The Maccabees - Topic

The Maccabees' story began in 2004. Orlando Weeks (vocals), Hugo White (guitars), Felix White (guitar), Rupert Jarvis (bass) and Robert Dylan Thomas all grew up in South London, near Clapham Common. The area is better known for drum'n'bass and dubstep than guitar music. It was inevitable that their paths would cross.

While still at school, Orlando and Robert used to watch TV and write songs in Orlando's bedroom. By the summer of 2003, Rupert and Hugo had joined them. Felix was playing with a band called Jack's Basement, named after their front man Jack Peñate. When Jack broke up the band to concentrate on a solo career, Felix joined The Maccabees, and the line-up was complete.

They chose the name by flicking through books. The biggest in the house was The Bible. They came across the story of The Maccabees, Jewish rebels who fought against Greek rule and established Jewish independence in the second century BC. As soon as they saw they name, they knew that was it. But it's only a name. They're not a religious band.

They were ambitious from the start. Shortly after Felix joined, they entered a Battle Of The Bands competition. They lost to a girl group called Red, who played covers, had massive afros and wore miniskirts. The Maccabees had already planned how to spend the money when they won - new amps and a demo. When they didn't, they were so devastated they didn't even collect their second prize - tickets to a beer festival.

Their first single did a lot better. X-Ray was released on South London label Promise Records. It received airplay on XFM and earned them support slots with Arctic Monkeys, Maxïmo Park and The Subways. Respected indie label Fierce Panda were impressed and offered to release the follow-up, Latchmere, a song about the leisure centre where the boys learned to swim when they were growing up.

Despite living in Brighton, The Maccabees are just as much a London band. They're quick to point out that they've spent 18 years in the latter and only a few in the former. As such, they count Londoners such as Good Shoes and Jamie T as their peers. It's not just a location thing. Like the aforementioned, The Maccabees' creativity extends beyond music. They don't just write the songs; they oversee the whole package - artwork, videos, the album tracklisting, everything. "I think that's why people like us," says Orlando. "Because there's a lot of passion and we genuinely care about what we do." Orlando went to art school and helps design their record