Wolf Alice have moved into the major label world after signing with Columbia Records.
The BRIT Award-winning band moved to Columbia after completing their deal with independent Dirty Hit, with whom they released 2015’s ‘My Love Is Cool’, 2017’s Mercury Prize-winning ‘Visions Of A Life’ and 2021’s ‘Blue Weekend’.
Per BNN, the band’s departure from The 1975‘s label Dirty Hit “wasn’t abrupt” and was “a calculated move”, which had been reportedly hinted at by their manager, Stephen Taverner, and “met with an understanding nod from Dirty Hit’s Jamie Oborne”. The outlet also reported that Sony Music’s CEO Rob Stringer is known to be an “ardent admirer” of the band.
Things have been quiet for Wolf Alice as of late, but their song ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’ recently made an appearance on the soundtrack of The Boys spin-off Gen V. They are currently believed to be preparing their fourth album.
The 1975 were among the first signees to Dirty Hit and remain shareholders in the company. Frontman Matty Healy served as creative director for four years before leaving the role in April 2023. In 2019, the band renewed their contract with the label for another three albums – including that year’s ‘Notes On A Conditional Form’ and 2022’s acclaimed ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language‘.
Other signees include Beababoobee, Pale Waves, Marika Hackman, The Japanese House, No Rome and Benjamin Francis Leftwich. Last year also saw Jack Antonoff and Bleachers announce an extensive new partnership with Dirty Hit, as well as a new venture with its founder and The 1975 manager, Jamie Oborne.
The future of Rina Sawayama at the label remains in question, following a public feud with Healy following controversial comments he made about Ice Spice in a podcast and a dispute over Sawayama’s masters.
Sony’s flagship Columbia Records, meanwhile, is home to the likes of Depeche Mode, AC/DC, Bring Me The Horizon, Harry Styles, Manic Street Preachers, Halsey, Kendrick Lamar, Fleetwood Mac, Haim and many more huge names.
In September, Wolf Alice played an intimate charity show at London’s Sebright Arms as part of Barnfest, an all-dayer raising money for children’s cancer charity Flynne’s Barn.
The show included their cover of Alex G’s ‘Bobby’, which appeared on the deluxe edition of their 2021 album ‘Blue Weekend’, and renditions of The Pogues’ ‘I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Everyday’, Johnny Flynn‘s ‘The Water’ and the traditional American folk song ‘Plastic Jesus’. They also performed numerous acoustic versions of their own songs.
Singer Ellie Rowsell also appeared alongside Mel C and Self Esteem on the track ‘Call Me A Lioness’, which was recorded for the England Women’s World Cup team. The track celebrated their win at the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022, and rallied behind them ahead of the World Cup. It also makes reference to both Chloe Kelly and Ella Toone, who scored the winning goals at last year’s Euro Final.