My research on the Alternative rock band Hard-Fi

1. by Alex Fletcher

2. Bio
• Hard-Fi are a successful Alternative rock band from Staines,
London. They are more closely associated with the genre ‘indie
rock’, a sub genre of alternative rock. Their unique sound mostly
derives from Richard Archer’s accent, being from Staines, London,
means Archer has a strong Cockney accent. But this is recognised
as an advantage for Hard- Fi as its what separates them from
other English Indie rock bands.
• The band formed in 2003 and reached commercial success
following the release of their first album ‘Stars of CCTV’ in 2005.
The band supported bands, such as Green Day in 2005, this
helped build their fame. Their ‘Stars of CCTV’ album reached
number 1 in the Uk chart on January 22nd 2006.

3. Band Members
• Richard Archer: Lead singer and guitarist.
• Ross Phillips: Lead Guitarist and backing
vocals
• Steve Kemp: Backing vocals and Drums
• Kai Stephens: Backing vocals and Bass
Guitar

4. Record History
Release Uk Chart
Title Label Certification
Date no
Stars of Necessary/
04/07/12 1 UK:2x platinum
CCTV Atlantic
Once upon a
Necessary/
time in the 03/09/12 1 UK: Gold
west Atlantic
Killer Necessary/
19/08/12 9 -
Sounds Atlantic

5. Their name
• Hard-Fi’s name derived from a distinguished
sound produced by the famous dub artist
Lee “Scratch” Perry at his Black Ark
recording studio. As the band were such big
fans of Perry’s work and so decided to
name themselves after the famous sound.

7. Music Style
• Hard-Fi tried to develop a style of music that could
closely connect to their lyrics, which closely related to
their lives. They aspired to be different to other bands
and so related their lyrics to their working class lifestyle
they all grew up in, in Staines, such as the song ‘Living for
the weekend’. Which talks about working all week and
having the weekend off. The bands style is described to
be a mix of indie and post-punk. However the album
‘Stars on CCTV’ focuses heavily on loud, raw guitars;
where as their second album ‘Once Upon a Time in the
West’ contains more orchestration. Archer has said that
the bands main influences are Soul and Dance music.
Here is a video

8. Media
• ‘Stars of CCTV’ received promising reviews
from NME magazine giving the album a
9/10 rating and saying ‘Tearing down the
aisles of punk heritage, they snatch and grab
with well-cased precision’.
• Hard-Fi’s weekly podcast ‘Hard-Fi:Rockin’
the City’ received critical acclaim as it was
nominated for “Best Podcast” at the Digital
Music Awards in 2007.
Media photo shoot?

9. Attitude
• Hard-Fi proud themselves on focusing their lyrics
on the working class lifestyle. This is shown in the
video below, which depicts 3 working class people
and their relations with girls. In their videos the
band acts with a care free attitude, loosely holding
onto their instruments and and not smiling. All is
portrayed in this Music Video:
• Hard-FI played at secret, sold out locations in July
2007, this suggests their Attitude toward fame. The
band aren’t to concerned about fame and just wish
to perform for their fans.