Coordinates: 51°14′02″N 0°19′54″W / 51.2340°N 0.3318°W / 51.2340; -0.3318

Dorking
Dorking from Denbies Hillside
Dorking  Dorking shown within Surrey
Population	17,000
OS grid reference	TQ165496
District	Mole Valley
Shire county	Surrey
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Dorking
Postcode district	RH4
Dialling code	01306
Police	Surrey
Fire	Surrey
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Mole Valley
List of places: UK • England • Surrey

South Street in Dorking in about 1959

South Street in Dorking in May 2009

Dorking ( /ˈdɔrkɪŋ/) is a historic market town at the foot of the North Downs approximately 21 miles (34 km)^[1] south of London, in Surrey, England.

History and development[link]

Dorking began life as a small staging on Stane Street, the Roman Road that linked London to Chichester on the English Channel.

Dorking appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as the Manor of Dorchinges. It was held by William the Conqueror. Its domesday assets were: one church, 3 mills worth 15s 4d, 16 ploughs, 3 acres (1.2 ha) of meadow, woodland and herbage worth 88 hogs. It rendered £18.^[2]

Subsequent Lords of the Manor were to include the Dukes of Norfolk, who lived in Dorking until they moved to Arundel. One of them is buried in Dorking churchyard. In the Medieval period, Dorking was a prosperous agricultural and market town, benefitting from its position on the junction of a number of important roads and tracks.

In 1750, the construction of a Turnpike Road made Dorking a staging post on the route to Brighton and the coast. The Bull's Head in South Street had a famous coachman, William Broad, whose portrait hangs in Dorking Museum in West Street. The inn that now dominates the centre of Dorking, the White Horse, was developed in the 18th century; previous buildings on this site having belonged to the Knights Templar and later the Knights of St John.

Dorking held a big wheat and cattle market in the High Street. The poultry market was held in the corner of South Street and round Butter Hill. Here the famous Dorking fowl were sold. This breed, which has 5 claws instead of the normal four, was a favourite for 19th century tables, including Queen Victoria's.

Dorking lost its stage coaches when the railways arrived, but now attracted wealthy residents who built large houses in and around Dorking, such as Denbies House and Pippbrook House (now the library, with Council Offices in the grounds). Surrounding land and beauty spots such as Cotmandene^[3] and Box Hill were donated by landowners for public use, protected by the Metropolitan Green Belt and AONB designation of the North Downs and Greensand Ridge.

A game resembling rugby was once played here. The two sides were unlimited in number, representing the east and west of the town. The goals were the 2 bridges on the Pipp Brooke. The Town crier kicked off the ball at 2 o' clock and stopped play at 6 o'clock. The game was started at the Church gates and was "rioted" up and down the High Street. It was ceased in 1897 after complaints by tradesmen and it was officially stopped under section 72 of the Highway Act 1835. Dorking was an urban district from 1894 to 1974.^{[citation needed]}

Geography[link]

Just north of the town the River Mole cuts a steep-sided valley through the North Downs. On the left bank is Denbies Vineyard, the largest vineyard in the UK^[4] On the right bank is Box Hill, owned by the National Trust and Britain's first Country Park. The hill has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, because of the large number of rare orchids, which grow there in the summer.

Further north is Norbury Park, which contains the Druids Grove, a forest of ancient yew trees, some of which are more than 1000 years old^{[citation needed]}

To the south west of the town is Leith Hill, also owned by the National Trust, the second highest point in the south east of England after Walbury Hill its modest tower climbs to 1,000 ft (300 m) above sea level. Along with the adjacent Greensand Ridge including Holmbury Hill and Pitch Hill, as well as the nearby escarpment of the North Downs from Box Hill to Newlands Corner, the area is known as 'The Surrey Hills'.

A new species of fish-eating dinosaur, Baryonyx walkeri was discovered in clay pits just south of Dorking. The creature had a long curved claw on each hand and remains of its last meal were discovered fossilised in its ribcage.^[5] The skeleton can be seen at the Natural History Museum in London. One disused clay pit (Inholms lane) is now open to the public as a nature reserve.

Climate[link]

Dorking experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.

Modern Dorking[link]

Let there be light

The evolution of Dorking has been kind to the town centre. Much of the original character survives, whilst accommodating businesses that serve the needs of the 21st century. The town is well known for its antique dealers. The town's three main trading streets of High Street, West Street and South Street are complemented by a small open-air shopping centre, St Martin's Walk, which is adjacent to the town's main car park and easily accessed from the High Street.^[7]

In the late 1990s Dorking Halls was given a huge refit, to make it a cinema and theatre complex. In 2003 a new modern leisure centre and swimming pool were added to the Dorking Halls Complex.

