put simply, the parlotones are potentially south africa’s
TRANSCRIPT
Put simply, The
Parlotones are potentially
South Africa’s biggest
selling pop/rock act ever
with 700,000+ albums
sales worldwide.
All the more impressive when you
consider this has been achieved via
independent record labels in just a few
key markets. Double Platinum, Platinum
and Gold Records saturate the band’s
discography. Their live story is even
more humbling having played live to over
2 million people in their career to date.
Add to that the 1 Billion people that
watched the band on TV as they opened
the 2010 FIFA soccer World Cup, and
you get a sense of this band’s success
so far.
When The Parlotones first met in 1998 in
Johannesburg, little did they know that
they would go on to write one of the
greatest Rock ‘n Roll stories South Africa
had ever seen. Their hard working,
humble attitude, dedication and
commitment to their music has seen
them enjoy a career that has spanned
over 15 years, achieved multi platinum
selling status and accumulated numerous
awards.
In 2003, The Parlotones self-released
their first album, the raw Indie tinged
'Episoda’, an album which quickly
compared their sound to bands like The
Smiths and Coldplay. This Indie sound
was the first of its kind in South Africa
and quickly labeled The Parlotones as
one of the freshest sounding bands on
the scene, paving the way for their
sophomore (and breakthrough album),
which would cement their success and
catapult them to the stars they are today.
‘RadioControlledRobot’ was released
under the Sovereign Entertainment label
in 2005 and spawned the hits ‘Here
Comes The Man’, ‘Colourful,’
‘Dragonflies & Astronauts’, ‘Beautiful’
and ‘Overexposed’. The music video for
‘Overexposed’ won 2 Awards for Best
Video and Best Animation at the 2009
MK (TV) Awards.
‘RadioControlledRobot’ showcased The
Parlotones as top songwriters in their
game and was an upbeat, yet eerie,
post-apocalyptic album about the state
of a slave race. The album won the 2006
SAMA (South African Music Award) for
‘Best Rock Album’ and spawned
numerous Top 40 hits, making it one of
the most important albums of their
career; shifting them from indie status
to full blown, fan-adored stars. In the
years following this release, the band
toured addictively and won South Africa
and the world over, tiny step by tiny
step. They walked away with well-
deserved awards for ‘Best Band’ at the
You Magazine Awards and FHM
Readers' Choice Awards, in 2007.
The single ‘Beautiful’ was used in a
FujiFilmTV ad in Ireland, which exposed
the band to their first International
audience and secured them a worldwide
licensing deal with the International
division of Universal Music, covering the
territories of Ireland, the UK, France,
Japan, Germany and Holland. A 12-track
version of the album was released
internationally in 2007, making it the first
international album released by the band.
‘RadioControlledRobot’ is now an
incredible 2 x Platinum.
The Parlotones are consistently known for
their groundbreaking attitude and genre
crunching attention given to their music
videos, making them leaders in visual
audio expression and winning them a
multitude of awards. Their first major
music video for ‘Dragonflies & Astronauts’
was created over 9 months and was
entirely animated. This video went on to
win an award for ‘Best Music Video’ at the
MK Awards 2007 and proved that The
Parlotones were adamant to push
boundaries in all aspects of their art.
Constantly pushing the
envelope of their artistry and
setting the stage for being
named one of the hardest
working bands in the industry,
The Parlotones entered the
studio for their third album ‘A
World Next Door To Yours’,
which was released in 2007.
The first South African single release was ‘A Giant Mistake’ which reached #1. In the UK the song "Dragonflies & Astronauts" became
their debut single.
In the years following this release the band toured addictively and won South Africa and
the world over, tiny step by tiny step. In June 2007,The Parlotones were selected
to perform at The Live Earth concert, the largest festival ever staged. MSN named
The Parlotones as “one of the 10 most memorable performances at Live Earth” and likened seeing the Parlotones at this early stage of the career to “seeing The
Police in the late 70’s”.
Constantly pushing the envelope of their
artistry and setting the stage for being named one of the hardest working bands in
the industry,The Parlotones entered the studio for their second studio album ‘A World Next Door To Yours’, which was
released in 2007.The first South African single release was ‘A Giant Mistake’ which
reached #1 on S.A’s No 1 Hit Station 5FM's Top 40 and the Hi5@5 chart shows. In the UK the song "Dragonflies & Astronauts"
became their debut UK single.
‘A World Next Door To Yours’, an
album which is often considered the
band’s “Magnum Opus”, was certified
Gold in South Africa 3 months after its
release and platinum 3 months
later.The album remained one of
South Africa's top 20 selling albums
for more than 12 months and became
the biggest selling album of the
decade 2000-2010 in South Africa.
