Background information
Origin	Bradford, England
Genre(s)	Britpop Indie Alternative rock Pop
Years active	1997–present
Label(s)	Fierce Panda Records Hut Records Independiente Records
Website	http://www.embrace.co.uk
Members
Danny McNamara Richard McNamara Steve Firth Mike Heaton Mickey Dale

Embrace are an English guitar band from Brighouse and Bradford in West Yorkshire. To date they have released five studio albums, one singles album and one b-sides compilation. The band consist of brothers singer Danny McNamara and guitarist Richard McNamara, bassist Steve Firth, keyboardist Mickey Dale, and drummer Mike Heaton. The group's most recent studio album, This New Day, was released on March 27, 2006.

Band history

After building a following through their EP releases, their debut album The Good Will Out went to number 1 in the British charts on 14th June 1998. However, the sales for their subsequent releases, Drawn from Memory (2000) and If You've Never Been (2001) were disappointing by comparison and the band were dropped by Hut Records in 2002, amid confusion as Virgin Records (Hut's parent company) were taken over by EMI. Around this time frontman Danny McNamarra became tabloid fodder due to a rumoured relationship with 90's pop diva Gina G.

They were signed by Andy McDonald to his Independiente Records label and produced a successful comeback album Out of Nothing, which reached number 1 in the UK in 2004. The 'comeback' single that preceded this album was Gravity, which had been written by Coldplay's Chris Martin and given to the band as Martin felt it sounded more like Embrace than Coldplay. Danny McNamara and Chris Martin had become firm friends after Coldplay had supported Embrace back in 2000 in Blackpool. The single was an instant hit, charting in at number 7. Coldplay have since re-recorded Gravity as a b-side for their single Talk.

The band's fifth studio album, This New Day was released on the 27th March, with the single Nature's Law being released the week before (and entering the Official UK Singles Chart at number 2). The album has been seen as a 'fresh start' by the band, with a new songwriting process in place, seeing the whole band contributing to the songs, not just the old writing partnership the McNamara brothers had previously enjoyed. Indeed, Danny McNamara commented that "As kids we grew up listening to bands like Joy Division, Echo & the Bunnymen and U2, bands who've always used this technique, but it's something we'd never tried before. It's been an incredibly inspiring experience and really feels like a whole new start for us"[1]. This new technique certainly saw the band at it's most productive, recording 24 songs in just nine days.[2]

Although they are still relatively unknown outside of the UK, their single Ashes is one of the featured "EA Trax" on EA Sports's console-spanning FIFA Soccer 2006, promising them further exposure. It is also being used on the BBC's Premiership football highlights programme 'Match of the Day' as the 'Goal of the Month' theme tune. Gravity was used as the theme for the ITV series Mike Bassett: Manager in 2005.

Following their successful return with Out Of Nothing, the first single Nature's Law from This New Day entered the charts at #2 on 26 March 2006, providing them with their biggest hit by far. This New Day went straight into the charts at #1 and became their third number 1 album in Britain.

Embrace playing live in Leeds

In March 2006, Embrace were chosen to record England's official football World Cup 2006 song, "World At Your Feet," which received its first Radio play on 21 April 2006 on BBC Radio 1, to a generally poor reception among football fans. It was released on 5 June 2006 and entered the UK singles charts at #3 despite selling more copies than Nature's Law . [3]. Danny McNamara and Steve Firth are both fans of Leeds United.

In a BBC Radio 1 Interview in 2006. Danny hinted that their next album will be their last, although at a gig in Bristol on September 27, 2006, Danny denied the rumours stating that they still had a long way to go. The band even played a track from their currently untitled sixth album called Heart and Soul. Danny further claimed the band wasn't to split at the Hammersmith Apollo two days later, and then during each gig of their national tour, he repeated the statement. The band are however to take a break after finishing their Autumn 2006 tour before starting work on their follow up to This New Day in Spring/Summer 2007.

On Radio 1's Live Lounge, Embrace recorded a slower more melodic version of the D12 rap song "How Come"

Discography

Studio albums