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What the Press said in 2007: FANS of Coventry band The Enemy are being given the chance to get in on the act by remixing a version of their next single - with the best one set to grace the B-side.
The band will be releasing This Song Is About You, from the number one album We'll Live and Die in These Towns, in the new year.
The Enemy are offering the individual parts for remixing - vocals, drums, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, horns, keyboards and piano - for download at www.theenemy.com
Finished remixes should be sent to the band by January 10, 2008.
Singer and guitarist Tom Clarke will then choose the winning remix to feature on the B-side of the single. Tom said: "If people can get their entries in before January 10, I'm going to spend the next few weeks going through every one.
"I know there's going to be a lot of CDs to listen to but I'm really looking forward to see what people will do with the song."
To enter, e-mail a YouSendIt link (for more information go to www.yousendit.com) or an MP3 to theenemy@hotmail.co.uk
Alternatively, a CD, clearly marked "The Enemy Remix Comp" should be sent to the Digital Department, Warner Bros Records, 12 Lancer Square, London, W8 4EH.
Entrants should include their name and a daytime contact number with their entries.
27/12/07 - Mirror: 3A Emmies 2007 They're the showbiz gongs that the REAL stars REALLY want... and we bestow them only on the truly talented.
This year the Spice Girls and Take That dominated (it's like 1996 all over again). Gorgeous Gary Barlow said: "We've had a fantastic year, it's great to top it off like this!"
There are new faces too, of course - Kate Nash chief among them. And who other than super-cool Sienna Miller could be our best actress?
So here they are, like the Oscars only much, much more exciting... it's the 2007 BEST ROCK ACT
THE ENEMY
After hot sets at Glastonbury and T In The Park, we rushed out to buy their debut album. They say: "We're really impressed with our gong, it wasn't expected!"
Runner up album of the year: The Enemy – We Live And Die In These Towns
Gobby? Check. Songs to spill your pint to while you bounce around to them? Check. Surprise mid-tempo to reel in a grown-up audience? Check. Coventry’s The Enemy first graced the Daily Star before the ink had dried on their record deal and a demo CD made its way into my hands.
From the early cut of 40 Days and 40 Nights, their limited edition debut, they screamed with hit potential.
After gigging their way around the country 10 times over, the trio picked up a loyal following and songs like Had Enough and Away From Here became festival favourites 19/12/07 - NME.COM: The Enemy invite fans to record their next B-side  The *picture from NME/Dean Chalkley. Enemy have invited fans to record the B-side for their next single.
The band are set to release ’This Song’, and are inviting people to remould the track, with the best set to feature on the official release.
Speaking to NME.COM, frontman Tom Clarke explained he would be personally judging the entries.
“If people can get their entries in I’m going to spend the next few weeks going through every one,” he declared. “I know there’s going to be a lot of CDs to listen to but I’m really looking forward to see what people do with the song.”
To make it easier for would be remixers, the band have broken the song into its component parts – vocals, drums, guitars, bass, etc – and they can be downloaded individually from Theenemy.com.
To enter fans must email an MP3 of their remix to theenemy@hotmail.co.uk by January 10 14/12/07 - Coventry Telegraph: "Millions hear radio one show from The Enemy star's Coventry front room". By Dayle Crutchlow
MILLIONS of listeners tuned into Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley's show yesterday - as it was broadcast live from a family home in Coventry.
The mid-morning Live Lounge show came live from the Holbrooks home of The Enemy's drummer Liam Watts, which he shares with mum and dad Karen and Martin.
A radio crew descended on the quiet family home to bring the entire two-hour show to the nation.
Throughout the show the young band, made up of Tom Clarke, Andy Hopkins and Liam, talked about their lives on the road, as well as performing live versions of their hits. And besides performing and chatting for the popular programme, Liam even rustled up a bit of lunch for the DJ and her production team - but it was nothing too fancy, just some homely cheesy beans on toast.
Singer and guitarist Tom said they had picked Liam's home because of its location, and because of the quality of his mum's hospitality.
He joked: "We decided to do it here because it's in the middle of everybody and Karen makes good tea."
Jo Whiley, one of the nation's top broadcasters, was even told off for having her feet on the sofa.
"That's not allowed" joked Tom.
He revealed that it was at Liam's Holbrooks home where they listened to the first demo of debut single 40 Days and 40 Nights, and that it was there that they usually chose to chill out.
Tom said: "Liam's mum and dad are pretty cool so we've spent a lot of time here eating kebabs, pizzas and curries. But spillages won't be tolerated." The band performed acoustic versions of their current single We'll Live and Die in These Towns, previous hit You're Not Alone and even did a cover version of Wham's Last Christmas, blending into Leona Lewis's Keep Bleeding.
The proud Coventry Kids said they couldn't wait to play gigs on their home turf at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry next April - and praised the people of the city for helping them on their way to the huge success they've enjoyed this year.
The band added that they already had between 20 and 30 songs for their next album, on which they plan to include a string quartet.
by Warren Manger
THE Enemy will return to Coventry tomorrow to play one of their most unusual gigs to date - live from their own living room.
The band will play an acoustic set live from 19-year-old drummer Liam Watts' parents' house in the Holbrooks area of the city as part of BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge Tour.
