2004: Feeder's hard work finally get's recognised by the Brit Awards comitee, but at the same time it felt we were just used to make up the numbers as with the rest of the nominees, with the exception for the "in" band of the year- The Darkness, when we were nominated for "Best Rock". It felt the vote was fixed just so they could get something.
The whole show was a blatant advert for them- they won the most awards, closed the show even though they didn't get the lifetime achievement (before it was tradition for the winners of that award to close it) and they went against tradition just so they did, it was like the whole thing was for them. However now look- ever since they swept the board they're struggling to record their second album and had two lukewarmly recieved shows at the Carling weekend, in which the new songs didn't have the vocals done yet and were just instrumentals.
Meanwhile Feeder only just started demoing new songs, and the vocals were already done on the ones they've demoed- at the Hammersmith Apollo show the Feeder guys premiered two new songs- "Bitterglass" and "Victoria", which both unlike the Darkness got an amazing reception from the crowd as with the rest of their amazing set!!!, it was to be their only gig that year.
Grant then appeared on the Band Aid 20 single "Do They Know It's Christmas?", he's credited as "Feeder", and in effect give Feeder their first #1 even though only Grant was present!.
Soon later the new album is finished, "Bitterglass" makes it onto the record, and I get to hear the album after winning a competition to meet Mark alongside another winner called Charles who lives near Hammersmith and went to a few of the same gigs as me!!. The new album totally blew me away, just like the day I met Mark!!!.
The guys confirm the next single will be "Tumble and Fall" and the video is shot at an army base in Oxford and parts of London. Shortly the video for "Feeling a Moment" soon gets shot two weeks after I met Mark!!!.
2005: The year the critics all of a sudden turned against Feeder, gave them nasty, harsh brutal reviews and never really liked Feeder anymore :-(, but who cares?, there are the opinions of failed jealous musicians we're talking about here, and as far as the fans were concerned Feeder are still producing the goods!.
The year starts off with a bang, with Feeder playing a major part in the Cardiff Tsunami gig, and getting "Tumble and Fall" into the top 5!!!!. The single drops to #25 the week later and makes it look like the album will drop out quickly too, but however "Pushing The Senses" entered the album charts at #2 second only to Athlete's 2nd album "Tourist" (89.000 copies to Feeder's 42.991), and spends 15 weeks on the top 75 going gold. Okay, it didn't sell anywhere near CIS's total but still moved Feeder really high up the chart ladder on their best opening week yet, and I wouldn't mind betting on a debut UK #1 in the future!.
The single "Feeling a Moment" gets some good reviews, and helps the album out as well as charting at #13 and getting Feeder yet another hit, but it also gets a 1/5 from Planet Sound on teletext, and it looked as if they didn't hear the song.
The reviews get worse, and TV and radio starting abusing the next single "Pushing The Senses" despite a sucsessful tour of the album of the same name. They were not interested, hardly played it and became Feeder's smallest hit for 6 years (thanks to downloads and ignorance) charting at #30 the same week they rock the main stage at Rock Werchter in Belgium!, despite the single being brilliant the album don't really increase in sales, and it gets wrongly abused by TV, radio and the critics.
Despite this Feeder go from strength to strength, still drawing in brilliant festival crowds (and headline their VERY FIRST UK festival at Download), and pulling out the right stops!. The gig on the European tour at the Munich Fierwerk gets postponed due to a gasric flu illness within the tour crew, and so gets re-arranged for July 15th at the Munich Backstage. The guys already sold out the AB in Brussels for the first time despite the critical backlash! :D :D :D.
The show sees many German and English fans travel to Munich, and play such a varied setlist as well as inviting fans on the stage for "Just a Day"- and yup! I was there too!!!.