Clean Bandit are a British electronic music group, formed in Cambridge in 2008. Original band members Grace Chatto, Jack Patterson, Luke Patterson and Neil Amin-Smith met while studying as undergraduates at Jesus College. At the time, Amin-Smith, who attended Westminster School was leading a string quartet together with Chatto, who attended The Latymer School. The original vocalist, Ssegawa-Ssekintu Kiwanuka, left to undertake a PhD in laser analytics. In 2011, Chatto and Jack Patterson formed their own film production company, Cleanfilm, to make music videos for themselves and other artists. The band’s name, Clean Bandit, comes from a translation of a Russian phrase; the meaning “utter rascal”.
In December 2012, Clean Bandit released their debut single “A+E”, which peaked at number 100 on the UK Singles Chart in March 2013, they released their second single “Mozart’s House”. The song peaked at number 17 and their third single “Dust Clears” charted at number 43 in the UK. The band’s fourth single “Rather Be” featuring Jess Glynne was released in January 2014 and topped the UK Singles Chart. It was the fastest-selling song released in January since 1996 and ended 2014 as the year’s second best-selling song in the UK, selling over 1.13 million copies. “Rather Be” also reached number one in Austria, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, whilst charting at number ten on the US Billboard.
The band’s debut studio album New Eyes, was released in June 2014. In November, the band collaborated again with Jess Glynne, on their single “Real Love”. It reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. The same month, the band performed as part of the charity group Band Aid 30 alongside other British and Irish pop acts, recording the latest version of the track “DoThey Know It’s Christmas?” to raise money for the 2014 Ebola crisis in West Africa.
In October 2016, it was announced that violinist and pianist Neil Amin-Smith had decided to leave Clean Bandit. Two days later, the group released their first song as a three-piece without Amin-Smith: “Rockabye”, which features rapper Sean Paul and singer Anne-Marie. “Rockabye” became their second number one hit in the UK,] and remained at the top spot for nine weeks. It went on to become the Christmas number one single for 2016.
In March 2017, the trio released “Symphony”, a collaboration with Swedish singer Zara Larsson. The song topped the UK Singles Chart, becoming the group’s third number one single in the country. In June, the band released the studio version of “Disconnect” with Marina and the Diamonds. The track was previously performed at the 2015 Coachella Festival.
In October 2017, the band announced the single “I Miss You”, featuring renowned songwriter Julia Michaels. It charted within the top five of the UK and has been certified platinum. In May 2018, the band released the second album’s fifth single, “Solo”, featuring vocals from Demi Lovato. It topped the charts in the UK the following month and has received a platinum certification. In November 2018, sixth single “Baby” was released, featuring Marina and the Diamonds and Luis Fonsi. Clean Bandit released their second album What is Love? in November 2018. The album features collaborations with Rita Ora, Ellie Goulding, Craig David, Anne-Marie, and Charli XCX.
In wake of the coronavirus, the band produced a ‘House Party’ event fortnightly in replacement of their live shows which they would’ve performed if the pandemic shouldn’t have arisen. Clean Bandit produced 6 of these house parties in total, from April to July, many featuring vocals from their singer Yasmin Green.