Liam, bassist Andy Hopkins and front man Tom Clarke have been hailed for putting Coventry back on the map with their meteoric rise to superstardom this year.
Since then they have played to adoring fans as far afield as Ibiza and Tokyo, as well as recently supporting Welsh rockers Stereophonics at the new Wembley stadium.
But The Enemy, who hit number one in the charts with their debut album We'll Live And Die In These Towns in June, are coming home to co-host the live show with radio royalty Jo Whiley.
Add even the seasoned DJ admits she is a little star-struck at the prospect.
She said: "The main thing for us was to find bands we really liked.
"We are going to be in their company, in their home, for about three hours so its crucial that we love their music.
"With The Enemy we had the added bonus that in the past every time they have played live for us they were absolutely amazing, so I'm really looking forward to it."
"They have had a tremendous year - the album is filled with so many exceptional songs it's not surprising they have been played on the radio so much."
Jo added: "We aim to give fans a real insight into who The Enemy are and where they come from.
"Because they will be in their own home we hope they will be more relaxed and won't think as much before they speak, which should produce really good radio.
"We will also be rummaging around to see if we can find any school reports, old photographs or information about previous bands they were in and we will put all that on the website for listeners to see.
"Maybe one of their parents will even wander in with an embarrassing story or two."
* You can hear The Enemy with Jo Whiley, live from Liam's living room, on Radio 1 tomorrow from 10am-12.45pm.
05/12/07 - The Sun: Hottest Tracks Of The Week THE ENEMY – We’ll Live And Die In These Towns. Honest, passionate elegy to life in a nowhere town. Not as immediate as previous singles but gets to the heart of one of the breakthrough bands of the year.3.5 04/12/07 - NME.COM: The Enemy give Alex Zane gold disc The Enemy Alex Zane war is rolling along nicely.
As previously reported the band's diminutive frontman Tom Clarke had some vicious words for presenter Zane.
Clarke called him "talentless" and wondered "how he got on TV in the first place".
Today (December 4) it seems things have not simmered down.
Clarke told The Sun, "We sent Alex the gold disc we got for our album in gratitude for his avid support because he did us the biggest favour.
"The week he banned us we did an extra 10,000 album sales. We only got one gold disc for the album for the three of us but we didn't mind giving it away." Review by: Steve Baker MAKE no mistake, there isn’t a glimmer of cod-sentiment to Tom Clarke’s lyrics when dishing out the working class ‘nowt to do round here’ polemic on We Live And Die In These Towns.
As society basks in an urbanite apartment living, image conscious narcissism, Clarke counters with a blunt utilitarian reminder; championing the near forgotten postcodes in the back of beyond - where burnt out mattresses on an old gasworks hardstand are the adventure playgrounds and theme parks for the working class.
What The Enemy do - and do well - is take this angst, and bridle it with a fist-in-the-air terrace chant of a chorus that will stay in your head for days.
To talk-the-talk you have to have walked-the-walk and The Enemy prove on both counts to be the real deal with this stunning release.
We'll Live and Die in These Towns is the title track from The Enemy's debut album. Described as the album's centre piece, this ballad like track secures the band as a tribute to The Jam with their tales of growing up and the influences their home town of Coventry had on them. The end product is the closest thing you'll find to The Jam's That's Entertainment. Available in shops from Monday December 3. 28/11/07 - NME: The Enemy cover David Bowie and T-Rex The Enemy kept the Mencap covers tradition going tonight (November 27) by performing David Bowie and T-Rex classics at London's Union Chapel.
The band played a 40-minute acoustic set backed by a string quartet for the Little Sessions show, which saw the Coventry trio perform downbeat versions of songs from their debut album 'We'll Live And Die In These Towns'.
The three-piece also threw in Bowie classic 'Five Years' from 'The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars' plus T-Rex's 'Cosmic Dancer'.
Announcing the latter singer Tom Clarke, who was dressed in a black and yellow striped Adidas tracksuit, said: "We are going to play a song we have never played live before."
As the band rounded off their performance with 'This Song' they slipped in a few bars from Lou Reed's 'Walk On The Wild Side'.
"I am not going to bang on about Mencap all night," added Clarke. "But thanks for coming down today and buying a ticket and donating to charity. It has been an absolute honour and a privilege to be here."
The singer then leaned over the stage and shook hands with a few fans before departing.
The Enemy played:
'We'll Live And Die In These Towns'
'Away From Here'
'Its Not OK'
'Happy Birthday Jane'
'Five Years'
'You're Not Alone'
'Cosmic Dancer'
'This Song'
Check out NME.COM for the latest music updates.
THE Enemy’s headline slot at their Mencap Little Noise Sessions gig next week will be different from their usual gutsy lad-rock.
Lead singer Tom Clarke, 19, hinted: “We’ve got something really special planned – it won’t be the usual sort of lager-on-stage-going-mad thing but it’s going to be the most beautiful song you’ve ever seen The Enemy perform.”
The Coventry trio will also be performing debut renditions of their favourite tracks. By Pete Chambers
ON December 3, The Enemy release the title track from their album We'll Live and Die in These Towns.
This, for many Enemy fans, is the album's tour-de-force. It is lyrically superb and paints a bleak picture of everyday life at its 'ad infinitum' worst. With toilets smelling of desperation and a life slipping and sliding right out of view, it's a mighty finger-on-the-pulse epic that's brilliantly executed thanks to the musicianship of Holbrooks heroes Tom, Liam and Andy.
