Idlewild are a Scottish rock band formed in the Winter of 1995, by vocalist Roddy Woomble, guitarist Rod Jones, drummer Colin Newton, and bassist Phil Scanlon. Part of Idlewild's early success can be attributed to their singles gaining heavy rotation on Steve Lamacq's Evening Session on BBC Radio 1. Alongside his all-round endorsement of the band, Lamacq often cites them as one of his favourite bands.

Initially, the band's sound obeyed the conventions of 1990s British indie-punk (show more)

Idlewild are a Scottish rock band formed in the Winter of 1995, by vocalist Roddy Woomble, guitarist Rod Jones, drummer Colin Newton, and bassist Phil Scanlon. Part of Idlewild's early success can be attributed to their singles gaining heavy rotation on Steve Lamacq's Evening Session on BBC Radio 1. Alongside his all-round endorsement of the band, Lamacq often cites them as one of his favourite bands.

Initially, the band's sound obeyed the conventions of 1990s British indie-punk guitar music, however, unlike many of their contemporaries, it developed over time, from an edgy and angular sound (as heard in their early material - once described by the NME as "the sound of a flight of stairs falling down a flight of stairs"[1]) to a sweeping, melodic rock sound as displayed on The Remote Part and Warnings/Promises. While Idlewild's sound cannot be easily placed into a specific genre, they have clearly been influenced by the likes of: Gang Of Four, R.E.M., The Smiths and Fugazi.

On November 21st 2005, Idlewild announced that, after eight years and four albums, they were parting ways with their record label Parlophone/EMI. Since then, Idlewild signed to Sanctuary Records and released their latest album, Make Another World, in March 2007. The band are in the midst of writing their sixth full-length album.