Splinter

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Splinter
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Background information
Formed 2005
Origin United Kingdom
Genre Alternative
Indie
Years active 2005—2008
Label IDK!!1
Associated acts
Moya


Splinter are an alternative band from the United Kingdom wfo formed in 2005. They initially began as a punk/emo group, with influences from American rock acts. They progressed into a more indie sound with their second album, as they said they hated the emo scene, and didn't like the label. Their third album brought immense success with its rave influences and electro-rock sound.

Line-up[edit | edit source]

File:Splinterparty.jpg
Early Splinter with Chris & Ian
  • Dougie — the band's lead singer. He's mouthy and sometimes cruel. However, he has a heart inside him and doesn't often overstep the mark. He was married to singer Moya for almost a year, and is the father of her two children.
  • Scott — the bassist of the band. Scott writes many of Splinter's songs. He doesn't really care who he offends with what he says or does. He's had most of the female population of Uraps in bed, but had a brief relationship with Sidonia Sinn. He is now seeing Josie Matthews.
  • Jamie — guitarist for the band. He tries to be nice, but he can't make up for Dougie and Scott. He hasn't had any relationships on Uraps.

Former members[edit | edit source]

  • Chris — former guitarist
  • Ian — former drummer

Music[edit | edit source]

Songs To Slit Your Wrists To[edit | edit source]

File:Splinteralbfront.jpg
Songs To Slit Your Wrists To cover

The band released their first album in 2005 to much critical acclaim. It was released on 10th July, after it was pulled at the last minute in February. The album had 16 tracks, and was labelled a disappointing debut for the band. However its artwork involving the bands infamous stickman grabbed the attention of URAPS, and it even got a Mercury Music Award nomination in 2005.

File:Kati6.jpg
Stick man

The album spawned two singles - "Time Took Hearts" and "My Sky". "Time Took Hearts" was an anthemic, The Killers-style track. More recently, the band recently declared their hatred for the song and it hasn't been included on any of the setlists on recent tours and live gigs. "My Sky" was released in July 2005, and was voted the summer anthem of 2005 by NME readers. The track itself was far more commercial, and reached the top 20 for the band. There was also plans to release "What Katie Did" in September 2005. Plans fell through when the band's mascot, "the stick man", was taken from them for copyright reasons.

The band then announced they were abandoning Songs To Slit Your Wrists To, and wrote their new album.

Daydreams For The Deaf[edit | edit source]

Splinter released their third single, a cover of Taking Back Sunday's "Cute Without The E" in November 2005. It gave them their biggest hit at that stage, due to decent promotion and the original, if a little graphic, artwork. It was due to be from the band's second album Daydreams For The Deaf. The album was scrapped because the band said "it was rubbish".

The band released their fourth single "Yours Truly" in January 2006. It was a ballad, and it featured Dougie's then-wife Moya. After that release, the band abandoned Daydreams For The Deaf, and returned in March in attempt to promote their new single.

Let's Get Drunk[edit | edit source]

File:Drunkcover.jpg
Let's Get Drunk cover
File:SplinterMobo.jpg
Splinter at the MOBO's

"Fuck It Up/Everytime I Die" was released in March 2006, and was promoted to a decent standard weeks in advance. However, promotion dwindled in the weeks leading to the single release. It became the band's first song not to chart, with the first release from the album from their third album. The second single "Down With Gravity" also had zero promotion when it was released in May 2006 and failed to chart again.

The band returned in October 2006 with a re-release of "Fuck It Up", a cover of Towers Of London. The song was heavily promoted, with numerous television appearances, including a performance of the hip-hop remix of "Fuck It Up" at the MOBO Awards. The band performed with Destined Ladies, and there was complete outrage when many urban acts of Uraps claimed the band were making a mockery of their awards show. The band simply said they were "branching out into a new genre". They later said it was the worst experience of their life. Destined Ladies have not been seen since.

Promotion paid off and the band debuted at #12, however the single climbed into the top 10 a week later. The album, Let's Get Drunk, was released in October 2006 after the single. It contains the DNC singles and "Fuck It Up".

The band then released the fan favorite "Liverpool" in January 2007. The single was a huge success, and as it was released the first week of the year, it went into the top 10 instantly. The band released an AA-side, "Red Light District/Is It Just Me?" on March 12th. The single was backed by a safe-sex campaign and gave them their third consecutive top ten hit. It equaled the peak of "Cute Without The E".

The band also released an EP entitled "Let's Do Drugs". The song consisted of songs relating to drugs and alcohol. Some of the songs were from Let's Get Drunk, while others were new. The EP charted in the top ten, like the four previous singles from the album

The group went away to work on their third album.

This Is Not An Album[edit | edit source]

In late 2007, Splinter returned with new material. Rather than an indie sound, the band experimented with rave influences and electronic sounds. The album's lead-in single "Head Funk" was a massive hit, charting at #3. This was the first time Splinter had charted within the top five, let alone the top three. The album, This Is Not An Album, proved to be equally successful.

Splinter release their new single "God's Got A Glowstick" in January.

Public image[edit | edit source]

The band are famed for their exploitation of women, drug taking, and being vile to most of Urapopstar. However, they have made friends with a select few of the acts. They are also known for their disputes. Although they've calmed down a bit recently, they caused a huge argument with ENVY when Dougie told them they weren't rock.

"Envy are not rock. I bet they don’t even know what rock is! Honestly, if rock was a bit of guitar stuck under a heavy drum machine then they’re there, but it’s not, and they are not there." Dougie

The band haven't crossed words since, but it's thought they are not on speaking terms.

Discography[edit | edit source]

Albums[edit | edit source]

2005: Songs To Slit Your Wrists To — #14
2006: Let's Get Drunk — #7
2007: This Is Not An Album — #3

Singles[edit | edit source]

2005: Time Took Hearts —#23
2005: My Sky — #11
2005: Cute Without The E — #7
2006: Yours Truly (with Moya) — #13
2006: Fuck It Up/Everytime I Die — DNC
2006: Down With Gravity — DNC
2006: Fuck It Up — #9
2007: Liverpool — #8
2007: Red Light District/Is It Just Me? — #7
2007: Let's Do Drugs EP — #8
2007: Head Funk — #3
2008: God's Got A Glowstick — #4
2008: Myspace Generation — #3
2008: He Said She Said/I Like Blonde Girls — #10