| Aqualung |
Matt
Hales
|
| Background information |
| Birth name |
Matt Hales |
| Born |
January 17, 1972 |
| Origin |
 England |
| Genre(s) |
Piano rock
Pop |
| Occupation(s) |
Singer/songwriter |
| Years active |
2002–present |
| Label(s) |
Sony BMG
B-Unique
Columbia |
| Website |
Official website |
Matt Hales (born January
17, 1972),
better known as Aqualung, is an English singer and songwriter
best known in the UK for his song "Strange and Beautiful", which was
featured on a television advertisement
for the new Volkswagen Beetle during the
summer of 2002
and went on to become a Top 10 hit in the UK
singles chart later that year. In the United
States, Aqualung is also known for the song "Brighter Than Sunshine",
which had considerable airplay and was used in the film A
Lot Like Love and various television spots.
|
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 1.1 Early
life
- 1.2 Career
as Aqualung
- 2 Discography
- 2.1 Albums
- 2.2 EPs
- 2.3 Singles
- 3 References
- 4 External
links
|
Biography
Early life
Hales grew up in Southampton, a city on the south coast
of England,
where his parents ran an independent record shop. He wanted to be - and
indeed was - a musician from an early age, although he said in a BBC
interview that there were a couple of years when he was about 12 that
he wanted to be a stuntman. At the age of 16, he was
awarded a scholarship to study music composition at Winchester
College. By the age of 17, he had written his first symphony
entitled Life Cycle.
Also while he was a teenager, he formed his first band,
which was known by several names during its lifespan: Da Fook Mo a Dib,
White Noise, and Mecano Pig. In 1990, they produced an album, Mecano
Pig, but broke up soon after that.
In the autumn of 1990, Hales moved to London to study
music at City University. While he
was there, he and his brother Ben formed a new band, Gravel Monsters,
although they later changed their name to RUTH (and their fan club
became ALAN). They released several singles and an album, Harrison,
but had very little success. They changed their name again to the 45s,
and in 2001
were signed to Mercury Records. However, they only
released two further singles, and in March 2002 they were dropped and the band split up.
He went on to start a Jethro Tull tribute band during 2002 that only
lasted a couple of months. This would inspire him to use the name
Aqualung, which happened to be his favorite song.
Career as Aqualung
His debut single, "Strange and Beautiful (I'll
Put a Spell on You)", was released in the UK on the B-Unique
label on September 16, 2002, after gaining
popularity as the soundtrack on an advert for the new Volkswagen
Beetle, and reached number 7 in the UK Top 40. It was also featured in the
film Wicker Park.
This was followed shortly after by his eponymous debut album, Aqualung.
He released his second album, Still Life,
in 2003 to
critical acclaim albeit limited commercial success. As part of the
promotion for this album, Aqualung embarked on two contrasting tours of
the U.K.
in early 2004
- the first as a duo comprising Hales and his brother Ben on guitar
playing at unusual venues such as churches, and the second with the
pair and a full backing band playing at more conventional rock venues.
Two of the gigs in London were recorded and released as a Live DVD
through the band's website along with two compilation CDs of B-Sides
and Remixes.
Matt Hales appeared on the 2004 Tiësto album Just
Be on the track "Ur".
A compilation of tracks from his first two albums was released
in the United States, entitled Strange
and Beautiful following a new contract being
signed with Columbia Records for future
worldwide releases. The track "Brighter Than Sunshine" became a big hit
and enjoyed Top 40 airplay for several months, after being featured in
the film A Lot Like Love.
The band have also enjoyed increased notoriety through appearances on
various talk shows and the use of the band's songs in shows such as One Tree Hill,
The
O.C., Grey's
anatomy, Scrubs
and recently CSI: Miami.
Easier To Lie the single featured in Scrubs
and Brothers and Sisters (EP03)
In 2006, they were special guests on Tom
McRae's Hotel Cafe Tour.
In mid 2007, the Aqualung track "Left Behind" off of the
earlier release Strange and Beautiful was featured
in a series of Chrysler car commercials in the U.S. giving Aqualung
even more notoriety, despite the financial troubles of the struggling
automaker.
After recently completing their US tour, Aqualung announced
the release of his next album, Memory Man,
which includes eleven new songs. It was released on March 13, 2007 in the USA, with
other parts of the world to follow. The first single will be "Pressure
Suit" in the United States with Cinderella as the first single in the
UK, due to be released on June 11th.
Discography
Albums
| Title |
Release date |
Label |
Status |
| Aqualung |
September
30, 2002 |
B-Unique |
Gold |
| Still Life |
October 27, 2003 |
B-Unique |
|
| Strange and Beautiful |
March 22, 2005 |
Columbia |
|
| Memory Man |
March 13, 2007 |
Columbia |
|
EPs
| Title |
Release date |
Label |
| Exclusive iTunes EP |
August 16, 2005 |
Columbia |
| Still Life 1 |
March 1, 2005 |
Columbia |
| Exclusive iTunes EP 2 |
January 17, 2006 |
Columbia |
Singles
| Title |
Release date |
Chart positions |
Label |
| UK |
| "Strange and Beautiful (I'll Put a Spell on You)" |
September
16, 2002 |
#7 |
B-Unique |
| "Good Times Gonna Come" |
December 2, 2002 |
#71 |
B-Unique |
| "Brighter than Sunshine" |
October 13, 2003 |
#37 |
B-Unique |
| "Easier to Lie" |
March 13, 2004 |
#60 |
B-Unique |
| "Pressure Suit" |
2007 |
|
Columbia |
| "Cinderella" |
June 11, 2007 |
|
Columbia |
References
External links
