PICTURES: The Enemy Warm Up At Wembley

The Enemy warmed up ahead of their FA Cup Final performance on the roof of Wembley, as these pictures show, the band are on top of the world! Fans will be able to watch the performance on Saturday 5th May on ESPN between 13.30 and 14.30

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Meaning Behind Streets In The Sky Album Title

More of the NME interview with Andy Hopkins reveals thoughts on the second album and the meaning of the title for the third album. Read the NME story below:

The Enemy have admitted that the lyrics on their second studio album 'Music For The People' were too political.
The Coventry trio will release their third album 'Streets In The Sky', which has been produced by The Bronx's Joby Ford, on May 21.
The record kicks off with single 'Gimme The Sign', which you can watch the video for now by scrolling down to the bottom of the page and clicking.

Speaking to NME, bassist Andy Hopkins said that the band all felt their second album was "too political", but that they have returned to their roots for the lyrical themes on 'Streets In The Sky'.

Asked about this, Hopkins said: "We might have gone a bit too political on the second album. It wasn't meant to be, but I think it ended up going that way. This album is like our first one in that it's inspired by our lives and the lives of the people around us. It's about us, and our mates and what goes on. It's got lots of different moods on there though."

Hopkins also spoke about the lengthy gap between their second and third records, saying that the band believed their second offering had been a bit rushed and that they needed a rest.

He said of this: "We needed a bit of a break. We didn't have long enough to write the second album, we basically ended up writing it in the studio. This time around we've had a lot more time and it's been a lot more relaxed."

The bassist also spoke about the album's title, which he revealed had been taken from a television programme about Sheffield housing estate Park Hill, which described the design concept as 'Streets In The Sky'. He added though that the title wasn't actually a reference to the flats.

He said of the LP's title: "There's this block of flats in Sheffield and there was a programme on it and it was called 'Streets In The Sky'. It's not about that though, it can mean lots of things. To me it means normal people doing well. It means enjoying yourself. It doesn't mean just one thing."

*Source: NME.COM

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The Enemy @ Borderline London

The venue was intimate and ideal for The Enemy as they gear up for their upcoming tour dates and summer festivals. Coventry took over Borderline in London for one night only, and they did it in style! The weather outside might have been damp and wet, but inside the venue it was hot and exciting as the support band took to the stage.

Back in December, Tom Clarke had promised to offer support slots to up and coming unsigned bands and proving he is a man that keeps his word, the support slot went to The Kontours - a young Coventry band who have been going for a couple of years and have already built themselves a glowing reputation. With confidence in their songs, Ollie, Kiera and Jack took to the stage and quickly won over the London crowd with their stage presence. The Kontours even performed a new song, proving they have nerves of steel and determination to make good music. Let's hope they get spotted and signed up soon .......

The venue was sold out with The Enemy apparently selling their Borderline tickets in record time and the crowd were up for a good night. The Enemy and the crowd lived up to expectations, making sure security never had a dull moment as the gig kicked into action. As the lads ripped through Aggro and Had Enough, the energy was too much for the power system and Liam Watts had to fill the gap with a drum solo until power was restored. Tom, Andy and Liam wasted no time in tearing it up as they banged out Away From Here and Gimme The Sign - to the delight of the crowd.

Tom's white Fila top might need dry cleaning after the gig as everything gets lager stained during The Enemy gig but how can you stop hundreds of people jumping up and down to This Song and No Time For Tears? The band setlist included another four new tracks -  Saturday, This Is Real, Bigger Cages and 1-2-3-4 Ready To Go. Familiar favourites were not forgotten and Tom took great delight in handing the singing over to the audience during We'll Live And Die In These Towns and You're Not Alone.

 Keyboard player, Tom Boddy was not forgotten and Tom dedicated Be Somebody to him - asking the crowd to change the words to Be Tom Boddy. From the fast paced songs to the slowed down Happy Birthday Jane, The Enemy proved once again why they are a must-see live band. They deliver the goods again and again, something which is evident in the faces of the audience and also beaming from the faces of Tom, Andy and Liam. My camera wasn't allowed into the venue, but I'm glad I had the night off to just enjoy singing along and watching the band perform. It reminded me of why I go to the gigs - there is nothing like watching live music.

