. Follow up single “Whistle for the Choir” charted at #9, which remain to be the highest charting singles from the Fratellis in the UK. It also lead to the band to win the award for “Best Breakthrough Act” at the 2007 BRIT awards, which was voted for by Radio 1 listeners. The band went on a whirlwind tour around the world, supported the Police and Kasabian in arena gigs before finally finishing the touring cycle with their own arena gigs in September 2007 at the AECC and SECC in Aberdeen and Glasgow. Following these shows, the band started to prepare to work on their second album.
Here We Stand and “indefinite hiatus” (2008-2009)
The band had managed to convince their record label to help pay for a studio in Glasgow, rather than paying for a producer and the band would record and produce their second album themselves. During the winter of 2007, the band huddled into their studio and recorded their second LP away from any record executives and announced in February 2008 that their new album was complete and will be released in May. The band played a showcase gig later that month at the Queen Margaret Union in Glasgow where they debuted 8 new songs from the new album.
The first fruits of the studio labour was unveiled later with “Mistress Mabel” being the first song to be released from the LP which was played by Jim Gellatly, the DJ who gave the band their first airplay on a radio station. The album Here We Stand was released to mixed reviews, with some people not embracing the harder rock sound that came with this album off the back of the quicker paced rock from their debut. The band still managed to tour the world and had some high billings on some renowned festivals such as Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds festival that year.
Tensions in the band started to rise at this point, with 2009 opening with their first tour of Australia and being relatively quiet. The band played a show at Island 50, a showcase for 50 years of Island Records with Costello Music being selected as one of the 50 albums. They played the album all the way through for the first time alongside a cover of Bob Marley’s “Stir It Up” they recorded for a celebration album. After this was their first festival headline slot at Hop Farm Festival and then the Fratellis calendar was empty. The band quietly parted ways, with a post on the Fratellis website explaining they were going on an indefinite hiatus and the band members would be separately exploring new projects.
“The Hiatus” (2009-2012)
Jon went on to form Codeine Velvet Club and eventually moved on to a solo career, where he would reunite with Mince Fratelli. Mince initially started out the hiatus by forming a heavy metal band called Throne o’ Diablo, where he could express his love of heavy metal music away from the Fratellis. The band played a few shows before eventually disbanding for unknown reasons. He went on to play in his Dad’s blues band before eventually joining back up with Jon when he was touring his debut solo album. Mince played drums as a second drummer and occasionally contributed backing vocals and guitar while playing live.
Barry revealed he’d started soundtrack work and continued to DJ at club nights around the UK and other countries. He also joined Birmingham based band The Twang as their bass player, which he eventually had to leave when the Fratellis finally reformed in 2012.
Reunion and We Need Medicine (2012-2014)
Jon was booked to play a solo show to help raise money for The Eilidh Brown Memorial Fund in June 2012, but this slot eventually evolved into the Fratellis playing their first show since they split in 2009. Jon went on to explain that he had reached out to the band and asked if they fancied giving it another go, stating that life was to short to not do what they do best and that he now appreciated having an audience, which he was struggling to reign in on his own.
With no management, and no record label, they were free to do as they pleased and decided to keep things much simpler this time around. They went on to play a short tour in September 2012, where they debuted two new songs “This Old Ghost Town” (which was previously played at a early Jon solo show) and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Will Break Your Heart”. Things started to look good in camp Fratelli and that winter, they went into a studio in Glasgow and recorded their third album with Stuart McCredie and Jon taking up production duties.
They went on to play another UK tour in April 2013, with more new songs appearing in the form of “She’s Not Gone Yet But She’s Leaving” and “Seven Nights Seven Days” and more songs from Here We Stand turning up in rearranged forms. We Need Medicine was announced with an October 2013 release date and another UK tour along with their first US tour in 5 years and a European tour. The band used 2014 to play festival dates and another UK tour where they unveiled two new songs called “Too Much Wine” and “Impostors”. New music came from an unannounced EP called The Soul Crush which featured three new songs, and then the band played their first shows in Russia before bowing out of the We Need Medicine touring cycle and retreating to record their fourth album.
Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied (2014-2017)
The band then retreated to LA in October 2014 to record their fourth album with Tony Hoffer, the architect of their first album. The band shared snippets of their sessions in the studio on their social media pages, which confirmed that “Impostors” would be included on the upcoming fourth album. In June 2015, the band announced that Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied would be released in August and released “Me and the Devil” as a free song to anyone who signed up to their mailing list. The first single to be taken from the album was “Baby Don’t You Lie to Me!” and was quickly followed up with “Dogtown” as an instant gratification track.
The band launched the album with three small shows across the UK before heading out across the UK, Europe and America on a sell out tour. Barry claimed before the tour that the band were “tighter than we’ve ever been” and it showed with the praise the band were given for the shows.
Another announcement started brewing earlier in 2016, as the band went on to announce further shows later that year across the UK to celebrate 10 years since Costello Music. The shows would see the band play the seminal album in it’s entirety, bringing several songs back onto the setlist that had been gone for a number of years. The entire tour sold out quickly and then the band went to work on their fifth album.
In Your Own Sweet Time (2017-2018)
More to come…