The Maccabees

Although Brighton based now, the Maccabees originally hail from South London.

Their debut single, "X-Ray", was released on Promise records on 28 November 2005, and received some evening play on London radio station Xfm London. They received little significant exposure, however, until six months later, when they released their second single, "Latchmere", the subject of which is the wave machine at the Latchmere Leisure Centre in Battersea, south London[citation needed], on Fierce Panda Records in April 2006. This was championed by Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and received airtime on MTV2. The video, directed by Hugh (Sportsday Megaphone)Frost and Samuel Bebbington, also proved an internet hit after it was posted on YouTube.

In mid-2006, influential music magazine NME gave the band some extremely favourable press, including a review of their headline show at Cafe dé Paris in London, where the magazine called the band "the best new band in Britain". The NME also put the band on the NME Rock 'n' Roll Riot Tour (sponsored by O2) in October 2006, alongside The Horrors, The Dykeenies and headlined by The Fratellis.

The band are currently signed to Fiction Records, and released their début album Colour It In in May 2007. The single "First Love" was their first to chart in the UK top 40, and was followed by "About Your Dress", which peaked at #33. Their album fared much better, which was released to positive reviews, and charted at #24. They recently toured the USA with fellow indie group Bloc Party. A full UK tour followed from October 2007, culminating in a sell-out show at the Roundhouse venue in London. And then Nottingham Uni in May.

During late 2007, Samsung used the track "Toothpaste Kisses" in its advert campaign for its SGH-G800 mobile phone.

The band are currently in the process of writing material for a follow up album. The band played two new songs to Steve Lamacq on his "In New Music We Trust Show" on Radio 1 in May 2008.