The Archive Index

"Keep close to me, now. I'll be your guide..."

In an attempt to make the Archive a little bit easier to navigate, I've been working on a contents page that contains all the links you'll need to investigate the blog. The default search facility here has always been a little bit unappealing, and so this lays everything out in a more linear fashion. It should, at least in theory anyway, make it easier for you to find stuff.

So what is the Archive? It's everything that I have ferociously and often indiscriminately collected by Editors since I became a fan in 2006. There's no officially released material here as it's not my intention to take money out of anybody's pocket. What it does contain are live shows, interviews, television appearances and some other memorabilia that isn't quite as easy to categorise (Editors condom tin, anyone?). The whole idea in setting this blog up was to assemble everything in one place so that Editors fans would be able to delve into the band's history, as well as catching up with their current activities.

I should point out that what you'll see is still incomplete, because I've had to start at the beginning and locate and replace any dead links as I go owing to some cyber-disasters. Additionally, I recently decided to make as much as possible available in streaming form, so that fans aren't physically tied to downloading. At the time of writing there are well over 750 posts, so as you might imagine there's more than a few wayward pages. It's taken me just over a year so far but, in true existential fashion, I'm much nearer to the end than I was.

Whether you've been an Editors fan for a while or you've only just discovered them, welcome. I'm glad you're here. Have a look around and take whatever you want, support the band and most importantly of all enjoy the music ;)

The Archive - Table of Contents

Miscellaneous
Editors Oddities
Editors Instagram
Editors in 2003 (as Snowfield)
Editors in 2005
Editors in 2006
Editors in 2007
Editors in 2008
Editors in 2009
Editors in 2010
Editors in 2011
Editors in 2012
Editors in 2013
Editors in 2014
Editors in 2015
Editors in 2016
Editors in 2017
Editors in 2018

The Lemming Archive (main blog)
The Archive on Twitter (for updates and news)
The Archive on YouTube (for all hosted videos)

brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x

Editors Instagram - October 2018

Almost exactly 3 years to the day since their last run of engagements in front of UK audiences began, Editors once again took their show on their road a little bit closer to home. They'd done a string of dates in 2016 with the Manics, but not a sustained series of dates in their own right. This facilitated not only a re-connection with their UK fans, but also a chance to refresh the memories of the sometimes indifferent media in this country, which are often more absorbed with the prestige that comes from claiming discovery rights over bands that are just starting out. 15 years since they appeared on the Lamacq live show as Snowfield, Editors were once again out gloomily increasing the volume at local venues and as Mr Smith would have us believe, smelling the crowds. Things were looking pretty good.

Then on the 12th October came an announcement that I'm sure sent a chill through the fanbase; Editors were cancelling their gig in Aberdeen. The reason this was that Tom was in the grip of a viral infection and the feeling was that if they couldn't put on the type of show that they're capable of as a result, then they would pull the plug and reschedule. This is entirely reasonable, of course. We've all been ill at one time or another, and the idea of dragging yourself from a bed in that state and onto a stage to play in front of a room full of people would be less than appealing.

The more worrying wrinkle to this story is that in the past when Editors cancel shows it means that it's serious, because their work ethic has always made them able to power through these situations. Remember, this is a group that were all collectively so unwell during a show that they spent the time pre-encore behind Ed's drums throwing up together. As the saying goes, a band that hurls together...

It was something that evoked memories from a couple of years ago when it was announced that the American tour was cancelled due to illness. I wondered, as a lot of you probably did if this was a return to those times and if the spectre of ill health would return to cause promotional chaos once more. It becomes a balancing act between fulfilling your present commitments and protecting those in the future. If they had gone onstage at Aberdeen and exacerbated whatever was bothering Tom, then this could have resulted in more dates being nuked later. Sure, they would have played the show and kept the fans happy like they promised but more than likely you would now have the same problem down the line only worse. And believe me I do understand the frustration that comes with getting so close to the prize only to watch it disappear. In August 2007 I was at an Interpol gig in Newcastle when the show was cancelled as the support band went onstage. I get it.

But do you really want to be entertained by a person who feels obliged yet wishing they were somewhere else throughout the performance? Wouldn't it be better for them to be fully present and ready to connect with the audience as authentically as possible? Sometimes it's OK to allow our favourite performers to be human, wish them well and take this minor inconvenience on the chin for the greater good.  