The band are keen to point out that that the song's rationale is not necessarily a slight at Coventry or indeed any other town, it's more about standing up and being proud of where you live. Nevertheless the song has been well and truly pigeon-holed as The Enemy's answer to Ghost Town.
When the idea of a video to accompany the song was discussed, it was with typical genius Tom and the boys devised a clever pastiche based on the Ghost Town video.
I recall a phone call a while back from Tom Clarke, who, knowing my love of all things Cov and music, suggested that I would appreciate the video idea they had come up with for the song, and proceeded to tantalise as he described that it would be a tip of the hat to The Specials' Ghost Town video. You may recall that video The Specials gave us to accompany their ground-breaking single. It saw our ska-heroes in sombre mood driving their way through empty London streets, an eerie video for an equally eerie song. Horace was driving, with Neville and Terry up front, and Roddy, Lynval, Brad and Jerry in the back.
"The Ghost town video was shot in London late one Saturday night," recalls former Specials bass man Horace Panter. "It was June 1981 after an afternoon gig in Rotherham (See Horace's must-read autobiography for details - available in paperback in February). We started about nine in the evening and went on until about eight the next morning. Quite a short video shoot by today's standards. Quite an inexpensive one too.
"The car was a 1962 Vauxhall Cresta - three-speed, stick-shift gearbox. We spent all night going back and forth under the Thames, through the Blackwall Tunnel, with either a car in front of us filming, or driving with a dirty great big sucker stuck on the bonnet. One time the sucker came loose and the camera nearly rolled off the car. That bit was kept in the video. The guy who owned the car was less than pleased that we had marked his lovingly-restored paintwork.
"As it gradually got light on the Sunday morning we headed toward the City, the financial district, which was absolutely deserted and looked very spooky on the finished film. The end shots are of us throwing stones in the Thames."
Meanwhile back with The Enemy, like The Specials, our young rock stars are also in sombre mood, Tom sits in the back seat delivering the vocal line as Andy drives and drummer extraordinaire Liam Watts takes the passenger seat. As the song rolls out its message of everyday boredom, the cities and towns may change, but the gloom remains. This video, like The Specials' one 26 years before, remains a perfect foil to a cleverly constructed and thought-provoking song.
Unlike The Specials, The Enemy take the Coventry connection one step further and the car they use is the Coventry icon, a Jaguar. On the road signs too, Coventry is much in evidence as is Liverpool and Manchester.
It's a great video, but missing an appearance by one of the former Specials, that would have worked so very well, if in the last frame Tom is replaced by a smiling Neville Staple. But hey, you can't have everything!
By Alan Poole
COVENTRY favourites The Enemy have signed up for a second night at the Ricoh Arena after their first concert sold out in record-breaking time.
The 8,000 tickets for their show at the stadium's Jaguar Exhibition Hall on Saturday, April 5, 2008 were snapped up inside five days.
And the promoters have responded to the massive demand by arranging a repeat performance the following night, with a further 8,000 tickets going on sale at 9am tomorrow.
The band - Tom Clarke, Andy Hopkins and Liam Watts - are delighted at the response from their home-town fans.
"You can tell the Coventry Telegraph readers that we're all absolutely ecstatic," said singer Tom. "It will be a victorious day when we walk out on that stage.
"It's the next step up for us. We weren't able to play Cov on our last tour because there wasn't a suitable venue between the Colosseum and the Jaguar Hall."
Liz Cooper, marketing director at the Ricoh Arena, said: "The response has been phenomenal.
"The tickets for the April 5 concert went on sale on Ticketmaster's website at 9am last Friday and we had sold 4,000 by 11.15am.
"We have never sold as many tickets within such a short space of time at the Ricoh Arena and it reinforces The Enemy's popularity in their home city."
As well as favourites from their chart-topping debut album We'll Live And Die In These Towns, the band will be showcasing some new material at The Ricoh.
Despite their frantic schedule since their summer breakthrough, they are well on course with their follow-up album.
Tom said: "After the Stereo-phonics tour we're off to Japan, and when we come back from that, over Christmas and the New Year, we'll be demoing for the second album exactly as we did for the first.
"We'll be doing it down in Stratford which is handy for us because you can just jump in the car in the morning and be there in half an hour." 15/11/07 - NewsGuardian: "The sound of British rock 'n' roll"
The Enemy single - Out December 3
By TEGAN CHAPMAN Entertainment reporter
THE sound of 2007 is back with the fourth single from their scorching debut album that looks destined to set the charts alight.
The Enemy's sprint to success will receive another boost with the release of the single We'll live and die in these towns on December 3.
In a short period of time, The Enemy has caused a massive stir and the release of the single follows on from what has been a trimumphant month for the band, headlining the sold out NME Rock and Roll Riot tour and picking up the Q Award for Best New Band in 2007.
We'll live and die in these towns draws on The Enemy's key influences such as The Jam and Oasis, and is bursting with attitude and energy.
The single is hugely catchy and melodic, and features as a highlight on The Enemy's all-conquering number one album of the same name.
This is the fourth single to be released from the Q award winning debut following Away from here, Had enough and their epic lament to disillusioned Peugeot workers from Coventry - You're not alone.