There is now a big statue of the "Dorking cockerel" located on the Deepdene roundabout. This has been a controversial art installation with many claiming it is a distraction for drivers. There is even a Facebook hate page dedicated to it.

Dorking and nearby Box Hill were chosen as part of the route for the 2012 London Olympics Cycle Road Race.

Governance[link]

Surrey County Council elected every four years, has three representatives, with only a few close but outlying farms falling under the latter two wards :

Five councillors sit on Mole Valley borough council, who are:

Nearest Settlements[link]

Neighbouring areas of Surrey

	Great Bookham	Westhumble	Pixham, Box Hill, Headley
	Westcott		Brockham
		Dorking    East
	Coldharbour	North Holmwood	Newdigate

Famous residents and literary connections[link]

People born in the town include: Lord Olivier in 1907 — a blue plaque marking his birthplace can be found in Wathen Road.

Other people born in Dorking include Walter Dendy Sadler (1854–1923) artist and painter, and Queens Park Rangers F.C. Striker Jamie Mackie (born 1985).

The famous composer Ralph Vaughan Williams lived in Dorking for much of his life, and penned most of the works which made him famous in Dorking. The lark in "The Lark Ascending" is known to have been heard in the Mole Valley to the north of the town.

Absolute Radio DJ Christian O'Connell resides in Dorking with his wife and two children.

Kenneth Baker served as Member of Parliament for Mole Valley from 1983 to 1997 and lived for most of that time in Betchworth. On retirement he was made a life peer and took the title 'Kenneth Baker, Baron Baker of Dorking'.

People who have lived in the town in the past include: Daniel Defoe who attended Rev. James Fisher's boarding school in Pixham Lane, and Defoe later mentioned Dorking in his tour through the whole Island of Great Britain.^[11]

Dorking also gets a mention in Defoe's book A Journal of the Plague Year,^[12] as a refuge for his brother's family.

Henry Hope and his nephew Thomas Hope spent summers at Deepdene in the beginning of the 19th century. Benjamin Disraeli wrote his novel Coningsby also while staying in Deepdene House (demolished in 1967) on the outskirts of the town. Emma Holland was brought up in the town.

Dorking and its environs, including Box Hill and the Deepdene Hotel, feature heavily in British author Robert Goddard's fictional thriller Closed Circle (1993). In this novel there are also several allusions to the notorious money-for-titles trader Maundy Gregory, the owner of the Deepdene Hotel in the inter-war years.

The Cubitt family had links with the town also. Thomas Cubitt was born and lived in the town, and later built up large areas of London from the early 19th century. His politician son George also had connections with the town, and notably financed the building of St Barnabas Church on Ranmore Hill known by its nickname of Cubitt's Spire, Cubitt's Finger or Cubitt's Stump.^[13]

The famous irrigation engineer Sir Arthur Cotton spent his last days, preaching the Bible and experimenting on cultivation of new wheat strains here. His tombstone at a local cemetery describes Sir Arthur as “irrigation Cotton” who was involved in construction of large scale irrigation projects, dams, aqueducts, bridges and canals in India. The Polish poet Marian Hemar is also buried at the local cemetery.

The Battle of Dorking a fictional short story written by Lt. Col. Sir George Tomkyns Chesney in 1871 was set in the town. Describing a fictional invasion and conquest of Britain, it triggered an explosion of what came to be known as invasion literature.

In The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens Sam Weller's father and stepmother live in Dorking.

Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart of the band 10cc opened a studio, Strawberry Studios South, in a former cinema in Dorking at the end of South Street in 1976 following the departure of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. Songs recorded here include 'The things we do for love' and 'Good morning judge'. Songs recorded here by other artists include 'Ebony and Ivory' by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. The building was later demolished, the site used as a builders yard for a time and a housing development now occupies the site. In addition, 'The Cure' recorded and mixed at the Rhino Studio which was located at the Pippbrook Mill in Dorking at the end of Fairfield Drive.

1996 Grand National winner, Rough Quest was trained for the race by Terry Casey at Henfold House Stables, Beare Green, to the south of Dorking.^[14]

Local government[link]

Dorking Halls

The "Dorking cockerel" as seen from the A24 roundabout.

