Henry Dartnall (b. 3 August 1975, Croydon, London, England; guitar/vocals), the House Of Lords (b. Thomas Dartnall, 23 May 1977, St. Leonards-On-Sea, East Sussex, England; bass/vocals) and Oliver Askew (b. 19 August 1975, Kingston, London, England; drums/vocals) formed the post-punk influenced Young Knives in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England in the late 90s. Brothers Henry and Thomas had been playing Ned's Atomic Dustbin-influenced indie pop together since their mid-teens. Early incarnations of the band were named Simple Pastoral Existence and Pony Club, but after misreading the words "young knaves" in a Scottish history book they undertook another name change.
In 1999 the trio relocated to Oxford, England in order to be closer to the London live scene. Signed to the Shifty Disco label, the 2002 debut EP, The Young Knives " Are Dead, was essentially a raw predecessor to the Andy Gill-produced album Voices Of Animals And Men. Although the UK music scene had seen its fair share of pretentious art-rock acts by the time of the release of the latter in 2006, the Young Knives did not take themselves too seriously. Their charity shop tweed clothes and self-deprecating humour caused many to warm to the band, helping them breach the UK Top 40 singles chart on several occasions. 'She's Attracted To" contained a bass line that nodded towards the piercing, crunchy sound made by Jean Jacques Burnel on "Peaches" by the Stranglers, while the opening line of "Weekends And Bleak Days (Hot Summer)" paraphrased Hugh Cornwell's lyrics from the same 1977 hit. Although their music also borrowed heavily from Wire, the Jam and Blur, the Young Knives album was a unique and witty, politically astute portrayal of provincial England in 2006.