The band will soon be touring with the Stereophonics at the personal request of singer Kelly Jones before taking their sound to Japan in December to round off what has been a truly exceptional year for The Enemy.
by Dayle Crutchlow
COVENTRY is one of the coolest places in the world - and that's official.
It's not just the view of the Coventry Telegraph, but the gospel according to that music bible of youth credibility - the NME.
The nation's biggest music paper this week printed its annual "Cool List" for 2007 and there, in the top 10 list of The Coolest Places, sits Coventry.
The full list of Coolest Places, which the NME printed in no particular order, was Portland, Cardiff, Los Angeles, Wakefield, St Albans, Coventry, Henley-OnThames, Brazil, China and East London.
The NME gave the reason for Coventry's elevation to the heights of cool as the emergence there of The Enemy, who scored a number one album this year and a clutch of hit singles.
Specifically, the NME's cool radar homed in on singer Tom Clarke's mum's sitting room "where he forged his righteous idealism with his feet up on the sofa".
Tom Clarke also featured in the main Cool List at number 15.
Former Bedworth schoolboy Pete Doherty also features in the list at number 34.
Among the Coventry cool cats delighted to see the city gaining such national recognition, were musicians Dan Evans and Naomi Wilcox.
Both work at city centre music store, Zavvi.co.uk, formerly Virgin, selling CDs to the city's music lovers.
And Dan, aged 22, of Parkside in Cheylesmore, lead guitarist with top Coventry band Mourning Becomes Electra, said: "I think it's based on the strength of The Enemy's success and people realising that Coventry has a lot of musical history.
"The rise of The Enemy has made people take notice that there might be more going on in Coventry.
"I think there is massive potential for a serious promoter to do more here."
Singer-songwriter Naomi, aged 24, of Broomfield Road, in Earlsdon, said: "I agree that Coventry is cool and I think it's brilliant that it's up there in the list.
"I'm originally from Bournemouth and I came here to study music.
"I decided to stay because, as a musician, there is so much more potential here."
Mick McLaughlin, press and public relations manager, CV One said: "The amount of talent that is emerging from Coventry is fantastic with the successes of the Kombat Breakers and The Enemy to A-list Hollywood actor Clive Owen, not to mention emerging artists such as The Ripps.
"This is all helping to put Coventry on the map and build an international reputation."
We speak out on local issues
They're undoubtedly the main reason that Coventry has been deemed cool again, and The Enemy are set to rubber-stamp that when they step out at the Ricoh Arena's Jaguar Exhibition Hall in front of 8,000 home-town fans next April.
The trio have well and truly put Coventry back on the map, and they never waste an opportunity to sing the city's praises to the rest of the nation.
Singer/guitarist Tom Clarke said: "Whenever we meet people from Coventry - and we meet them everywhere we tour - they come up to us and say 'we're really proud of you.'
"And we feel exactly the same when we're playing some obscure festival in Germany or Luxembourg or wherever and see a load of Coventry flags in the crowd."
The trio - Clarke, Andy Hopkins and Liam Watts - endeared themselves to the city by using their new found fame to speak out on local issues, from the abandonment of Peugeot's Ryton plant to the financial troubles of the Sky Blues. "There are many perks to this job - not that you could really call it a job," explains Clarke. "But to me one of the most important things about success is that it gives you a platform, because suddenly you've got media from all over the world who want to speak to you. "You can hate that or you can make it your friend, put it to good use. "I think you've got a moral responsibility to use it to speak about things you feel strongly about, things that have affected your friends and your family and are close to your heart. "We'll always do that. There are too many bands who enjoy the perks without taking on the responsibility." Tickets cost £16 in advance from http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk or 08444 121 747.
IT’S easy to see why grizzly South Wales rockers Stereophonics plumped for The Enemy as their support band on their current UK tour.
Just like the waspish Coventry outfit who have taken 2007 by the scruff of the neck, the ‘Phonics are a caustic trio with a penchant for penning anthems about the working class world they grew up in and possess a pocket-sized frontman (for Kelly Jones see Tom Clarke) who makes up for what he lacked in stature by straining his vocal noodles to the absolute limit night after night.
Sadly, the ‘Phonics Jones and Co’s days could be well and truly numbered.
While The Enemy debut LP ‘We’ll Live And Die In These Towns’ has garnered a plethora of belting reviews and a year of solid touring an enviable live reputation, the ‘Phonics latest offering, Pull The Pin, has been washed in lukewarm eulogies at best – hinting that perhaps the return to form speculated by cracking 2005 comeback single Dakota was a false dawn.
Whether Jones and co will ever hits the heights of their debut Word Gets Around - released back in the heady days of 1997 - is a mute point, but at least the fate of British blue-collar rock ‘n’ roll is in safe hands with The Enemy.
Story by: by Alan Poole
COVENTRY chart-toppers The Enemy are coming home to play at the Ricoh Arena next year.
And front man Tom Clarke is confident that the April 5 show at the 8,000-capacity Jaguar Exhibition Hall will be their finest hour to date.
The trio have enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame, notching a No 1 debut album and supporting the Rolling Stones at London's O 2 Arena.
"They were great moments," said Clarke, "but the events that really make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up are generally the homecoming shows.
"It felt fantastic when we walked out on stage at the Godiva Festival this year. "When I heard the crowd singing We'll Live And Die In These Towns back to us, I knew it was an experience that I'll never forget.