Dorking is the administrative centre of Mole Valley District Council. It is situated in the Mole Valley parliamentary constituency.

Twin towns[link]

The town is twinned with Gouvieux, France since 1997 and negotiations began in 2007 to twin with the German town of Güglingen.^[15]

Transport[link]

Road[link]

Dorking is situated at the junction of the A24 (London to Worthing) and A25 (Maidstone to Guildford) roads.

Rail[link]

The town has three railway stations.

• Dorking railway station, on the Epsom to Horsham Sutton & Mole Valley Line run by the (New) Southern Railway company. Additionally, South West Trains run services to London Waterloo. There is no price differentiation at time of writing.^[16]
• Dorking Deepdene, on the Guildford to Redhill North Downs Line. Services are run by First Great Western.
• Dorking West, also on the Guildford to Redhill North Downs Line, but served infrequently (also by First Great Western).

Bus[link]

Most bus services are run by Arriva, the main locations served being Guildford, Redhill and Reigate including villages in between, as well as some local services. Sunray Travel operates a Surrey CC supported route to Leatherhead and Epsom, and running via Box Hill. Metrobus took over Arriva's Horsham depot, and now run route 93 to Horsham, and London Buses route 465 to Kingston.

Education[link]

Various Primary Schools cater for 5–11 year olds:

• Powell Corderoy Primary School
• St Martin's School
• St Paul's School
• St Joseph's School
• St John's School, formerly Redlands

Secondary education is largely provided for by:

• The Ashcombe School
• The Priory School, formerly Sondes Place School (from 1996)
• St Teresa's School

Emergency services[link]

Surrey Police, Dorking Station

Vines at Denbies Wine Estate, looking towards Ranmore Common (taken in Autumn)

Dorking is served by these emergency services:

• Surrey Police
• South East Coast Ambulance Service as of 1 July 2006. The Surrey Ambulance Service, Sussex, and Kent Ambulance services have all merged, and have now ceased to exist.
• Surrey Fire & Rescue Service, in North Holmwood
• Dorking Hospital, small hospital with no A&E.

Leisure and culture[link]

On 15 June 2004, Dorking was granted Fairtrade Town status.

The Dorking Halls is a cinema, theatre, leisure centre and swimming pool complex. There is also an "Arts Alive" Festival which takes place annually during the last two weeks of October. Dorking Halls is also yearly host to a professional pantomime which was re-introduced in December 2006, after several years of hosting Zippo's Circus.

Dorking also has a museum, a library, about thirty pubs and a CIU affiliated club. It is noted for its antique and art shops on West Street.

The town has an active collection of sports clubs.Dorking has two Non-League football clubs Dorking Football Club who are based in the centre of the town at Meadowbank and Dorking Wanderers F.C. who play at Dorking Wanderers Stadium.

Dorking rugby football club which plays at Brockham attracted national attention when it won the Powergen Vase in 2005/2006 and continues to do so currently playing in National League 3, London & South East.^[17][18] Dorking and Mole Valley Athletics Club is based at Pixham Sports Ground. They host the annual Dorking Ten road race starting from Brockham Green.^[19] The Mole Valley Bowmen are located in the grounds of St Martin's primary school.^[20]

Near to Dorking lies the Leith Hill area, along with the adjacent hills of Holmbury Hill and Pitch Hill, as well as the nearby escarpment of the North Downs from Box Hill to Newlands Corner. This place is notable in southern England for country walks, rambling and mountain biking. As a whole this area is known as 'The Surrey Hills'. Also adjacent to Dorking is Denbies Vineyard. The Dorking Group of Artists exhibit locally twice a year, in Betchworth and at Denbies.^[21] They celebrated their 60th anniversary in 2007.

Underneath the town lie the Dorking Caves which are open occasionally to the public.

Leith Hill Music Festival[link]

Each year in April, the town plays host to the Leith Hill Music Festival for choirs. This was founded by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1905. The present festival conductor is Brian Kay.^[22]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dorking

• Mole Valley District Council
• Dorking at the Open Directory Project

v t e Towns and villages in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England Abinger Ashtead Beare Green Betchworth Box Hill Brockham Buckland Capel Charlwood Coldharbour Dorking Fetcham Friday Street Great Bookham Headley Holmbury Holmwood Leatherhead Leigh Little Bookham Mickleham Newdigate Ockley Westcott Westhumble

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2008)

Daewon Song
Born	(1975-02-19) February 19, 1975 (age 37) California, U.S.
Occupation	Professional skateboarder

Daewon David Song (born February 19, 1975) is a Korean-American professional skateboarder recognized for his technical street skateboarding. He is a co-owner of Almost Skateboards, along with Rodney Mullen,^[1] and also skates for the company alongside other sponsored team riders.

