Cousteau are a London-based band who enjoyed considerable international success, particularly in Italy and the U.S. from 1999 to 2005. The band's sound has been compared to Burt Bacharach, Scott Walker and David Bowie with an updated contemporary edge. Their best known song remains the single "The Last Good Day of the Year", from their eponymous debut album. It has featured in advertisements, films and documentaries and television programmes around the world. It also enjoyed radio play on both BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 in the UK, later becoming a staple of the NPR and AAA networks in the US.
History
The first release of the 1999 eponymous album was 'home-made' and included many demos produced for various major labels. 3,000 copies of the album were pressed by indie label Global Warming set up by Trevor Holden. The album sold out after receiving good reviews, including a 5-star review in Uncut magazine, and recommended album in Time Out London. When the band signed to Chris Blackwell's Palm Pictures label a decision was made to re-record the majority of the album. On re-release the album was Album Of The Week in The Guardian in the UK, and went on to sell more than 230,000 copies internationally. The band achieved gold-record status in Europe after years of consistent touring and promotion, including tours supporting The Dandy Warhols, David Gray, and Goldfrapp. In 2002 the second album, Sirena, was released; the version released in the US included a DVD with videos and unreleased live songs. This album sold over 80,000 copies, and contains the singles 'Talking to Myself' and ' Hungry Times'. Sirena was met with critical acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone, USA Today and Billboard, and most notably a 2-page colour feature in The New York Times. In 2005 Sirena was awarded Classic Album status in The Sydney Morning Herald. The band's line-up changed when songwriter/producer Davey Ray Moor left to pursue production jobs in Italy, such as the No. 4 album Dove Sei Tu for Cristina Dona, a solo album 'Telepathy', released in Europe in the USA and television soundtracks. Songwriting duties were taken on by singer Liam McKahey, and after a change in record companies, the group returned in 2005 with the album Nova Scotia, produced by U2's engineer Ger McDonnel. Lead singer Liam McKahey released a solo album in 2009 as 'Liam McKahey and the Bodies' entitled Lonely Road, and 2014 saw the release of a second album entitled 'Black Vinyl Heart'. The HBO network in the US continues to licence Cousteau's earlier work, with their song 'Mesmer' appearing in a feature about Heidi Fleiss, and 'The Last Good Day of The Year' in the HBO filmTell Me You Love Me and again in the 2005 French movie Happily Ever After. Reboot In 2016 it was announced that Liam McKahey and Davey Ray Moor were returning as CousteauX and were back in the recording studio preparing new music. To honour the new era the band placed an X at the end of their name. Cousteaux is another popular French family name. The new CousteauX began with a sold-out debut at The Blue Note in Milan in May 2016. A new album was released in September 2017 on Silent X Records to international critical acclaim. The duo have performed gigs in London, Portugal and Milan.
Members
Current
Liam McKahey – vocals, percussion
Davey Ray Moor – songwriter, producer, multiple instruments
Former
Robin Brown – guitars
Joe Peet – bass guitar, violin, double bass
Dan Church – drums on the Global Warming Cousteau album
Craig Vear – drums and percussion
Discography
Albums
Cousteau – 1999, Global Warming Ltd
Cousteau – 2000, Palm Pictures Ltd
Sirena – 2002, Palm Pictures Ltd
Nova Scotia – 2005, Endeavur
CousteauX – 2017, Silent X Records
Singles (CD)
"The Last Good Day Of The Year" 1999, Global Warming Ltd