"And when we walk out at the Jaguar Hall we'll know that there are people there who saw us play the Hope and Anchor in the early days.
"That means so much more.
"It's going to be great playing there and we are determined to make it an amazing experience for everybody.
"The Ricoh people have been very hospitable.
"We had a look at the hall yesterday and it looks fantastic - back to basics but on a massive scale. We can't wait!" Daniel Gidney, chief executive of the Ricoh Arena, said: "The band was a massive success at the Godiva Festival in the summer and this gig will allow even more of their fans to see the group live.
"They have very quickly secured a large fan base both in this part of the country and nationwide and they are a great live act.
"Their recent tour in the UK was a sell-out so we are expecting tickets to be snapped up quickly.
"The band regularly visit the Ricoh Arena since they have season tickets to watch Coventry City, but this time they will be heading for the Jaguar Exhibition Hall.
"Drummer Liam Watts grew up in Holbrooks where he still lives with his family and I'm sure it will be a very proud night for the band and all their relatives and friends.
"In interviews they have mentioned that the Godiva Festival is their favourite gig so far and I am sure the Ricoh will be able to match that electric atmosphere and will also be among their highlights of their young career." Tickets for the show go on sale at 9am on Friday, priced at £16, from www.ticketmaster.co.uk or 08444 121 747.
 Interview by Les Reid COVENTRY chart-toppers The Enemy are celebrating scooping three best newcomer awards and a sold-out tour which rolled into the West Midlands last weekend.
Speaking before their second consecutive night at Birmingham’s Carling Academy on Sunday, they told the Coventry Times of progress on their second album.
Frontman Tom Clarke said: “We’ve already written about 17 new songs to choose from while we’ve been on tour. “I want the next album to be a surprise. There’s a track on the current album ‘Happy Birthday Jane’ which may have surprised a few people who wouldn’t expect us to write a song like that. “I want the next album to stick the middle finger up at anybody who doubted us.” Tom said the young trio – including bassist Andy Hopkins and drummer Liam Watts – have been picking up musical influences along the way, adding: “I’ve been listening to Neil Young. I’m not saying we’re going to sound like Neil Young, but I’m really into that.” He said the band could lay down album tracks in the studio at the end of the year, following a tour with Welsh rockers The Stereophonics in large arenas including the NEC (on November 11 and 12), Wembley and Cardiff, before more dates in Japan. Tom said: “Fair play to The Stereophonics, it was the band themselves that asked us to support them, which shows it’s all about real music.” Coventry’s biggest and best band since The Specials 30 years ago scooped three best new act awards this month – from Q magazine, Smash Hits and the Soap Awards. They’ve also been nominated at the UK Festival Awards for Best Newcomer and Anthem Of The Summer for top ten tune ‘Away From Here’. Their seemingly ubiquitous anthems could even be heard during ITV’s coverage of the Rugby World Cup Final last Saturday. Of their NME Rock ‘N’ Roll Riot tour with rapper Lethal Bizzle and indie combo The Wombats, which ended this week, Tom said: “It’s been a great tour. We’re really pleased with it. “We’ve played bigger places like the Brixton Academy but we like playing in smaller venues too. We’ve played in Birmingham before and from the stage we can see our friends and families in the crowd which means a lot to us.” Sunday night’s show was added after Saturday’s gig quickly sold out, partly because of demand from Coventry. Hundreds of Coventrians made their presence known on Sunday, chanting Sky Blues songs during an incendiary performance which reached the heights of their show-stealing Godiva Festival gig in July. The band are still not allowed to confirm they will play the Ricoh Arena Jaguar exhibition hall, but a triumphant homecoming gig is expected there next spring. The boys – who shot to fame when their album ‘We’ll Live and Die in These Towns’ blasted in at number one in July, a first for the city – also pledged support for our YOUR CITY NEEDS YOU Sky Blues appeal - click here http://iccoventry.icnetwork.co.uk/coventrytimes/backtheskyblues/.
22/10/07 - Daily Star - "Acoustic Tom's A Secret Success" TOM Clarke proved that big oaks can emerge from small acorns as The Enemy’s pint-sized star performed alone for a secret gig as part of the O2 presents NME Rock ‘N’ Roll Riot Tour.
About 100 excitable fans gathered at Great Leicester North Central Station and boarded a train with drummer Liam Watts, 19, and Tom, 19, to transport them to the mysterious location – a steam railway in Loughborough.
With bandmate Andy tucked up in bed with tonsilitis, it was left to the unassuming frontman to put on an acoustic performance.
Tom joked about Andy’s no-show, saying: “He’s dead – we had to use his body to get from Leicester to Loughborough. Me and Andy have both got throat infections but basically I’m hard and he’s not.”
Against the freezing cold the frontman delivered a rousing rendition of We Live And Die In These Towns. A poignant You’re Not Alone followed with Tom dedicating it to his Uncle Mick who died earlier this year.
The Enemy are not unfamiliar with unusual train trips after recently travelling 250 miles to collect their Q award and then giving it away to a fan.
“We decided it was the public’s award, so the nicest thing to do was to give it back to them,” he said.
“They haven’t got in touch about it. I don’t know if we would give a Brit award away but unless we get three of them we’re only going to argue who gets it anyway.”