Early life[link]

Song grew up in the city of Gardena, California, and was given his first skateboard by his mother at the age of thirteen years.^[2] Song has stated that his early skateboarding influences were Christian Hosoi, Steve Caballero, Natas Kaupas and the Z-Boys.^[3]

Career[link]

World Industries[link]

Song became sponsored by World Industries at the age of sixteen years and appeared in numerous video productions for the company, including Love Child (1992). It is in Love Child that Song documented the first hardflip on film.^[4]

Deca[link]

After nine years with World Industries, Song left in 1999 to start his own company called Deca Skateboards. Deca ceases operations after three years, citing failure to grow as the reason for closure.

Artafact[link]

Following the cessation of Deca, Song launched a short-lived company entitled Artafact in 2002, with Chris Haslam and Cooper Wilt included as team riders. The brand was dismantled in 2003.^[1]

Almost[link]

Instead of continuing with Artafact, Song entered into a partnership with long-time colleague, mentor and friend, Rodney Mullen, to establish Almost Skateboards in 2003.^[1] The initial team roster included Chris Haslam, Cooper Wilt, Greg Lutzka and Ryan Sheckler.^[5]

Song released a video part on The Berrics in January 2011 that could be purchased for USD$0.99. The downloadable part, entitled "New Year's Dae", was made available for sale on 11 January—and was thus promoted as a "1.11.11" video part—and featured a combination of street, park and transition skateboarding.^[6][7]

Video game appearances[link]

Song has made several appearances as a playable character in video games such as Grind Session and the Tony Hawk series of games. He remained a playable character in each iteration of the Tony Hawk series starting with Tony Hawk's American Wasteland and continuing until Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, with the exception of Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. He also appears in the game Tony Hawk: Ride.

Matix Clothing[link]

In 1998, Song founded the Matix Clothing apparel company with fellow professional skateboarder (now retired), Tim Gavin, and distribution company, Podium Distribution.^[3]

[edit] Thrasher Skater of the Year

In 2006, Song was awarded the "Skater of the Year (SOTY)" title by Thrasher magazine. His SOTY feature article appeared in the April 2007 edition of the magazine, for which he also appeared on the front cover.^[8]

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2010)

Enter Shikari
Live at Heaven Nightclub, London in 2009.
Background information
Also known as	Hybryd (1999–2003)
Origin	St Albans, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Electronicore Post-hardcore,[1] trancecore,[2] metalcore[3]
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Ambush Reality, Tiny Evil, PIAS Recordings, Hopeless
Website	www.entershikari.com
Members
Rou Reynolds Rory Clewlow Chris Batten Rob Rolfe

Enter Shikari are a British rock/hardcore group that combine post-hardcore and various heavy metal sub-genres such as metalcore and alternative metal with elements of various electronic genres such as electronica, dubstep, trance and occasionally drum and bass creating a very strong electronicore sound, formed in 2003 in St Albans, Hertfordshire.^[4][5] The band is named after a boat belonging to Roughton "Rou" Reynolds' uncle, and a character in a play which he wrote before forming the band, both of which are named Shikari.^[6] Shikari also means 'Hunter' in Marathi, Persian, Hindi, Nepali, Urdu, Punjabi and Bengali.^[7] Their debut album, Take to the Skies was released on 19 March 2007 and reached #4 in the Official UK Album Chart. Their second album, titled Common Dreads, was released on 15 June 2009 and debuted on the UK Albums Chart at 16.^[8] Their third studio album, A Flash Flood of Colour was released on 16 January 2012 and was positioned at the top of the UK Album Chart for almost its entire week of release, however it eventually debuted on the chart at 4. The band are currently embarking on the A Flash Flood of Colour World Tour.

