The Enemy (known as The Enemy UK in the United States) are an English indie rock band formed in Coventry in 2006. The band's debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns (2007) went straight to Number 1 in the UK Albums Chart on release. Their second album Music for the People (2008) went to Number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. Streets in the Sky, their third studio album, was released on 21 May 2012 and was also their third UK top 10 album. Their fourth studio album, It's Automatic, was released on 9 October 2015. After disbanding in 2016, the band reunited in 2022 for two reunion shows in their hometown of Coventry and a UK tour.
History
Formation and early recordings (2006–07) Bass player Andy Hopkins and drummer Liam Watts originate from Coventry, while frontman and multi-instrumentalist Tom Clarke is originally from Birmingham, later moving to Coventry. Clarke attended Finham Park Secondary School in the city during his teenage years, with Hopkins attending Heart of England School in nearby Balsall Common, while Watts studied at the city's Cardinal Newman secondary school.
The Enemy met their original manager, John Dawkins, because Watts' aunt worked with one of Dawkins' family members. Dawkins asked producer Matt Terry to do him a favour and give the band cheap studio time. Terry then produced their first set of three songs: 'Heart Attack', 'Had Enough' and '40 Days and 40 Nights'. Dawkins then forwarded the demos to David Bianchi at A&R Warner.
In 2006 the band were the opening act at Coventry's Godiva Festival, an event they would play for the next two years, making their way to the headline slot.
We'll Live and Die in These Towns (2007–08)
They first gained acclaim when they were mentioned in NME as the act most likely to "break your windows" for 2007. They supported Oasis, The Fratellis, Kasabian, The Paddingtons, Ash, Manic Street Preachers, The Rolling Stones and Stereophonics on their UK tours.
In June 2007, The Enemy played twice at Glastonbury Festival, first in the 'Guardian Lounge' on Saturday and then the much larger 'Other Stage' on Sunday. They also headlined on the Saturday night of T in the Park in the 'Futures' tent on 7 July 2007.
Their single, "Away From Here" entered the charts at number 8 and its follow-up "Had Enough" entered the charts at number 4. Building on their rapid exposure, The Enemy appeared on the NME 2007 Rock 'N' Roll Riot Tour during September and October 2007 along with Lethal Bizzle and The Wombats as well as the Jersey Live Festival. They also supported The Rolling Stones on the last night of their European tour at the O2 Arena.
In September 2007, Alex Zane, presenter of the Xfm Breakfast Show broadcast a statement declaring that the band would not be played on his show again. After playing their single "You're Not Alone" for seven seconds, he reasoned that altercations between himself and the band over a television interview meant that they would no longer be played by him. However, during the Xfm Review of 2008, the presenters Sunta Templeton and Matt Dyson commented on the band and Zane making up.
A musical – also titled "We'll Live and Die in These Towns" – featuring and based on the songs from the album, ran in The Belgrade Theatre Coventry from 29 September 2018 to 20 October 2018. Tom Clarke was the musical director of the project.
Music for the People (2008–2009)
March 2008 saw the band start production on their second album and playing six nights in a row at the London Astoria. In April 2008 the band played at Coventry's Ricoh Arena, selling out two nights. The next month they supported Kaiser Chiefs at Elland Road Stadium. They then headlined the Godiva Festival on 5 July 2008, a 30,000 capacity free gig in Coventry's War Memorial Park. They played Reading & Leeds Festivals on the main stage in August.
Along with Kasabian and Twisted Wheel, The Enemy supported Oasis on their 2009 Dig Out Your Soul Tour, which included the Ricoh Arena gig in The Enemy's hometown of Coventry. In March and April 2009 the band embarked on their own UK & Ireland tour, playing to 70,000 people, with Twisted Wheel as support as well as Kid British. Birmingham singer Emma Skipp joined them on "No Time for Tears". The Enemy were forced to pull out of Oasis's Heaton Park concert on 4 June due to lead singer/guitarist Tom Clarke suffering from food poisoning. Although the band returned the following night they were replaced on the middle night of Oasis' Wembley Stadium three night run by Reverend and The Makers. The Coventry trio said that they were forced to pull out of their performance on 11 July because their singer Tom fell ill due to lily poisoning.
Streets in the Sky (2012–13)