Other singles that had incredible
success were the fairytale indie pop
song ‘I’ll Be There,’ and ‘I’m Only
Human.’
The endearing music video release for
‘‘I'll Be There’ which involved a forlorn
tinfoil Knight looking for love won 3
awards at the MK Music Awards 2009
Best Video, Best Animation and Best
Serenade and set the bar for music
video animation. The video also won the
‘Loerie Kraft Award’, marking the first
time a music video had won a
Loerie.The song was also nominated for
SAMA 2009 — ‘MTN Record Of The Year’
for ‘I'll Be There.’
The band embarked on a 2 month, 3 continent International ‘A World Next Door To Yours’ tour to support the album
release, which began in North America, ending in Canada and then continuing across the Atlantic for a UK show with
Starsailor.The unrivalled success of this album was beyond expectation and testament to the rock giants The Parlotones had
become.
After relentless years of touring, performance and writing and with no signs of slowing down,The Parlotones released their
third official studio album ‘Stardust Galaxies’ in 2009.The album spawned the hits ‘Life Design’, ‘Push Me To The Floor’ and
‘We Call This Dancing’ and reached Gold Status (20 000 copies) in its first week of release.The Music Video for ‘Push Me To
The Floor’ won MK Award for Best Music Video 2010 and SAMA for Best Music Video 2010
‘Stardust Galaxies’ was launched during the 2009 world tour, which culminated in sell out headlining gigs at the Coca Cola
Dome in Johannesburg and Grand West Arena in Cape Town.This was a feat never ever achieved before by a South African
rock band. In 2010 the band played on stage to a local and International live broadcast audience of over a billion at the
opening of the FIFA World Cup Kick-off Celebration Concert.
KAHN MORBEE - LEAD
SINGER, GUITAR
NEIL PAUW -
DRUMMER
nd girls in Africa
Always willing to expand their horizons and unleash their creativity, The Parlotones expressed their love of wine by collaborating with a local South African vineyard and producing three different ‘Parlotones’ wines, blended and created by the band during 2009 and 2010. These wines were named after some of their most popular songs: ‘Giant Mistake’, ‘Push Me to the Floor’ and ‘We Call This Dancing’.
Keeping themselves busy with a non stop-
touring itinerary, the band have toured
internationally since 2007, spending
months on the road in the UK, Germany,
Austria, Switzerland and North
America.They have also toured in South
America, Canada, Australia, Japan, Russia
and have shared the stage with Coldplay,
Starsailor, Snow Patrol, Live, Ash,
Razorlight, Blue October, Violent Femmes,
Imagine Dragons & many more.Their Live
Concert circuit has included festivals like T
in the Park, V fest, St Gallan Switzerland,
SXSWDeluna Fest, Canadian Music Week,
Midem and more.
The Parlotones have always aspired not
only to have fun making music, but also to
give back to their community. Over the
years, they have raised funds and
awareness for a variety of social &
environmental organizations, lending their
high profile to initiatives such as Live Earth,
Earth Hour, The SABC’s Carbon Free
campaign, Nelson Mandela’s 46664, & Live
Earth’s Run for Water, among others.
They are also ambassadors for the anti-
poaching organization Rhino Force, United
Against Malaria, The Smile Fundation, and
several other non- profits that combat problems
that acutely affect South Africa.
In March 2012, they joined with Africa Unites to
climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise global
awareness about ending violence against
women & children.
“People in the public eye have the ability to spread a message very quickly and effectively,” Morbee says. “So we try to do so when it
concerns issues we feel strongly about. South Africa is our home and home to our families and our friends.We certainly want to make
sure they have a bright future. If we can get involved and encourage people to get involved, it can only have positive effects.”
Just before the release of the band’s 4th Studio album ‘Journey Through the Shadows’ (2012) the band embarked on a US club tour
and were met with media fanfare and praise.The Boston Herald predicted,“The Parlotones could become huge here. Killers huge,
Muse huge, Coldplay huge.” Filter magazine reckoned that “their earnestness, work ethic, and charm may be their biggest weapons.”
Not only praised for their songwriting and melodies,The Parlotones are adored for their expressive live performances, their iconic face
make up and their willingness to interact and touch their audience. In 2012 the band performed a rock opera called ‘Dragonflies and
Astronauts’ which was broadcast live around the world in 3D via DIRECT TV and in 2D live on Facebook, and performed live at various
theatres around S.A.
On ‘Journey Through The Shadows’The Parlotones have crafted the kind of melody-minded arena-filling songs that transcend language
and culture barriers.The first single “Save Your Best Bits,” with its theme of not allowing negative things from the past to affect the
good parts of your soul, and the celebratory “I Am Alive” are about catharsis.
