Hundred Reasons are an English alternative rock band formed in London, England, in 1999. It consists of Colin Doran (vocals), Larry Hibbitt (guitar, vocals), Andy Gilmour (bass), and Andy Bews (drums).
After releasing EpOne, EpTwo, and EpThree between 2000 and 2001, Hundred Reasons issued their debut full-length album, Ideas Above Our Station, in 2002, to critical acclaim and commercial success. The album yielded the singles "I'll Find You", "If I Could", "Silver", and "Falter", and was followed by Shatterproof Is Not a Challenge in 2004. After being dropped by Columbia Records, the band signed with V2 Records and released their third studio album, Kill Your Own, in 2006. Guitarist and vocalist Paul Townsend departed following the release and was replaced by Ben Doyle for the band's fourth album, Quick the Word, Sharp the Action (2007).
Following years of inactivity, Hundred Reasons played tenth-anniversary shows in 2012 and briefly reunited again for two shows in 2014. After regrouping in 2021, they issued their fifth album, Glorious Sunset, in 2023.
Hundred Reasons have had six top-40 hit singles and two top-20 hit albums.
Career
Formation and first releases: 1999–2004
Hundred Reasons was formed in London, England, in 1999. They have cited influences including Hum, Cave In, Stapleton, Guns N' Roses, Faith No More, Orange 9mm, Far, Soulwax, Helmet, Minor Threat, Youth of Today, Fugazi, and Quicksand. By 2001, they had released three EPs: EpOne, EpTwo, and EpThree, as well as a split EP with the American punk rock band Garrison.
The band's debut, full-length album, Ideas Above Our Station, was released in 2002. It peaked at No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart, achieved Gold status, with sales of over 118,000 copies, and spawned several Top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart.
Their second album, Shatterproof Is Not a Challenge, was released in 2004. Despite successful tours and achieving Silver status with sales of more than 65,000 copies within four months, Hundred Reasons were dropped by Sony BMG in June 2004. They re-released a remastered version of Quick the Word, Sharp the Action in 2009.
Hiatus and reunion shows (2009–2014)
After the re-release of Quick the Word, Sharp the Action, Hundred Reasons went on an extended hiatus. Reflecting on this period in an interview with NME in 2022, Doran stated: "After Quick the Word, personally for me that felt like it was going to be it. I'm quite pragmatic and I think it had some good songs on it, but it wasn't what I would call our best record. Things were on a bit of a downward turn, to be open and frank about it. We just ended up, not necessarily dissolving the band but everybody had to go and find other things to do. Those things took over, then weeks turned into months, which turned into years. Larry was building his career as a producer, I was in education and doing stuff like that, Bews was living in America which made rehearsal quite different, and Andy was in another band at the time called Freeze Atlantic."
In April 2012, the band announced that they would be performing songs from their first album, Ideas Above Our Station, at both Banquet Records' Big Day Out and 2000Trees, and that they had been rejoined by Paul Townsend. Hell Is for Heroes drummer Joe Birch performed with them that summer."
On 8 May, it was revealed that Townsend would not be performing with the band after all.
In 2014, Hundred Reasons reunited once more to play the Sonisphere Festival.
Band members
Current
- Colin Doran – lead vocals, keyboards <small>(1999–2012; 2014; 2021–present)</small>
- Larry Hibbitt – guitar, occasional lead vocals <small>(1999–2012; 2014; 2021–present)</small>
- Andy Gilmour – bass, backing vocals <small>(1999–2012; 2014; 2021–present)</small>
- Andy Bews – drums <small>(1999–2009; 2012; 2021–present)</small>
Past
- Paul Townsend – guitar, occasional lead vocals <small>(1999–2006, 2012)</small>
- Ben Doyle – guitar <small>(2006–2009)</small>
Timeline
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id:Bvox value:pink legend:Backing_Vocals
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id:album value:black legend:Studio_album
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at:05/20/2002
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at:02/23/2023
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bar:Bews text:"Andy Bews"
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bar:Doran from:01/01/1999 till:11/24/2012 color:Vocals
bar:Doran from:07/24/2014 till:07/25/2014 color:Vocals
bar:Doran from:07/23/2021 till:end color:Vocals
bar:Hibbitt from:01/01/1999 till:11/24/2012 color:Guitar
bar:Hibbitt from:01/01/1999 till:11/24/2012 color:Bvox width:3
bar:Hibbitt from:07/24/2014 till:07/25/2014 color:Guitar
bar:Hibbitt from:07/24/2014 till:07/25/2014 color:Bvox width:3
bar:Hibbitt from:07/23/2021 till:end color:Guitar
bar:Hibbitt from:07/23/2021 till:end color:Bvox width:3
bar:Townsend from:01/01/1999 till:09/15/2006 color:Guitar
bar:Townsend from:01/01/1999 till:09/15/2006 color:Bvox width:3
bar:Townsend from:02/09/2012 till:05/08/2012 color:Guitar
bar:Townsend from:02/09/2012 till:05/08/2012 color:Bvox width:3
bar:Doyle from:09/16/2006 till:11/14/2009 color:Guitar
bar:Gilmour from:01/01/1999 till:11/24/2012 color:Bass
bar:Gilmour from:07/24/2014 till:07/25/2014 color:Bass