*Picture by AngelaLubrano. The quality of a handful of anthems belted out by The Enemy at Brixton Academy suggest the newcomers will be around for some time to come.
The phenomenon of young indie bands selling vast quantities of their first album seems to be less prevalent now than it was when the Kooks, Fratellis and Hard-fi were setting up home in the charts for months.
This year, the kids don't seem quite so willing to worship the likes of the Twang, the Pigeon Detectives or Reverend and the Makers, making Coventry trio the Enemy the closest Britain has come recently to a band achieving greatness straight out of the blocks.
Teenagers Tom Clarke, Liam Watts and Andy Hopkins looked right at home in Brixton Academy's grand space, despite being collectively so small that the stage looked twice as far away as it really was.
They seemed as convinced as the crowd that their debut album, We'll Live and Die in These Towns, is the finest rock debut of the past few months, and with last week's Q Award for Best New Act under their belts, they had cockiness to burn.
They must have studied at the Oasis and Arctic Monkeys school of stage craft, simply standing still and belting out their songs hard and fast.
Musically, the tuneful punk of the Jam loomed large. Their album's title track sounded so much like Going Underground it could have been a cover.
The problem with bands peaking too soon is that they don't have enough songs for a major show, and that was still the case here. But the quality of a handful of anthems suggested that the Enemy will be our friends for a good while yet. 18/10/2007 - The Sun - "The Enemy Rock Ibiza Shores" THE ENEMY switch Coventry rain for the Spanish sun as they take to the stage in tonight's episode of Ibiza Rocks.
The trio rip through a set of anthemic tracks from debut album We'll Live & Die in These Towns on the open air stage at Bar M's intimate live venue.
The eight-parter, narrated by Zane Lowe, is based on fantasy meets reality - as the bands take viewers on an unforgettable journey across the pond.
The drama unfolds when the secret location of the band's afterparty is revealed with devastating results.
Watch Ibiza Rocks on Channel 4 tonight at 12.05am
17/10/2007 - NME - "Love Music Hate Racism"  The Enemy feature quite alot in this weeks edition of NME magazine, including Tom Clarke on the cover promoting the free CD "Love Music Hate Racism". The Enemy's "Fear Killed The Youth Of The Nation" is the first song on the CD and taken from the B-Side of "Away From Here" - now deleted. Also reviews from The Enemy on tour and pictures. Read the two page interview where Tom and bassist Andy talk about their idols, living the dream and why they will never do a Britney Spears. They blasted onto the scene this year with a top 10 hit and album at number one and this week won best new act at the Q awards. Ahead of their first ever Belfast gig, Edwin McFee goes behind Enemy lines
Coventry-based The Enemy are no strangers to controversy. Already in their short history the three-piece have had blazing bust-ups with record industry suits, they've offended quite a few faint-hearted journalists and most recently they've been embroiled in a war of words with the skinny jeans wearing, curly haired former Popworld presenter Alex Zane. Last month Zane declared on his XFM radio show that he would never play The Enemy's music again after the band were less than complimentary about the comedian. Zane's public banning was obviously intended to upset the Indie up-starts, but their vocalist/guitarist Tom Clarke, doesn't seem too bothered by it all.
"I'm a no-nonsense bloke and I don't put up with time wasters," sniffs the singer. "A lot of bands in this industry are willing to put up with idiots who know nothing about music because they think if they don't then it won't help their career. Well, I'm the exact opposite. I'm not going to sit there and listen to some moron prattle on about something pointless when I could be out there playing great shows and writing even better songs. I only work with people who want to help our band - not hinder us."
It's this gung-ho, devil-may-care attitude that has made The Enemy one of the shining lights on the rock scene since they emerged at the start of this year. When their first major label-released single Away From Here was released in April it crashed straight into number eight in the charts - marking the boys out as ones to watch.
"We're taking all of our success in our stride," says Clarke. "I think that you have to take things day by day when you're in a band, because if you don't then that's when it all starts to fall apart. If you listen to the PR men or people in suits talking about sales figures then that's when you've lost it and start writing bad songs."
Clearly The Enemy weren't listening to anyone when they were writing their debut album We'll Live And Die In These Towns. The record is basically a love letter dedicated to their Coventry upbringing and is a Jam and Smiths inspired tribute to the trials and tribulations of growing up in a working class family. As a statement it's as honest as they come. As a piece of music, it's a stadium-swelling, anthem-laden slab of wax that shot straight into number one in the charts on the first week of its release.
"Our album sounds like real people writing about real things and that's why it has clicked with a lot of people," offers Clarke. "I think most people can identify with The Enemy. We're three down-to-earth lads who happen to write songs about everyday life. We didn't come from the suburbs, we didn't go to London's Sylvia Young Theatre School and we don't swan around like we're better than everyone else. I think people like that about us."
To many people Coventry is a pretty nondescript sleepy town in England, but to Clarke and his bandmates, drummer Liam Watts and bassist Andrew Hopkins, it means everything to them. It's the reason why they look at life the way they do and it's why you'll never find them asking for a bowlful of brown M&Ms on their rider anytime soon.