As it turned out, after a short respite from the promotional treadmill Tom was indeed able to return to their gig at Glasgow Barrowlands.To be fair, if you were going to stage a recuperative comeback anywhere then the Barrowlands is a great place to do it. Scottish fans like to get crazy and they love live music, so a partisan crowd was virtually a certainty, as was the warm welcome back that the band received.

As you would expect, most of what's on offer for October is centred around the tour. It includes a selection of snaps from the band themselves and from various related sources. There's also the 18 short Instagram Story videos that were shared on the night of their gig at the Brixton Academy. 

In other news, the video for Cold went public and it proved to be another showcase for Mr Rezvani's ability to interpret Editors visually and demonstrate his precision in spotting and capturing beauty in human movement. Filmed on location in Reykjavik, it features Mr Smith and dancer Drew Jacoby out and about in the landscape of Iceland. It's the same reaction every time I watch one of Rahi's films for Editors; what would he have done with the really early stuff? I've said this before, I don't mean to in any way disparage the folks that came up with the videos for songs like Munich, Smokers and All Sparks etc. Not at all. I just wonder how they would have looked having been shone through Rahi's creative filter?  

The recurring topic of Smith and Burrows came back around, with a short Instagram story video of Tom in his trucker cap playing in a rehearsal room or studio setup. What was he playing? Impending tunes or just fan-trolling to pass the time? We'll see. 

Finally, another small but personally significant incident happened on the 2nd October 2018 when the Archive on Vimeo was shut down forever due to copyright problems. This meant a return to YouTube, just under another name. You'd imagine that I'm still bitter about it but the truth is I wake up every morning smiling and unafraid of the Archive's future, because everything is running super-smoothly.

(cough)

Here's Editors' Instagram collection for October 2018 ;)

download here

 
For all of Editors' previous Instagram posts, go here.

brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x

Barcel Guadalajara 10th November 2018 RMX Radio Rip

Photo borrowed from Maccum's Instagram Account

A post that is entirely the work of the creator and custodian of Editors' fantastic online forum, Hannah. Many thanks to you for your time and your vigilance in our ongoing mission to relentlessly document absolutely everything this band does. It's appreciated ;)

Bad new first. RMX radio have a "robust" anti-bootlegging policy, as most stations do, and so they talk and drop jingles as much as they possibly can. They also run advertisements where there should be live music, actually stepping away from concerts to pimp product. It's annoying as hell but hey, it's free radio and they have to make their money somehow. It's just unfortunate that it's at the expense of the music sometimes and they really did a hatchet job on this gig. What's being shared here is the full and complete RMX Radio broadcast exactly as it aired at the time of the show. 

Editors had such a good time in Mexico this year that they returned to play there on the 10th November 2018. They brought with them a setlist that has been refined and road tested throughout the year, and when you can actually hear it the results are wonderful. This show has an amazing version of Ocean of Night within it which serves to remind us that the recorded tracks we hear on the albums and single we buy are never really the finished article. Editors always apply new shades of colour when they play the tunes live. Mostly shades of black, but you get my point. Enjoy the music, it's in there somewhere ;)

Broadcast Setlist

Hallelujah (So Low)
An End Has a Start
A Ton of Love
(Ads)
Darkness at the Door
Munich
Violence
(ads)
Blood
Papillon
Magazine
Ocean of Night
Racing Rats
Smokers

stream it here

Bonus Material
This is some bonus material courtesy of  Hannah to go with this post. It's a collection of Instagram story videos from RMX that I've compiled into a single clip, following the band from their hotel to the festival site and with some onstage footage. Thanks again, Hannah ;)

stream it here

brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love ;) x

Dispute not approved...

I thought you might like to take a look at the utterly absurd world that I live in as I rebuild and continue to assemble the Archive. My intention is to keep this brief and not turn it into a full blown rant, tempting as it is. 

I received a copyright complaint on a post I did on YouTube. This in itself is nothing new and an occupational hazard, however the nature of the complaint was what prompted me to appeal and state my case as to why it was made in error. 

