British alternative rock band Bastille recently visited The Recording Academy's headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif., to participate in an exclusive GRAMMY.com interview. The quartet discussed the unexpected success of their 2013 debut album, Bad Blood, and why they didn't expect their single "Pompeii" to be the biggest hit on the album, among other topics.
"When we made and released \[Bad Blood\] in the UK we thought we'd be lucky if we got to do a couple of little tours around the country and maybe make a second album," said frontman Dan Smith. "It never entered our minds that we'd be able to go to Australia, come to the U.S. and all around Europe and Asia. It's been mind-blowing."Bastille — comprising Smith, Will Farquarson (bass), Kyle Simmons (keyboards), and Chris "Woody" Wood (drums) — formed in London in 2010.
The group took their name from Bastille Day, which commemorates the beginning of the French Revolution on July 14, and is also Smith's birthday. After releasing tracks on the Web, Bastille garnered both fans and media attention, while landing performance slots at UK festivals such as Glastonbury and Isle of Wight. They released their debut 7-inch single "Flaws"/"Icarus" in 2011, which was followed later that year by the Laura Palmer EP.
The band's debut studio album, *Bad Blood*, was released in March 2013. The 12-track set peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the hits "Bad Blood" and "Pompeii," the latter of which landed at No. 2 on the UK singles chart and No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Bad Blood helped Bastille garner a 2014 Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act, as well as nominations for British Album of the Year, British Single for "Pompeii" and British Group.Bastille are currently in the midst of an international tour with dates scheduled through January 2015.