bar:Gilmour from:07/23/2021 till:end color:Bass
bar:Bews from:01/01/1999 till:11/24/2012 color:Drums
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Discography
Studio albums
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan=2| Year
! rowspan=2| Album details
! colspan=4| Peak chart positions
! rowspan=2| Certification
|- style=font-size:smaller;
! width="40"|UK
! width="40"|UK Rock
! width="40"|UK Indie
! width="40"|SCO
|-
| 2002
|Ideas Above Our Station
- Released: 20 May 2002
- Label: Columbia
- Formats: CD, digital download
| align="center"| 6
| align="center"| 1
| align="center"| -
| align="center"| 7
|
- UK: Gold
|-
|-
| 2004
|Shatterproof Is Not a Challenge
- Released: 1 March 2004
- Label: Columbia
- Formats: CD, digital download
| align="center"| 20
| align="center"| 1
| align="center"| -
| align="center"| 22
|
|-
| 2006
|Kill Your Own
- Released: 20 March 2006
- Label: V2
- Formats: CD, digital download
| align="center"| 79
| align="center"| 3
| align="center"| 4
| align="center"| 94
|
|-
| 2007
|Quick the Word, Sharp the Action
- Released: 15 October 2007/20 April 2009 (re-release)
- Label: V2
- Formats: CD, digital download
| align="center"| 100
| align="center"| 4
| align="center"| -
| align="center"| -
|
|-
| 2023
|Glorious Sunset
- Released: 24 February 2023
- Label: SO Recordings
- Formats: Vinyl, CD, digital download
| align="center"| -
| align="center"| 5
| align="center"| 10
| align="center"| -
|
|-
|}
Live albums
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan=1| Year
! colspan=1| Album details
|- style=font-size:smaller;
|-
| 2004
|Live Bootleg
|-
| 2005
|Live at Freakscene
|-
| 2012
|Year Ten: Live at the Forum
|-
| 2023
|Live at Hammersmith
|}
EPs
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan=2| Year
! rowspan=2| EP details
! colspan=2| Peak chart positions
|- style=font-size:smaller;
! width="40"|UK
! width="40"|SCO
|-
| 2000
|EpOne
| align="center"| 90
| align="center"| —
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2001
|EpTwo
| align="center"| 47
| align="center"| 42
|-
|Garrison / Hundred Reasons
| align="center"| —
| align="center"| —
|-
|EpThree
| align="center"| 37
| align="center"| 38
|-
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:left;"
|-
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title
! scope="col" colspan="4"| Peak chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:80%;"| UK
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:80%;"| UK<br />Rock
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:80%;"| UK<br />Indie
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:80%;"| SCO
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2002
! scope="row"| "If I Could"
| style="text-align:center;"|19 || style="text-align:center;"|3 || style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|19
| rowspan="3"| Ideas Above Our Station
|-
! scope="row"| "Silver"
| style="text-align:center;"|15 || style="text-align:center;"|2 || style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|18
|-
! scope="row"| "Falter"
| style="text-align:center;"|38 || style="text-align:center;"|5 || style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|44
|-
| rowspan="1"| 2003
! scope="row"| "The Great Test"
| style="text-align:center;"|29 || style="text-align:center;"|4 || style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|29
| rowspan="2"| Shatterproof Is Not a Challenge
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2004
! scope="row"| "What You Get"
| style="text-align:center;"|30 || style="text-align:center;"|1 || style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|32
|-
! scope="row"| "How Soon Is Now?"
| style="text-align:center;"|47 || style="text-align:center;"|6 || style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|46
| rowspan="1"| Non-album single
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2006
! scope="row"| "Kill Your Own"
| style="text-align:center;"|45 || style="text-align:center;"|2 || style="text-align:center;"|2|| style="text-align:center;"|23
| rowspan="3"| Kill Your Own
|-
! scope="row"| "The Perfect Gift"
| style="text-align:center;"|111 || style="text-align:center;"|3 || style="text-align:center;"|11|| style="text-align:center;"|46
|-
! scope="row"| "The Chance/Live Fast, Die Ugly"
| style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| rowspan="1"| 2007
! scope="row"| "No Way Back"
| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|—
| rowspan="3"| Quick the Word, Sharp the Action
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2009
! scope="row"| "I'll Never Know"
| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
! scope="row"| "Break the Glass"
| style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| rowspan="3"| 2022
! scope="row"| "Glorious Sunset"
| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|—
| rowspan="4"| Glorious Sunset
|-
! scope="row"| "New Glasses"
| style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
! scope="row"| "The Old School Way"
| style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2023
! scope="row"| "Replicate"
| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—|| style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
|}
References
External links
- 2007 interview with Larry Hibbitt
- 2009 interview with Hundred Reasons