The video in question is Tom and Justin's appearance on ZDF Aspekte on the 25th July 2014, where they played an acoustic version of The Phone Book. The details in that sentence are what's important, so make a mental note of them before you read on. It's a great clip of a song that we don't hear that often any more, so I was excited to make it available again. Shortly after I published it a notice appeared to inform me that there was a copyright claim made by the digital rights organisation [Merlin] PIAS. The reason? 

That I had used a copy of The Phone Book recorded by Editors for Spotify Madrid in 2013 as part of my video.  

The allegation from Merlin is that my post contains music from a year prior to the actual video I shared, and from a completely different recording session. After reading the claim, I thought that I would appeal it because the proof that this was made in error is overwhelming. You only have to take a look at the footage and see that the claim is invalid. They are on German TV in 2014, and it definitely isn't the Spotify Madrid take. 

The thing about most copyright claims on YouTube is that if one is levelled against you, all that normally happens is the copyright owner will prevent you from monetising the clip (I don't monetise videos on my channel anyway). Usually they will insert adverts on behalf of the client they're representing and that's the end of it. On occasion they will go so far as to block it in several countries or territories or at its most severe just implement a worldwide block which means absolutely nobody gets to see it. In my case, the punishment was the removal of my right to monetise but no viewing restrictions at all. This is a result that I can live with, but as the claim was completely false I felt that I had to take some kind of action. 

So I filed an appeal. I stated that I wasn't looking to rip off the band and that the clip is from 2014, not 2013 and certainly not from Spotify.  They had 29 days to reply and they only took 10. My thinking was that they saw what I saw, actually what anyone can see if they view the clip and so didn't need a month to make a decision. When I got the email notification to say the results were in, I eagerly opened my YouTube dashboard to see this (click on the thumbnail for the full view):- 

Merlin have decided that the video does in fact use The Phone Book from Spotify Madrid 2013 and so the claim stands. Here's the kicker. If I decide to appeal this and I lose, which judging by the lack in interest in the facts here is a possibility, it will earn me my first copyright strike on the new Archive YouTube profile. That's the first of three steps towards no more streaming videos. 

The most worrying part of this situation is that they don't seem to be open to reason. Even when I can present evidence to the contrary of their claim which they can not only listen to but watch as well, it doesn't matter. I positively, certainly used a recording of The Phone Book from Spotify...even if it's abundantly clear that I didn't. The circle of people that are annoyed by what I do keeps getting smaller and closer. Before it was corporations like the BBC or Skynet, but and we're now at the stage where an affiliate acting directly on behalf of Editors' label is at the door. Check back with me in a few months and I guarantee that one of the airports in Justin's travel snaps will be suing me for improper use of an image of their terminal building.

Some days it's difficult to be cheerful. 

drew

3FM Interview with Tom 7th November 2018

Discovered by Hannah from the band's online forum, this is Tom's appearance via telephone on 3FM, 7th November 2018. He was there to discuss Editors' nomination for that station's song of the year contest with the track Magazine, and he reacted in exactly the way you would expect him too when someone approaches with buckets full of praise for him; he wriggles uncomfortably.

You can vote for the track using this link.

It's interesting to hear that he views Magazine and Papillon as siblings, pointing out that they are both in the same key. Tom even suggests that someone does a mashup of the two tracks. 

Tom also gives his own verdict for song of the year. What was it? Listen and find out ;)

stream it here or download here

brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love ;) x

Elliott on the Chips of Chorlton Podcast 29th October 2018

Just under an hour of fried potato slices and chatter with that guy out of Airship for you now, as he took part in the Chips of Chorlton Podcast 29th October 2018. From the very beginning there's some information that you may not have heard before, for example just how long Elliott has been a fan of the band. They weren't aware of it before they started the show, but pretty much everybody involved in it was at the same Editors gig on the Back Room tour in Manchester way back in the day. 

This is one of those laid-back affairs where the talk is signposted by the occasional question that steers everything back on topic, but for the most part it's us being allowed to eavesdrop on a conversation between friends. Kudos to the hosts for being able to create such an easy environment to talk in. Because of this, it flows much easier than a conventional interview which can get stilted and awkward due to the lack of chemistry between the participants. I think that is the first time we get to hear about what it was like to join Editors in 2012, and all the personal angst that went along with it. A very interesting exchange, enjoy the words ;)

stream it here

brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x

Editors Instagram - September 2018

This installment of Editors' Instagram is a month later than it should have been, mostly because I was dealing with the distasteful business of having the Archive destroyed by corporate wolves. My sincere apologies for the delay, folks. 