"If people didn't like this album as much as they have then I'd be back selling TVs to people at the Co-op," he confesses. "I think it's essential that you have to remember where you come from and who buys your records. Whenever I listen to We'll Live And Die In These Towns, I remember where I was when I wrote a particular song. It all takes me back to when we were just starting out and playing at the local clubs. I think I'd always have been able to write great songs, but being from Coventry has given them a unique outlook that I wouldn't have had if I lived in somewhere like Manchester. A lot of journalists ask me if I'll ever leave and move to London but I always tell them no. I've no intentions of ever leaving because I think we've got something special here."
At the moment The Enemy are touring all over Europe. They've had a successful summer supporting The Rolling Stones and playing the festival circuit, but up until now they've never made it over to Belfast. Many bands, when interviewed, will give a rehearsed reply when asked what's taken them so long in getting here, but not Clarke. The singer seems genuinely thrilled to be playing a date that's been sold out for months in advance and he intends to play our capital city as much as possible.
"I think it's hugely important that bands come over and play in Belfast," he says. "Not enough musicians make the trip over and I think it's an absolute disgrace. It's just laziness on their part and the booking agents aren't doing their job right. As a band we usually find that when we play in places that don't get as many bands coming through they're the best crowds in the world because, unlike London, they appreciate what they've got.
"Personally I've always pushed and pushed for us to come over and play in Northern Ireland as well as in Dublin. All my family are from Drogheda and they're coming to both our gigs so it'll be a bit like a homecoming. I hear our gig's been sold out for months, which just blows my mind. I hope everyone's as up for it as I've been told."
Even though The Enemy are on course to be this generation's answer to Oasis, Clarke doesn't plan on looking too far into the future. At the moment the 18-year-old is happy hatching plans in his head for the next album and playing great gigs in as many places as possible. It certainly beats his former life of working in a supermarket that's for sure.
"I feel like I was born for this and that's why I don't get too wrapped up thinking about the future," smiles Clarke. "When we first started out playing music it was just something to do to relieve the boredom, but now it's our life. If the next album isn't as successful we'll still keep playing. After all, the way the music world works these days you never know if your single's going to be kept off the top spot by a bloody ringtone. For me it's all about writing songs that will stand the test of time and I think we're doing that."
The Enemy play the Empire Music Hall, Belfast, on October 24. The gig is now sold out. Their album We'll Live And Die In These Towns is out now on Warner Brothers' Records.
The Enemy bassist Andy Hopkins is nursing a damaged knee after diving offstage at a gig in Scotland.
The rocker hurled himself into the crowd in Aberdeen last week (04Oct07).
Frontman Tom Clarke reveals, "Andy was a madhead and dived into the crowd and smashed his knee. He either hit his knee somewhere on the barrier or someone woke up with a very sore head the next morning."
Earlier this year (07) Hopkins was hospitalised after his drink was spiked at a festival. He said at the time: "I can't remember any of it but the lads said I was trying to headbutt cars and jumped out of the van and headbutted the concrete.
"Then I was being sick in a corner - they had to call an ambulance. I think I scared them."
12/10/07 - Daily Record - "Why The Enemy Love The Rolling Stones"
Q AWARD winners The Enemy admitted they were a concerned when supporting The Rolling Stones because the legendary band seemed a bit "shuffley".
Singer Tom Clarke revealed: "I was a bit worried when they came out the dressing rooms as they where a bit shuffley and not very energetic. I was thinking oh no what's this going to be like."
But the Coventry band soon changed their mind when their idols took to the stage on the last date of their European tour at the O2 Arena in London earlier this year.
Tom laughed: "I needn't have worried as they literally ran out on to the stage. That's when I thought f***ing hell this is gong to be mint. And I wasn't wrong. They played for about two hours - we were impressed by their energy levels."
Speaking to the Razz at Clyde 1 radio station, the boys revealed how amazing it was to support the band that got them in to music in the first place.
Tom said: "I thought someone was taking the p*** at first. I mean The Rolling Stones aren't a band anymore they're an institution.
"I just phoned my mum because she is a massive Stones fan and was like 'guess who we are supporting'. She couldn't believe it because they are her all-time favourite band.
"All our families came to watch, it cost us a few bob though as it was £60 a ticket."
Drummer Liam Watts continued: "My dad was meant to take my mum to a gig years ago but for some reason it didn't happen so she was delighted to get a second chance."
But sadly the three-piece didn't get a chance to catch up with Mick and co. after the gig.
Liam said: "No, we didn't get to speak to them. It was the last night of their tour and there are that many people who wanted to talk to them - it's impossible.
"But it's like meeting the Queen. I mean you don't expect to go around to the Queen's and sit the front room drinking tea with her, do you? But they are nice guys and they put on an amazing show."
And putting on an amazing show seems to be something The Enemy know something about. At our interview the band's bass guitarist Andy Hopkins was missing due to a knee injury from jumping into the crowd at their recent gig in Aberdeen. "Andy was a madhead and dived into the crowd and smashed his knee last night. He either hit his knee somewhere on the barrier or someone woke up with a very sore head this morning," Tom said.
COVENTRY band The Enemy have spoken of their delight at winning a prestigious award from a national magazine.
They were named the best new act at this year's Q Awards, as the Telegraph reported on Tuesday.
But they had no time to celebrate. Instead, the trio were straight back on the train to continue their UK tour, which has sold out in most venues.
