Wolf Alice are a British alternative rock band from London. Formed in 2010 as an acoustic duo comprising singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie. Their name came from a short story by Angela Carter. Eventually deciding to add electric elements to their sound, they recruited Rowsell’s childhood friend Sadie Cleary to play bass and Oddie’s friend James DC to be their drummer. They self-released an EP called Wolf Alice that year, featuring three songs: “Every Cloud”, “Wednesday”, and “Destroy Me”.
When James DC broke his wrist in 2012, Joel Amey joined the band as a temporary replacement drummer, but later became a permanent member. In that same year, Cleary left to focus on her studies. Theo Ellis was then recruited as their bassist in late 2012. They released the song “Leaving You” online on SoundCloud as a free download which gained airplay from BBC Radio 1 and featured in NME’s ‘Radar’ section. After the song was released, they toured with Peace, and recorded a session for Huw Stephens’ Radio 1 show in January. They released their first physical single “Fluffy” in February 2013 on the Chess Club label.[
Wolf Alice released their second single “Bros” in May on Chess Club Records. “Bros” is one of the first songs that Rowsell wrote, which the band played in their early stages, leading to a tour where the band were supported by bands such as Dressed Like Wolves and Dead New Blood. In October 2013, Wolf Alice released their first official EP called Blush, which was preceded by the release of “She”. In December 2013, they were chosen as the single most blogged about artist in the UK in that year by BBC Radio 6. In 2014, they signed to Dirty Hit and released their second EP Creature Songs in May. In December 2014, the band were named “Best Breakthrough Artist” at the UK Festival Awards.
In late February 2015, Wolf Alice announced their debut album My Love is Cool, and released the first single from the album, “Giant Peach”. In April, they released a reworked version of the fan favourite “Bros” as the second single from their debut album. On 10 June, the band shared a new track, “You’re a Germ”. My Love Is Cool was released on 22 June, debuting at number two on the UK Album Chart and receiving highly positive reviews. Later that year, they released “You’re a Germ” and “Freazy” as singles, as well as “Lisbon” in 2016. Later in 2016, they toured as a support act for The 1975’s tour in the US.
In June 2017, Wolf Alice released the lead single “Yuk Foo” off their second studio album, Visions of a Life. They released three more singles, “Don’t Delete The Kisses”, “Beautifully Unconventional”, and “Heavenward”, before the release of their album on 28 September. The band toured throughout 2018, including dates supporting Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age. In September 2018, Visions of a Life won the 2018 Mercury Prize.
In February 2021, the band’s website was updated to show a looping video of an eye, with the heading “The Last Man on Earth”. On 22 February 2021, the band announced that their latest single “The Last Man on Earth” would be released on 24 February 2021,] and would debut on Annie Mac’s show on BBC Radio 1. The release of the single was backed by the announcement of their third studio album, Blue Weekend, which is due to be released on 11 June 2021.
