A Spring 1999 tour (during which time Jon Lee broke his ankle, but the
tour continued, of course) saw Feeder play songs from 'Yesterday Went
Too Soon' for their passionate fans for the first time. Two more top
forty hit singles were released before Yesterday went to soon entered
the album charts at number seven. The album saw a further advancement of
Grant Nicholas' song writing, featuring gorgeous ballads (Tinseltown the
title track), explosive power pop(insomnia, 'Waiting For Changes') and
quirky tunes(Day in Day out Picture off perfect youth). In October,
Feeder played their biggest headlining dates yet, culminating in a show
at Brixton Academy.
Over the course of the year, the
band had played in front of huge crowds on the bills of Glastonbury,
Reading and Leeds, Mt. Fuji Festival in Japan and the Ashton Court
Festival in Bristol, which the band headlined in front of a 25,000 crowd.
The year ended on another high, as the band celebrated New Years 1999 on
the bill of the Manic Millennium at the Millennium stadium in Cardiff.
Feeder headlined a prestigious
night at the NME Carling Premier Awards shows in London in January 2000.
The band toured Australia for the first time and Jon Lee got married in
Miami.
The rest of 2000 saw Grant write
their third album and the band spent the Summer recording in Great
Linford Manor in Buckinghamshire with Gil Norton (Pixies, Foo Fighters)
at the helm.
2001 has so far been Feeder's best
year yet. The insanely catchy 'Buck Rogers' entered the charts at number
5, their highest chart position. It also became a bona fide radio anthem
in the process. Two sets of sold out touring in March and April
culminated with two shows overstuffed, celebratory shows at the London
Astoria.
A second single, 'Seven Days In The
Sun' saw Feeder travel Cape Town to record a memorable beach-based
video. It provided the band with their second Top Twenty hit of the year
(#14), and was swiftly followed by the release of the band's third album
'Echo Park', which debuted at Number 5 and has swiftly sold over 100,000
copies, awarding the band a Gold Disc. Coincidentally both 'Polythene'
and 'Yesterday Went Too Soon' have clicked over into Silver Disc
territory, with total sales of over 60,000 each.
'Echo Park' is widely considered to
be one of the most accomplished British rock albums of recent times.
It's exuberant 'pop' songs ('Buck Rogers', 'Tell All Your Friends') are
balanced by reflective moments ('Oxygen', 'Piece By Piece') and some of
Feeder's thrillingly heaviest stuff yet ('Standing On The Edge' and
'Bug'). A new single 'Turn' is released on July 2nd. Feeder play T In
The Park and the Reading and Leeds Festivals this Summer.