PARLOTONES
GLEN HODGSON - BASS,
KEYBOARDS, BACKING VOCALS
PAUL HODGSON, LEAD GUITAR
IN 2014, AFTER 12 SUCCESSFUL
YEARS ALONGSIDE RECORD/
MANAGEMENT LABEL; THE
PARLOTONES AND SOVEREIGN
ENTERTAINMENT SPLIT WAYS AND
THE BAND TOOK OVER THE REINS,
REINFORCING THEMSELVES AS A
TRUE “INDIE” BAND.
In 2015,The Parlotones released their first Independent
album ‘Antiques & Artefacts. This was soon followed the
bands 20th anniversary year that saw a brand new studio
album titled 'CHINA' released both locally and
internationally. Working with the likes of two time Ivor
Novello Award winner and Grammy nominated songwriter
Sacha Skarbek (best known for writing James Blunt's hit
singles "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover" as well
having worked with artists such as Adele, Lana Del
Rey, Jason Mraz, Tears for Fears, and many more), Richard
Archer (singer-songwriter, and principal songwriter of indie
rock band Hard-Fi) and Get Cape, Wear Cape Fly's Sam
Duckworth to name a few.
2019 saw The Parlotones release their Unplugged(ish) album
'Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed,
Something Blue'. Recorded at High Seas Studios, the
recording is rich in acoustic renditions from the band's back
catalogue, as well as eerie takes of selected singles off
the recently released SAMA nominated album CHINA.
CONTACT:
MEDIA QUERIES
Gregg Forbes
BOOKINGS
Gregg Forbes
During the release of
‘Journey Through The
Shadows', The Parlotones
spent a year touring
abroad in the US and
their homeland, spreading
their musical message.
Having to juggle a home
life in South Africa and
abroad was a testing time
for the band and made
them realize that although
they are constantly willing
to travel the world, they
have always called South
Africa home. “The most
exciting part about
touring is doing the last
stretch returning home,”
says front man Kahn
Morbee.
In 2013,The Parlotones
released their fourth
studio album ‘Stand Like
Giants’ on Virgin Atlantic
flight VS602 from
Johannesburg to London.
Long standing friends of
Sir Richard Branson, this
was the worlds first ‘on
board’ album launch.The
album included the
critically acclaimed single
‘Sleepwalker’ featuring S.A
Hip Hop star Khuli
Chana.The song, which
was first featured as a 5fm
MashLab Colab climbed
the charts and was named
as one of the biggest S.A
collaborations.
DISCOGRAPHY
MUSIC VIDEOS
Here Comes The Man
Beautiful
Dragonflies & Astronauts
Colourful
Overexposed
Stars Fall Down
I’ll Be There
I’m Only Human Giant Mistake Push Me The Floor
Life Design Save Your Best Bits Sleepwalker Defy Gravity Can You Feel It Beautiful Life Antidote
AWARDS
South African Music Awards (SAMA) 2006 — Best Rock Album
You Magazine Awards 2007 / 2010— Best Band
MK Awards 2007 — Best Video
People’s Choice Awards 2008 — Best Music Act Best Band Award — Caxton’s "Best of JHB" - 9 years running
Loerie Kraft Award 2008 (the first time that a music video has won at the Loeries)
MTV Africa 2008 — Best Group nomination
MTV Africa 2008 — Best Alternative nomination
International Songwriting Competition (ISC) 2008 Music Video (first place) for
"Overexposed"
International Songwriting Competition (ISC) 2008 Performance (second place) for
"Giant Mistake"
MK Awards 2009 — Best Video for Overexposed.
MK Awards 2009 — Best Animation for Overexposed.
MK Awards 2009 — Best Serenade
SAMA Awards 2009 — MTN Record of the Year (nomination) for "I'll Be There"
SAMA Awards 2009 — Best Global Chart DVD (nomination) for Unplugged
SAMA Awards 2009 — Best Music Video of the Year for "Overexposed"
SAMA Awards 2010 — Best Rock album for Stardust Galaxies
SAMA Awards 2010 — Best Music Video for "Push Me to the Floor"
Nominations
MTV Africa Music Awards 2014 - Best Alternative SAMA Awards 2018 - Best Rock Album
STUDIO ALBUMS:
Episoda (2003)
Radiocontrolledrobot (2005)
A World Next Door to Yours
(2007)
Stardust Galaxies (2009)
Journey Through the Shadows
(2012)
Stand Like Giants (2013)
Antiques & Artefacts (2015)
“Trinkets, Relics & Heirlooms -
B Sides album. (2016)
CHINA. (2018)
LIVE / COMPILATION ALBUMS
Unplugged (CD, and DVD Live at
the Emperors Palace) (2008)
Live Design (Live CD and DVD
video compilation) (2010)
Eavesdropping on the Songs of
Whales ( 2011)
Dragonflies & Astronauts CD /