Taking the best of post-punk, new wave, and pop as inspiration, Sunderland's the Futureheads are among the best of the U.K.'s groups.

After meeting at various youth music projects the boys played their first gig in 2000. They put out a limited edition demo, which quickly sold out in Sunderland’s indie music stores. The band’s gigs became word of mouth local events, with every show subject to a strict theme. After their first ventures into touring they released their first, now highly collectable, seven inch single comprising ‘Park Inn’, ‘Robot’, ‘My Rules’ and ‘Stupid and ‘Shallow’. Shortly after, they were signed to Fierce Panda who released their first two proper singles, ‘1,2,3 – Nul’ and ‘First Day’.

The band released their self-titled debut album in 2004 on 679 Recordings to critical acclaim. 2005 saw the release of the massively popular hit single ‘Hounds of Love’ – a Kate Bush cover. The track was named Best Single of 2005 by the NME.

Their sophomore album News and Tributes, was released in May 2006. After the album’s release the band started up their own label, Nul Records, on which they released their third album This Is Not The World, in 2008.

The Futureheads will be performing live at Manchester Academy 3 on Sunday 2nd May.