The Enemy are back on top of their game and with the new album just weeks away from release, any gig featuring The Enemy will be worthy of attendance. The new sounds blend in perfectly with the anthems from the first album and the best of the second album. UK festivals had better watch out because The Enemy are in town!

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Andy Hopkins Reveals Fear Of Heights Ahead Of Gig On Wembley Stadium Roof

NME spoke to Andy Hopkins about the exciting news that The Enemy will be performing on the roof of Wembley. Here is that NME article:

The Enemy have admitted their gig on the roof of Wembley Stadium "might be tricky" - as bassist Andy Hopkins is afraid of heights.

The Coventry band will take to the roof of the stadium before the FA Cup final on May 5, with their 'Talk Of The Terrace' performance set to be broadcast on ESPN along with the game.

Speaking to NME about how the booking came about, Hopkins revealed that The Football Association simply called their management and asked if they'd like to play on the roof of Wembley Stadium.

He said: "We've worked with the FA quite a bit and obviously 'Be Somebody' is the FA Cup song. They just phoned up our management and asked if we wanted to play on the roof of Wembley on cup final day. Of course we said yes."

Then asked what songs the Coventry trio would be playing, Hopkins added: "We're going to play 'Saturday' and hopefully one more. I think it's just going to be for TV, I can't imagine there'll be any crowd up there. I definitely won't be stage diving."

The bassist then admitted that he's a bit nervous about the gig as he's not good with heights, but hopes that the band are playing in the safety of a glass box.

He said of this: "I don't have a clue how they're going to get the gear up there. To be honest, I'm not that good with heights, which could be tricky. I think there's a little glass box we'll be in, but I'm not totally sure."

The Enemy release their comeback album 'Streets In The Sky' on May 21. The Coventry trio recorded the 12-track album with The Bronx's Joby Ford.

*Source: NME.COM

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Andy Hopkins Talks To NME About New Album

Andy Hopkins spoke to NME magazine about their forthcoming album release, giving some honest thoughts on 'Music For The People' and the fresh, raw sound we can expect on 'Streets In The Sky'. Here is that article from NME:

The Enemy have spoken about their new album 'Streets In The Sky' and said that they believe they have truly captured their live sound properly for the first time.

The Coventry trio will release their third album on May 21. The record kicks off with single 'Gimme The Sign', which you can watch the video for now by scrolling down to the bottom of the page and clicking.

Speaking to NME about the album, bassist Andy Hopkins said that the band all felt their second album 'Music For The People' "sounded too big for a three-piece band" and that he felt they'd captured the sound of their debut 'We'll Live And Die In These Towns' on their new record.

Asked about how he and his bandmates reflected on their second album, Hopkins said: "With the second album, the overall sound was too big for a three-piece band. We've gone back to sounding more like the first album; it's more upbeat, with more catchy choruses. But, at the same time, it sounds nothing like the first album."

Hopkins also spoke about the band's decision to work with The Bronx's Joby Ford on the album and said that he'd help them find a sound that was "fresh and raw".

Asked about how they got introduced to Ford, Hopkins said: "We got introduced to Joby through our A&R man. We'd heard him in the Bronx and once we found out a bit about him we thought he'd be great for the record because he'd make it sound really fresh and raw. On the last couple of albums, we haven't really got our live sound across."

He continued: "With Joby, he helped just work on getting that across. He works in the same way as we do. It wasn't quicker, but it wasn't stressful in any way. We did pre-production, which we've never done before. He listened to all the songs and made loads of suggestions, which really helped."
The bassist added that the trio started off the recording with around 30 songs and then whittled them down to 12 after extensive demoing.

He said of this: "We had about 30 songs to start off with and we demoed a lot of them. Once we finished demoing and recorded some of them we were able to pick out the ones we wanted."

The Enemy will play an intimate London show next week. The band, who confirmed two homecoming gigs at Coventry's Cathedral Ruins on May 21 and 22 earlier this month, will play London's Borderline venue on April 18.