Speaking to the Telegraph, lead singer and guitarist Tom Clarke said he and fellow band members, bassist Andy Hopkins and drummer Liam Watts, were delighted with their win at Monday's awards ceremony in London.
They beat off competition from Mercury Prize winners Klaxons and bands The View, Cherry Ghost and Pigeon Detectives. Tom said: "It was amazing, pretty cool. It means a lot because it was voted for by the public and that's what I said when I collected the award."
"Klaxons are a hardworking band who deserve the recognition and, obviously, they've been going longer than us, as have The View. We all wished each other the best of luck beforehand but it means a lot to win it.
"We travelled down from Dundee the day before the awards. Afterwards, we got on a train to Middlesbrough because we were playing there Monday night."
The award comes after a highly successful year for the band which saw their debut album, We'll Live and Die in These Towns, reach number one in July.
But despite national success Tom said the highlight of the year was playing in the Godiva Festival in Coventry in July.
"We've done so much this year. We've played at every festival, supported and headlined.
It's been totally mad but for us the highlight has to be Godiva in Coventry." The rock trio, all aged 19, will be supporting The Stereophonics before having a break for Christmas.
(4 out 5 stars)
AS caustic Coventry trio The Enemy took to the stage while a train station departure-style board spiralled through place names from all over the UK, their manifesto was clear.
The three-piece want to be, exactly what Britain has been missing since Oasis’ lead man Noel Gallagher strayed the wrong side of 40, a group with youth on its side who appeal to the everyman in every town.
Here to headline the NME Rock 'N' Roll Riot Tour, there’s no doubt impish frontman Tom Clarke (pictured) and the Co have come flying out of the blocks since arriving on the scene in 2006 either.
Their debut LP and yet another call for unity, We’ll Live And Die In These Towns, shot straight to number one on the back of a plethora of rip-roaring singles, while this week they waltzed away from the prestigious Q Awards with the Best New Act gong (more of which later).
And the Manchester crowd seem to have adopted them - much like Leicester baggy throwbacks Kasabian - as one of their own too.
Their Night & Day gig, as Clarke was quick to point out, was notable for witnessing their first ever stage divers, while a recent in-store appearance also caused chaos with fans comically crowd surfing through HMV.
Rabble-rouser
Last night it was easy to see why, powered on by a depressingly youthful looking rhythm section of Liam Watts (drums) and Andy Hopkins (bass), Clarke is a natural rabble-rouser.
Making up for what he lacks in physical presence with sheer bloody-mindedness – he implored the audience to join sing-a-longs for swaggering single Away From Here and heart-felt album track This Song.
It’s not just the band’s ‘live every moment’ mentality that garners mass appeal though, lyrical snipes at the fallout caused by industrial decline on tracks like It’s Not Ok and You’re Not Alone have also struck chords too.
And while Technodanceaphobic and Aggro are lyrically naïve at best, clumsy at worst – there’s no doubt Clarke has that innate ear for a melody which has seen him favourably compared to Gallagher and Paul Weller.
After pulling the most vociferous singer out of the front row and rewarding him for his lusty efforts with the aforementioned Q Award at the end of the gig, his siren call of ‘giving the music back’ really did ring true.
Already a fiercely impressive live act, if The Enemy can develop those promising seeds from here on in perhaps Ian Brown will finally have the ‘21-year-old kid to stand-up for the nation’ that forced him pen such a political album at the age of 44.
01/10/07 - Daily Star "Enemy's In The Club!" THE Enemy are preparing to ditch the guitars and bust some serious moves on the dance floor.
The Coventry crew might be one of the loudest new rock bands on the current scene but they are also keen to make it big in clubland.
Backstage at the NME Rock ’n’ Roll Riot tour, Tom Clarke told me: “The remix thing is really exciting me at the moment.
“We’ve got a dance record in us. I’ve been saying for ages that I want dance DJs before our sets – that’s what we’ve got now.
“But in tours to come I want proper lights in the crowd and glitter balls. Let’s turn our shows into a proper f***ing club night and have it.”
The Enemy don’t want to get bogged down in one particular scene, which is why they
invited power popsters The Wombats and grime man Lethal Bizzle, 23, on tour.
The enigmatic frontman, 20, said: “If we get a chance to do something with those guys on tour we’d be bang up for it.
“It shows another diversity to the band. Watching Lethal every night is inspiring.” The trio began their dalliance with dance by reworking Lethal single Police On My Back.
Tom said: “We stripped it, just left the vocals on it and then played over the top with a sh*tload of stuff.
“It sounds like More Fire Crew. It’s quality, we want to do loads more of that.”
And the band are stoked to be playing larger venues after roughing it in the early days. Bassist Andy Hopkins, 19, recalled: “We drove to Leeds in a sh*tty Transit van.
“The side window fell off on the way up and then the windscreen went. Then we hit a fox – it smelt pretty bad.”
Tom added: “You need to go through those times to appreciate the good ones.
“I never understand bands who moan. You’ve obviously had it pretty easy if you haven’t had to graft.”
Don’t expect the boys to rest on their laurels, either.
“We’ve probably got three albums worth of new material that we’ve been practising at soundchecks,” said Tom.
“We could sit back on it but we want to keep pushing the songwriting so that when we come to record the next album we’ve got 40 songs to choose from.” 01/10/07 - icWales reports about the Cardiff gig and robmacca picks it up....... |
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