London Grammar are an English indie pop band formed in Nottingham in 2009. The band consists of Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dominic “Dot” Major. Vocalist Hannah Reid and guitarist Dan Rothman are originally from London and met in the Ancaster Hall student residence at the University of Nottingham. They were joined by Dominic “Dot” Major (keyboard, djembe, drums) a year later. After completing their studies in mid-2010, the trio moved down to London to pursue a career in music.
The band began by playing low-key gigs at local bars, honing their material. They soon found themselves noticed by a number of A&R people, and they were signed with the Ministry of Sound while Big Life took over the management duties in the second half of 2013. In November 2012, the trio posted their song “Hey Now” on YouTube; it immediately received a huge amount of attention. Their EP Metal & Dust followed in February 2013, and it made the top five of the iTunes chart in Australia. It created a lot of interest, and the band received significant airplay on national radio. They released their single “Wasting My Young Years” in June 2013, peaking at No. 31 in the UK. The band was also featured on Disclosure’s album ‘Settle’ with the track “Help Me Lose My Mind”, released in June 2013.
On 1 September 2013, they released “Strong”, which peaked at No. 16 in the UK. The song was later used in the 2014 American TV series ‘Reckless’ for its second episode, “Parting Shots”. In September 2013, they released their debut studio album, “If You Wait”, which peaked at No. 2 on both the UK and Australian Albums Chart. In December a single for the album, “Nightcall” was released. London Grammar won an Ivor Novello Award in the Best Song Musically and Lyrically category for “Strong”. And later in 2014, they won two awards – “Independent Breakthrough of the Year” and “PPL Award for Most Played New Independent Act” – at the AIM Independent Music Awards.
In January 2017, London Grammar shared the single “Rooting For You”, marking the group’s first new music since their debut album in 2013. A month later, in February, they shared the second single, “Big Picture”, via their Facebook page, which they also performed on Later with Jools Holland. “Truth is a Beautiful Thing” was released in June. The album charted at No. 1 in the UK. During the autumn of 2017, the band’s cover version of the Chris Isaak song “Wicked Game” was used in the trailer for the BBC series Peaky Blinders.
In August 2020, London Grammar released “Baby It’s You”, their first single since 2017. This was followed by the premiere of “Californian Soil” in October before the launch of their third album, also titled ‘Californian Soil’, which was released in April 2021. “America” was one of the first songs written for the album, and was written about letting go of the past. The launch of “Californian Soil” was accompanied by a full live performance on YouTube. London Grammar were nominated for the “Best Group” at the Brit Awards 2022.
