Fight Like Apes

Fight Like Apes (also referred to as FLApes or FLA) are an Irish alternative rock band formed in Dublin in 2006. Their final lineup consisted of Mary-Kate "MayKay" Geraghty (vocals and synth), Jamie "Pockets" Fox (keyboard and vocals), Conor Garry (bass), Peter O'Shea (drums) and Frog Cullen. Original members Adrian Mullan (drums) and Tom Ryan (bass) left the band in 2010. They are known for their elongated record titles, usually inspired by B movies. They have released three EPs, How Am I Supposed to Kill You If You Have All the Guns? (2007), David Carradine is a Bounty Hunter Whos Robotic Arm Hates Your Crotch (2007) and Whigfield Sextape (2014), and three albums, Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion (2008), The Body of Christ and the Legs of Tina Turner (2010), and Fight Like Apes (2015). In 2009, they released an EP for the American market titled You Filled His Head with Fluffy Clouds and Jolly Ranchers, What Did You Think Was Going to Happen?. Fight Like Apes have toured the UK with The Von Bondies, The Ting Tings, New Found Glory, The Prodigy and Kasabian and have played several Irish and European festivals throughout their career. They have appeared on several television shows in Ireland, including Tubridy Tonight, WeTV, The View, Other Voices and The Cafe. They have also had some success in Asia, where they have been signed up by Sony Music Entertainment Japan for an album release on that continent in April 2009. The band have been nominated for five Meteor Music Awards, Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion was nominated for the Choice Music Prize and was named 31st best album of the decade by Phantom FM at the end of 2009. Fight Like Apes were named the fourth best Irish musical act of their generation by The Irish Times in 2009. Lacking financial stability to continue from their records, label, or merchandise sales, the band split up on 2 November 2016. Fight Like Apes formed late 2006 following the breakup of the band Soft Cuddly Toys by Mary-Kate Geraghty (known as "MayKay"), Jamie Fox (known as "Pockets"), Adrian Mullan and Tom Ryan. MayKay and Pockets first met as teenagers on holiday in Spain where they realised they both went to nearby schools and shared the same "extremely optimistically cynical outlook on life". When MayKay told Pockets she loved singing he had her sign a contract on a piece of tissue in a bar. Pockets's parents were unhappy with their son's "disgusting" taste in music. He dropped out of his final year of study at Dublin City University and a potential career in journalism to pursue his musical career. MayKay had been studying medicinal chemistry, and later a philosophy course at Trinity College Dublin. They habitually met from early morning and spent their days eating together before deciding to form a band. Their chosen name was inspired by Caesar's battle cry of "Now fight like apes" in what they describe as the "notoriously bad" Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Their debut EP, How Am I Supposed to Kill You If You Have All the Guns?, Recorded by Lee Boylan and released by Irish indie label FIFA Records in early 2007, sold out and generated a significant amount of interest in the media and in the Irish blogging community in the process. In May 2007, Fight Like Apes won Phantom FM's Topman Unsigned Band Search; their prize was to be a support act of The Holloways at show in Dublin. Fight Like Apes played both Electric Picnic (their first major Irish festival) and Hard Working Class Heroes in 2007 and also performed at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City. They were also chosen to play the Futureshock stage at EXIT in Serbia after sending a demo of their songs to the organisers. On 13 October 2007, Fight Like Apes performed "Jake Summers" on television chat show, Tubridy Tonight. The title of their second EP, David Carradine is a Bounty Hunter Whos Robotic Arm Hates Your Crotch, released on 2 November 2007(produced by Lee Boylan), was inspired by the film Future Force starring David Carradine, which the band found on the internet. The EP's lead track, "Do You Karate?", was a minor hit on the Irish independent music scene. The band set off on their first UK tour after the EP's release and their "Jake Summers" single was released there through the label, Cool For Cats (sister of Fierce Panda). In February 2008, the band toured Ireland and the UK as a support act of The Von Bondies. Von Bondies member Jason Stollsteimer has described Fight Like Apes as "candy wrapped in barbed wire". Fight Like Apes were invited to participate in the sixth series of RTÉ's annual Other Voices music show, performing on 19 March 2008. They also appeared on RTÉ Two's WeTV television show. Fight Like Apes performed at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, in 2008. Upon their return from South by Southwest in March/April 2008, they went on a national tour of Ireland. Later that year, Fight Like Apes appeared at several music festivals in Ireland and the UK, including an appearance on the Futures Stage at T in the Park, and two appearances at the 2008 Glastonbury Festival, as well as Oxegen 2008 and Indie-pendence in Ireland. The single "Lend Me Your Face/Lightsabre Cock-sucking Blues" was released in the UK on 21–28 July 2008. The band spent a month in Seattle, Washington, in early 2008, recording tracks for their debut album, produced by John Goodmanson. The album, titled Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion, was released on 26 September 2008 on Model Citizen Records, selling continually well in Ireland and the UK. It was preceded by the release of the single "Something Global" on 11 July 2008. They played a sold-out launch show at Whelan's in Dublin, which was broadcast live on Phantom FM on the day of release. The Irish Times described the album as an "astonishing debut that encompasses melancholy and whimsy (both lyrically and musically)". The Irish Independent, on the other hand, "strongly urge[d] all not to waste their money" on "the woeful debut" of a band with "lots of blogger and media friends, all aurally challenged". RTÉ also gave the album a lukewarm response. MayKay has said she is unbothered by any criticism as long as the album is simply being reviewed. Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion reached the top five of the Irish Albums Chart, meaning the band became the first alternative act from Ireland to achieve this for several years, and "Jake Summers" and "Lend Me Your Face" became regularly played at indie clubs throughout Ireland. They went on to support The Ting Tings on a sell-out UK tour, receiving kung fu lessons from their security guard Preston and a champagne bottle on the final night. They appeared on The Cafe on 16 October 2008. The Prodigy personally invited the band to support them on their sold-out arena tour of the UK; all of the members are fans of Fight Like Apes and Liam Howlett entered their dressing room to give his regards. Sony Music Entertainment Japan signed the band for the Asian release of Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion. They headlined the Levi's One to Watch Tour in November 2008. In December 2008, a video of students of the Tisch School of the Arts in New York, featuring several females miming to "Digifuckers", was released. Fight Like Apes represented Ireland in the Eurosonic Festival in Groningen, the Netherlands, in January 2009, This appearance led to the band qualifying for admission into the European Talent Exchange Programme, allowing the band to be booked for music festivals across Europe, including Glastonbury and T in the Park. Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion was released in the UK on 26 January 2009. The band played a studio session for Steve Lamacq of BBC Radio 1 around this time, with Maykay also encountering Jonathan Ross, a fan of the band who has played their music on his show. They released a video for a new single, "Tie Me Up with