In September, live activity from the band was limited to a single show, a gig that also ended the summer festival mini-campaign in continued support of VI OLENCE. It was at Godiva Festival in Coventry and once that last notes were hit, that was it until the October UK tour. This reduced the amount of photographic and video ephemera drastically, but in all honesty for this fan the whole month revolved around the events of a single week.

The 12th of September provided another insight the disparity between how an artist views their work as opposed to how we as fans may see it. Tom took to Instagram and shared the following message:-

"Going over back catalogue for tour prep. A nice reminder that this is right up there with my favourite ever Editors moments. An amazing @i_was_a_teenage_clint_mansell arrangement. It’s a real shame we played the full band version live ... not a patch on this ... shit gets diluted ... hindsight! x"

He was of course referring to the song Nothing, from the band's 4th album The Weight of Your Love. It's easy to forget the small controversies that accompanied that record. The history of it is detailed elsewhere here at the Archive, but there were certain songs that acted as flashpoints for debates and disagreements between fans and band alike. Nothing was one of them because of its' dual personality. It aired live for the first time in Birmingham during a couple of dates at the Birmingham Institute in June of 2012. It's a chugging, expressive monster when it gets going and it's an example of all 5 musicians locking in and holding the moment. It totally works.

If you read the statement above again and feel like Tom's referring to some other piece of music because it's difficult to point to the flaws in that song. Then you realise that in essence he really is talking about another song, because as we all know the studio recording of Nothing is very different in pace and style. 

The idea that the live version that everyone loves is somehow a diluted take on that track seems absurd, given how well it was received right from the first time it was played. But then we didn't write it. It's extremely difficult to mount a credible defence of the full band rendition of Nothing when the opposing counsel just happens to be the person who conceived it in the first place. It wouldn't matter if we all signed a petition to confirm that it's one of Editors' greatest live compositions (which in my opinion it is), because the principal songwriter behind it is shaking his head and mouthing "It isn't" and doesn't appear to be in the mood for a change of heart. I cannot and wouldn't ever try to speak for the man or guess what he's thinking, but it's probably the case that he respects that fans all love the live version. It's just that he also believes we're all completely wrong. Every one of us.

There is still a glimmer of hope for the TWOYL take of Nothing, however, in that Editors have actually played with a string section as backup before. Ponder this, if you will. Somewhere down the line they get together with Mr Mansell again and do some kind of one off show with an orchestra. The kind of thing that Tindersticks did at the Bloomsbury Theatre back in 1995. I think it would be amazing. Some of their songs would be completely transformed by all those extra instruments. Imagine Two Hearted Spider with a full string section, or No Harm, The Oxford Version of The Pulse or The Weight ? Ahhh these daydreams are keep me awake...

This was the first noteworthy happening in September, which was followed exactly a week later on the 19th by an Instagram post which had a black and white photo from a studio somewhere in Rome which read:-

"Days in Rome with @luca.dalberto"

Luca D'Alberto just happens to be a classical composer from Italy. So firstly we have Mr Smith bemoaning the fact that the string version of Nothing didn't get its fair dues, while one week afterwards posting a photo suggesting he's working with another classical composer. It raises more questions than we currently have answers for at present, namely was this Editors related or is Tom collaborating outside of his own gloomy universe again? He's done it before with The Japanese Popstars and Magnus, as well as his most famous extra curricular activity with Mr Burrows. So that's one possibility. But then what if it was Editors related, does that mean there's a track or two being created that we haven't heard yet? Perhaps some solo Smith goodies? Of note is that Mr Rezvani directed the music video for Her Dreams by Luca, making you realise how small the world actually is. There's answers out there just waiting to be revealed and as ever, we're Editors fans in waiting. It's just what we do. 

Enjoy the snaps, and sorry again for the delay ;)

download here or download here

For all of Editors' previous Instagram posts, go here.

brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x