The Music was part of a new breed of young bands taking the UK indie charts by storm during the summer of 2002. Comprised of school friends Stuart Coleman, Adam Nutter, Robert Harvey and Phil Jordan, The Music first emerged from the suburbs of Leeds in 1999. In early 2001, Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq hailed The Music as “the best unsigned band in Britain" thanks to the raw power of their demo ‘Take The Long Road And Walk It’. The track was subsequently released on NME journalist Simon Williams’ Fierce Panda label as a limited edition 7” in May 2001. The critical acclaim sparked an intense record label scramble for the band’s signature on both sides of the Atlantic. Hut Recordings won the race to sign the band in the UK and released the band's self-titled debut album in September 2002, charting at No4 and going Gold in the UK, Japan and Australia. Accolades continued to pour in, with NME touting The Music as "potentially the most important group since Oasis". Capitol Records snapped up The Music for North America and released the debut album in February 2003. The band’s sophomore effort Welcome To The North was released in 2004, again faring well in the UK where it charted at No8. The Music took an extended break from the spotlight before releasing their third album Strength In Numbers, in June 2008. The band officially split in 2011, reforming briefly in 2022 to play a massive hometown gig to 12,000 people at Temple Newsam Park in Leeds.