The Victorian English Gentlemens Club

The name of the band is correctly spelt without an apostrophe. On their website, the band acknowledges they are "aware that there should be"{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/vegc/pages/vegc_album.shtml |title=BBC Wales - Victorian English Gentlemen's album |access-date=4 February 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413214627/http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/vegc/pages/vegc_album.shtml |archive-date=13 April 2008 }} an apostrophe. The name originated from style of the artwork of singer Adam.{{cite web|url=http://www.skinnymag.co.uk/content/view/2789/142/|title=The Victorian English Gentlemens Club - Slicker Than Your Average|access-date=2007-05-17|author=Nick Mitchell|date=2006-09-21|publisher=Skinny Magazine|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927202553/http://www.skinnymag.co.uk/content/view/2789/142/|archive-date=27 September 2007|df=dmy-all}}

The band was formed when Taylor and Mason met at Art College in Cardiff in 2004.{{cite web |url=http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/2600/ |title=TVEGC | National Museum Wales |publisher=Museumwales.ac.uk |access-date=2011-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105120133/http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/2600 |archive-date=5 January 2010 |url-status=dead }} Joined by drummer Daman they made their recording debut in early 2006; with the limited-edition "The Tales of Hermit Mark" / "My Son Spell Backwards" released in the spring and double A-side "Amateur Man" / "Ban the Gin" following that summer, both on Fantastic Plastic Records. Their self-titled debut album was released in Autumn 2006; first single "Impossible Sightings Over Shelton" debuted at number ten on the UK Indie Chart. While writing the next album, the band performed at SXSW festival in Austin, Texas in both 2007 and 2008, released a French language version of the previous single "La Mer" (as a split 7-inch with the Paris-based band, This is Pop), and did several support and headline tours in UK and Europe.

Love on an Oil Rig was the band's second full-length album. Like the first album, it was recorded with the original lineup of Taylor, Mason and Daman. It was released on 14 September 2009 on CD and 12-inch Vinyl on This Is Fake DIY Records in the UK, and Flowershop Recordings in Europe. The first single from it was "Parrot", released on Yellow Vinyl. The album was toured across the UK and Europe with Steph Jones and Dan Lazenby joining the band for live performances after drummer Daman's departure. Touring included a performance in the upper galleries of the National Museum of Wales in November 2009 to open SWN festival, after releasing a song written and recorded for an artwork in the current exhibition there.{{cite web|url=http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/whatson/?event_id=3915 |title=What's on | National Museum Wales |publisher=Museumwales.ac.uk |date=2010-01-03 |access-date=2011-04-04}} In the same year they also performed in a forest, on a mountain, in a kitchen and a theatre.{{cite web|url=http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/2600/ |title=TVEGC | National Museum Wales |publisher=Museumwales.ac.uk |date= |access-date=2011-04-04}}

James Griffiths became the band's drummer in April 2010. The third album, Bag of Meat was released on 11 June 2011 on This Is Fake DIY Records.{{cite web|url=http://www.thevictorianenglishgentlemensclub.co.uk/news |title=News / The Victorian English Gentlemens Club |publisher=Thevictorianenglishgentlemensclub.co.uk |date= |access-date=2011-04-04}} The album was written by Adam Taylor and Louise Mason and James Griffiths, and produced and mixed in Music Box Studios, Cardiff by Charlie Francis. The sound of the band progressed from their early post punk minimalism, to a darker, heavier and rawer sound.{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&title=10_tracks_you_have_to_hear_this_week_fev_1&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 |title=10 Tracks You Have To Hear This Week - Fever Ray, Antony and the Johnsons, The Shins - In The NME Office - NME.COM - The world's fastest music news service, music videos, interviews, photos and free stuff to win |publisher=Nme.Com |date= |access-date=2011-04-04}} The band toured the album widely across Europe, playing shows in Russia and Slovakia.

Heddwyn Davies joined the band in 2011 playing viola and electric mandolin. The fourth album, GYTS, was recorded in Paris over the summer of 2013, and was released in November 2016. It was released after the band had broken up.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gyts.uk/?og=1|title=G Y T S|website=www.gyts.uk|access-date=2020-02-26}} A very limited run of 100 vinyls were pressed, although a CDr was available on demand from Amazon{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/The-Victorian-English-Gentlemens-Club-GYTS-GYTS/release/16536072|title=Discogs GYTS CD|website=Discogs |access-date=2021-04-10}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B078LBLH63|title=Amazon GYTS CD|website=Amazon UK |access-date=2021-07-30}} and it is still available digitally on Bandcamp.{{Cite web|url=https://gyts.bandcamp.com/|title=GYTS Bandcamp|access-date=2021-04-10}}

• 2006: The Victorian English Gentlemens Club{{cite web|url=http://www.fpmusic.org/artists/the-victorian-english-gentlemens-club.html |title=Fantastic Plastic Records - The Victorian English Gentlemens Club |publisher=Fpmusic.org |date= |access-date=2011-04-04}}
• 2009: Love on an Oil Rig{{cite web|url=http://www.thisisfakediyrecords.co.uk/release/love-on-an-oil-rig |title=Love On An Oil Rig | Releases |publisher=This Is Fake DIY Records |date=2009-09-07 |access-date=2011-04-04}}
• 2011: Bag of Meat
• 2016: GYTS

• "The Tales of Hermit Mark/My Son Spells Backwards" (double A-side) (2006), Fantastic Plastic Records
• "Amateur Man/Ban the Gin" (double A-side) (2006), Fantastic Plastic - #170 UK
• "Pedestrian" (2006) (7-inch split single), Fantastic Plastic
• "Impossible Sightings Over Shelton" (2006), Fantastic Plastic - #161 UK
• "Stupid as Wood/La Mer" (7-inch vinyl in wooden sleeve) (2007), Fantastic Plastic
• "La Mer" (French language version) (7-inch split single), LSM Records
• "Parrot" (7-inch yellow vinyl) (2009), This Is Fake DIY Records
• "Watching the Burglars" (2009), This Is Fake DIY
• "Bored in Belgium" (7-inch vinyl) (2010), This Is Fake DIY
• "A Biting Wind Followed by an Occasional Drift of Snow (Was No Way to Cure a Hangover)" (2010), This Is Fake DIY
• "Bag of Meat" (flexi-disc) (2011), This Is Fake DIY
• "A Conversation" (2011), This Is Fake DIY

• "The Victorian English Gentlemens Club" (promo CDr) (2004), no label
• "The Victorian English Gentlemens Club" (promo CDr) (2005), no label
• "Blood Pie" (yellow cassette) (2011), This Is Fake DIY Records

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.thevictorianenglishgentlemensclub.co.uk/ Official Site]
• [http://www.myspace.com/thevictorianenglishgentlemensclub Official MySpace]
• [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/victorian-english-gentlemens-club/ VEGC biography from BBC Wales]
• [http://www.thisisfakediyrecords.co.uk/artist/the-victorian-english-gentlemens-club This Is Fake DIY Records]
• [https://www.nme.com/artists/the-victorian-english-gentlemens-club Artist Page at NME.com]
• [https://www.nme.com/video/id/4u394-bOew0/search/The%20Victorian%20English%20Gentlemens%20Club Promo video for single 'Parrot']
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100105120133/http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/2600 National Museum of Wales 'Respond' Project]

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Category:Rock music groups from Cardiff

Category:Fantastic Plastic Records artists

Category:Art punk groups

Category:Welsh indie rock groups

Category:Welsh post-punk music groups

Category:Welsh experimental rock groups