The Enemy will follow the Coventry dates with a short UK tour, playing three further shows. These begin at Manchester Academy on May 23, the band will then play London's O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on May 24, before finally finishing at Glasgow Barrowlands on May 25.

The band are also confirmed to appear at this summer's Live At Leeds festival and at both legs of August's V Festival.

The Enemy will play:

London Borderline (April 18)
Coventry Cathedral Ruins (May 21, 22)
Manchester Academy (23)
O2 Shepherds Bush Empire (24)
Glasgow Barrowlands (25)

*Source: NME

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The Enemy - Streets In The Sky Album Artwork

The Enemy have revealed the artwork cover for 'Streets In The Sky' saying, "Everyday life isn't greyscale and boring. From top to bottom there is colour, humour and passion that always shines through. That's the message behind the artwork for 'Streets In The Sky'. It represents reality and being grounded - while at the same time being proud and having aspirations without any boundaries. That's what this record is about" 

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PICTURES: The Enemy 'Saturday' Video Shoot

The Enemy have added a batch of pictures from the video shoot for 'Saturday' on their official Facebook page and we have popped them on the 2012 pictures page at The Enemy Unofficial. The single will be available for fans to buy and download next month and the album 'Streets In The Sky' will be released on 21st May 2012.

The album can be pre-ordered from: 

*Amazon

*iTunes

*HMV

*Play

  

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The Enemy To Perform FA Cup Final At Wembley

You might have heard The Enemy track 'Be Somebody' played during ITV's football coverage over the past few months - now the Coventry band will be performing live at the FA CUP Final, as reported on the Stereoboard website:

The Enemy have been confirmed to perform at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 5th May at the FA Cup Final with the performance broadcast live around the world exclusively on ESPN.

 The Enemy are also confirmed to headline the ‘Fighting Talk Big Day Out’ at Stoke City Britannia Stadium on Saturday 26th May. Fighting Talk is hosted by Colin Murray and is a weekly BBC Radio 5 Live show and as part of the Big Weekend the band will play live in the stadium to an audience of over 6,500 people.

 The ESPN ‘Talk of the Terrace’ performance will take place in the run up to the FA Cup Final and The Enemy will feature as part of the whole day's coverage on ESPN. They will be performing two songs on the roof of the stadium from their new album ‘Streets in the Sky’ which will be released on 21st May, before heading to Leeds to headline ‘Live at Leeds’ festival that night.

 ‘Streets in the Sky’ is the bands third album and according to the band, their best yet. Recorded in London and LA with Joby J. Ford from seminal US punk band The Bronx, the 12-track album has the signature Enemy anthemic guitar sound yet it is much heavier than the last two albums. It is packed with huge songs from the catchy and forceful free download single ‘Gimme The Sign’ to the instantly catchy anthemic song ‘Bigger Cages (Longer Chains)’ to the melodic and punchy track ‘This Is Real’. New single ‘Saturday’ is a summer anthem in the making with a singalong chorus that is just made to be chanted from the football stadium to the festival fields to the pub on a night out.

You can pre-order 'Streets in the Sky' from Amazon, Play and HMV now.


The Enemy UK & Ireland Tour Dates are as follows:

 Wed April 18th 2012 - The Borderline, London
 Sat May 5th 2012 - Live at Leeds, Leeds
 Mon May 21st 2012 - Coventry Cathedral Ruins, Coventry
 Tue May 22nd 2012 - Coventry Cathedral Ruins, Coventry
 Wed May 23rd 2012 - Academy [1, 2, 3 and Club Academy], Manchester
 Thu May 24th 2012 - O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London
 Fri May 25th 2012 - O2 ABC, Glasgow
 Sat June 30th 2012 - Derby The Old Bell Hotel, Derby
 Sat October 6th 2012 - The Grosvenor - Stockwell, London

*Source: stereoboard.com

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The Enemy Unofficial Website Launched

A brand new fan website, The Enemy Unofficial has been launched with the aim of giving fans a place to go and read all the news, see hundreds of pictures and watch lots of videos featuring Tom Clarke, Andy Hopkins and Liam Watts. The unofficial site covers The Enemy from the early days with the record signings to the massive stadium tours and secret gigs thrown in along the way.

