Flightside

Flightside
BBS cover art for the 1994 EP release 'M.C.K'
Background information
Origin	Uxbridge, England
Genres	lo-fi, post-grunge
Years active	1992–1995, 2012-
Labels	suddenvibe, Bang Boom Krash
Website	http://flightside.co.uk
Past members	Sarah Eaglesfield (bass/vocals/keys), Paul Cormack (guitar), Mark Parton (drummer)

History

Formation and signing

Flightside were a UK-based lo-fi post-grunge band formed in Uxbridge, England in 1992.^[1] The line up consisted of Sarah Eaglesfield (keys/vocals), Paul Cormack (guitar) and ex-Velveto drummer Mark Parton.^[2] Although Cormack and Eaglesfield had previously known each other in Birmingham, the three came together as a band whilst working on the 'flightside' (the area past the security checks) at Heathrow Airport.

Eaglesfield used her own publication Waxstreet Dive to raise awareness of the band and publicise their initial gigs. Showing influences such as The Birthday Party, Crime and the City Solution and Einstürzende Neubauten they won the award for Best Student Band in the 1992 UK University Unsigned Awards,^[3] which led to them being signed by Bang Boom Krash.

Debut EP and European tour

Their first EP, Circles, was released within 2 months of the signing, and received a great deal of airplay in rotation on the UK Student Radio Network due to band members being heavily involved in the UK Student Radio Association. BBC Radio 1 and stations in the Capital Radio Group also picked up on the release, and the increased exposure for the band led to a well-received European tour covering Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Denmark.

Digital distribution and second EP

Flightside were most notable for their early adoption and use of digital media in promoting the band and distributing their music. In 1993 they became one of the first bands to make their music freely available online, advertising on Usenet newsgroups and using their student logins to establish an undercover website on Brunel University's academic web servers, long before webspace was freely available for home users. The URL was displayed on the cover of their second EP, M.C.K. (Middle Class Kid), which was released in 1994. The band split in 1995 to concentrate on their final year studies.

20-year reunion

In November 2011, Eaglesfield received funding from the Chilean Government through their Start-Up Chile scheme to establish a record label. The band decided to reunite for "test-marketing purposes" on the 20th anniversary of their formation and recorded 15 new tracks together.^[4] The demo tracks they distributed were well-received, gaining airplay across the Chilean radio network, and the first track, Shark, was released on 7 May 2012 on the Suddenvibe label.^[5]

Chart disqualification and controversy

The band encouraged fans to stream Shark instead of buying it, with a view to breaking the newly announced Official Streaming Charts in the UK.^[6] It held the number one spot on the streaming web service, Deezer, for over two weeks in June 2012.^[7] However, Shark was disqualified from the charts by the Official Charts Company, who claimed that the average number streams per customer was excessive.

The band contested this disqualification, citing a spokesperson on the Official Charts Company Facebook page: "If you've listened to Madonna 20 times today, then 20 streams will be counted for that track".^[8] The Official Chart company did not reinstate the track, and Flightside fans set up an anti-chart movement, with a view to disqualifying one random track a week as a protest for the disqualification.^[9][10]

X-Factor and the Ex Facto Ring EP

In June 2013, Eaglesfield auditioned for X-Factor UK as part of her '40 before 40' plan. She sang in front of a celebrity judges' panel composed of Sharon Osbourne, Gary Barlow, Nicole Scherzinger and Louis Walsh at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, performing a comedy song Eaglesfield had written about Walsh. She filmed three segments for Xtra Factor with Caroline Flack, and co-wrote a song called Ex Facto Ring with comedian Matt Richardson. Ex Facto Ring was featured as a bonus track on the digital version of Louis, which was released as an Eaglesfield solo single in September 2013, and deleted just three weeks afterwards when the 500 vinyl copies of the single sold out via the band's website.

On 8 July 2015, Eaglesfield again auditioned for X-Factor UK. She sang Mr Brightside by The Killers in front of Simon Cowell, Rita Ora, Cheryl Cole, Nick Grimshaw and an audience of 5,000 at Event City in Manchester. Despite an enthusiastic reaction from the crowd, the judges gave a unanimous 'no', leading to widespread speculation that the vote had been predetermined, and the audition was rigged. Many members of the audience reported that the monitor speakers on the stage had been cut off prior to her performance, and that Eaglesfield was clearly having problems hearing the judges. The audition was screened in the UK on ITV2 on 19 September 2015.

Eaglesfield is currently working on a solo album and has made a number of snippets available on Soundcloud.

Discography

EPs

• Circles (1993), Bang Boom Krash^[11]
• M.C.K (1994), Bang Boom Krash^[12]
• Shark (2012), suddenvibe^[13]

Singles

• Dumb Boy (May 2013), suddenvibe
• Ex Facto Ring EP (September 2013), suddenvibe (Eaglesfield, solo)

References