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The Maccabees are an English indie band, based in Brighton and originally from south London. They have released two albums so far, Colour It In, with a follow-up, Wall of Arms, released on 4th May 2009.

The band came up with the name by flicking through the Bible and picking out a random word.. Despite adopting a name with religious connotations, lead singer Orlando Weeks has more recently affirmed, in an interview on Steve Lamacq's BBC Radio 1 show, that none of the band are religious. Their lyrics often includes an atheistic theme, in particular their second album's title track, "Wall Of Arms".

Their debut single, "X-Ray", was released on Promise records on 28 November 2005, and received some evening play on London radio station Xfm London. They received little significant exposure, however, until six months later, when they released their second single, "Latchmere", the subject of which is the wave machine at the Latchmere Leisure Centre in Battersea, South London, on Fierce Panda Records in April 2006. This was championed by Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and received airtime on MTV2. The video, directed by Hugh Frost and Samuel Bebbington, also proved an internet hit after it was posted on YouTube.

The band are currently signed to Fiction Records, and released their début album Colour It In in May 2007. Because an early copy of the album appeared on the New York Times website, Colour It In became available to download exclusively from iTunes on 16 December, before its physical release on 14 May, in an effort to combat the leak. The single "First Love" was their first to chart in the UK top 40, and was followed by "About Your Dress", which peaked at #33. Their album fared much better, which was released to positive reviews, and charted at #24. They recently toured the USA with fellow indie group Bloc Party. A full UK tour followed from October 2007, culminating in a sell-out show at the Roundhouse venue in London.

During late 2007, Samsung used the track "Toothpaste Kisses" in its advert campaign for its SGH-G800 mobile phone.

On the run-up to the release of their second album, the band played two new songs to Steve Lamacq on his "In New Music We Trust" show on Radio 1 in [May 2008, "No Kind Words" and "Young Lions". The band also played a string of small venues in the UK to test out new songs, in March and April 2008. The Maccabees performed at Offset Festival in London as well the Underage Festival in August 2008.

On Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show in February 2009, Felix confirmed the name of the follow-up album to be Wall Of Arms, an announcement that coincided with the release of the free downloadable track, "No Kind Words". On March 16th Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq played the band's first single from "Wall Of Arms" entitled "Love You Better", the video to which was posted exclusively on ClashMusic.com on March 27.

The band performed at NewcastleGateshead's Evolution Festival on the 25th of May 2009. They finished their set with "Love You Better." They played before The View and after Little Boots on the Spillers Wharf Stage.

Wall of Arms was released on May 4th, 2009, and received positive reviews.

• Orlando Weeks – Vocals and Guitar
• Hugo White – Guitar
• Felix White – Backing Vocals and Guitar
• Rupert Jarvis – Bass
• Sam Doyle – Drums

Robert Dylan Thomas left the band in 2008 in order to enter rehab, and so Sam Doyle will be touring the album Wall of Arms in 2009. It is uncertain whether Robert will rejoin the band in the future or not.

Guitarist Felix White was formerly in a band with close friend and current solo artist Jack Peñate. This band was called Jack's Basement. Felix and Hugo White are brothers, along with Will White, who is the lead singer and guitarist with another indie band, Talk Taxis.

Albums

• Colour It In (May 2007) Fiction #24 UK
• Wall of Arms (May 2009) Fiction #13 UK

Singles

EPs

• Official Website
• MySpace
• The Maccabees Interview in 2009
• The Maccabees Interview with dailymusicguide.com
• Recent Interview on Platforms Magazine
• The Maccabees interview 2008 on ilikemusic.com
• Orlando Weeks Interview, The Jitty
• The Maccabees at The Indie Music Database
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• The Maccabees Live Review on dailymusicguide.com
• The Maccabees Live Review at Daily Music Guide
• The Maccabees Interview with Orlando Weeks God Is In The TV Zine