  The Enemy Unofficial has a massive archive of pictures from the media, the band and from fans - all in one place in an easy to find place. The Enemy are already having a busy year ahead of the release of their third album 'Streets In The Sky' and the new website, run by robmacca, will keep fans updated throughout the year with all the news.

"I wanted to build a website that fans of The Enemy could go to if they wanted to re-live moments from the gigs or find out more about the band. It took many hours to build up the website and I'm happy to finally launch it as   an additional website for fans to visit alongside the official websites. The purpose of The Enemy Unofficial is to build a lasting tribute to the band that have done so much for Coventry by inspiring so many people."


The website hosts news, press and media stories from 2007 onwards and the biggest collection of The Enemy pictures anywhere on the internet. All the official music videos and a large number of unofficial gig videos from over the years are on The Enemy Unofficial and fans can sing along to the tunes via the lyrics page!

This blog will still update fans, but bookmark The Enemy Unofficial as an addition to the official websites and let's keep real music alive and kicking in the UK.

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VIDEO: Behind The Scenes With The Enemy

The Enemy video for 'Saturday' is out now and ITV joined the band behind the scenes for the making of the latest video. Find out why Andy Hopkins likes having his face touched and why the band love Coventry and all their fans ......

Watch the VIDEO

Coventry band 'The Enemy' reveal their latest video

Lucy Kite joins The Enemy on the set of their latest video

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Interview: Liam Watts Speaks About Coventry Gigs

The Enemy's drummer Liam Watts spoke to Malcolm Boyden on BBC Coventry and Warwickshire radio on Thursday 5th April 2012 about the planned gigs for Coventry Cathedral ruins and how The Enemy got started .

Here is the interview with Liam ........

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The Enemy - Saturday (Official Video)

 The Enemy have launched the video 'Saturday' from their forthcoming third album, Streets In The Sky. The video includes snap shots sent in by fans who took pictures of themselves during a typical Saturday.

Tom Clarke, Andy Hopkins and Liam Watts have returned to the winning formula of producing catchy tunes that a generation of young people can relate to. Saturday is set to become a belter of a song that people will be blasting out as they get ready to hit the town at the weekends! Enjoy!

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The Enemy Coventry Gigs Story In Observer

Local newspaper, the Coventry Observer carried the news that The Enemy are set for two massive gigs at the historic ruins of the old cathedral as they launch their third album. Here is Matthew Bates report:


"IT PROMISES to be one of our best gigs ever" - that's how The Enemy's Liam Watts described their summer gig at the cathedral ruins.

The band announced the two gigs at the city's landmark in May to coincide with the release of their third album, Streets in the Sky.

It comes just weeks after they were on stage in their home city in February to film the video for their latest single Gimme The Sign in nightclub Se7en.

Drummer Liam told the Observer: "It's different and a massive thing for us. The cathedral is the city's main landmark and we're really excited about it.

"I first went to the ruins on a school trip. You do appreciate it back then but when you get a bit older it feels more special.

"Hopefully it will be a memorable and special night. There aren't that many places to play in Coventry. There are smaller clubs, then the Ricoh and not a lot in between, but the cathedral offers that."

Liam added the album had been wrapped up with the latest single, Saturday, next in the pipeline.

"This is the happiest we've been for a while and the album is some of our best work yet. I can't wait till it's out there," he added.

"Whatever number it goes to in the charts, that will define it. But it's a different market now to what it was and there's lots of different stuff now.

"It's already a success to us but it's the fans that decide."

Frontman Tom Clarke described the gigs as momentous.

He wrote on his internet blog: "The cathedral is a stunning landmark which we've been asked about in interviews all over the world.

"We've wanted to put on a gig there since the first album, and after a lot of hard work, we're finally properly happy to announce it's going to go ahead."

Tickets for both shows - on Monday, May 21 and Tuesday, May 22 - went on sale through the band's website on Wednesday 4th April 2012 and via www.gigsandtours.com Thursday 5th April 2012.

*Source: Coventry Observer / Matthew Bates

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