Biography[link]

[edit] Beginnings and Take to the Skies (1999–2008)

In 1999 a band named Hybryd formed consisting of Rou on guitar, Chris on bass and Rob on drums. They released an EP under the name 'Commit No Nuisance' and featured the tracks 'Perfect Pygmalion' and 'Fake'. In 2003, Hybryd became Enter Shikari. They revolutionised their sound by recruiting Rory to play Guitar so that Rou could concentrate on electronics. Enter Shikari formed in St Albans, England in 2004. The band features Roughton "Rou" (/raʊ/) Reynolds on vocals and electronics, Liam 'Rory' Clewlow on guitar, Chris Batten on bass guitar and Rob Rolfe on drums. All four members are from St Albans, Hertfordshire.^[4]

During 2003 and 2004, the band released three demo EPs that were available from their gigs and their website. They had another demo EP planned for release in 2005, (although no such EP materialized only recordings surfaced online) for this the first versions of Return To Energiser and Labyrinth were recorded, early versions of Ok Time For Plan B and We Can Breathe In Space were also recorded around this time but it's unclear if these were destined for the EP. In August 2006 they released a video of, the (only 100 copies) single "Mothership" which became the single of the week on the iTunes store. Their first physical single featured re-recorded versions of "Sorry You're Not a Winner/OK Time for Plan B", which had previously been featured on one of the demo EPs. It was released on 30 October 2006. It was limited to 1000 copies of each format and sold out within the first week of release. In mid January 2007, Enter Shikari's first single, "Mothership", entered the UK singles chart for one week at number 151, on Downloads only (despite its physical formats not being eligible for charts [at the band's request]). This was followed a week later by "Sorry You're Not a Winner/OK Time for Plan B", which charted at number 182 on the singles chart (despite its physical formats being ineligible for charts [at the band's request]) and number 146 in the Download Chart. In addition "Sorry You're Not a Winner/OK Time for Plan B" featured on EA Sports video game title NHL 08 and also Madden 08. Enter Shikari secured a spot on the Gibson/MySpace stage at 2006's Download Festival. They have also had interviews with popular music press such as Kerrang! and Rock Sound. On 4 November 2006, they became only the second unsigned band to ever sell out London Astoria (the first being The Darkness).

They also made the NME's "New Noise 2007", a list of the bands it considers most likely to achieve success in the coming year (previous years lists have included the likes of Arcade Fire, Hot Chip and Bloc Party).

The next single released was "Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour", on 5 March 2007. This was the band's second single to be released from their forthcoming debut album. It contained a re-recorded version of the song "Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour". It reached 27 in the Official UK chart. The band's debut album, Take to the Skies, was released on 19 March 2007 and on 25 March it reached number 4 in the UK Official Album Charts. It contained re-recordings of many of the songs that had featured on the demo EPs and singles that were released prior to the release of the album.

During the month of March 2007 it was announced they would be playing at Download Festival, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Give it a Name, Glastonbury Festival, Oxegen festival in Ireland and Rock am Ring in Germany. On 30 March 2007, Enter Shikari announced that their next single would be "Jonny Sniper"^[9] and would be released on 18 June. The song's video was premiered on 21 May. The single received bad reviews from NME.^[10]

On 6 June 2007 they performed a live show on BBC Radio 1 for Zane Lowe at BBC Radio Theatre.

They played an eleven date headline tour in October/November 2007 including their biggest ever headline gig in the 4,921 capacity Brixton Academy. The band released a compilation EP titled The Zone on 12 November.

Enter Shikari have performed over 500 gigs as of 2007 and played on the Gibson/MySpace stage at 2006's Download Festival. On 14 May 2007, Enter Shikari started their first North America tour. This followed into three more North American tours.

In January 2008, Enter Shikari performed in Australia and New Zealand for the first time as part of the Big Day Out Festival. The band also did a number of side-shows in Australia, including two sold out shows at the Hi-Fi Bar in Melbourne.

They played at Projekt Revolution in Milton Keynes on 29 June 2007, alongside Linkin Park, Jay-Z, N.E.R.D, The Bravery, InnerPartySystem and Pendulum.

On 13 May 2008, the band released the first in a series of videos called "Enter Shikari: In the 'Low". The videos, posted on the band's YouTube page, showcased the band as they recorded their new single, "We Can Breathe In Space, They Just Don't Want Us To Escape", and demoed new material. One of the new songs set to feature on the album was 'Step Up', which was first performed at Milton Keynes Pitz on 28 June 2008, the warm up show to Projekt Revolution the following day.

On 8 August 2008, it was announced that "We Can Breathe In Space, They Just Don't Want Us To Escape" would be released as a single. It was said to be a drastic re-working of the song originally demoed by the band back in 2005, but was not to be included in the band's second album.

They completed a tour of the UK and Ireland which took place over the course of 6 weeks; from 30 September to 4 November 2008; and consisted of 28 shows. A DVD compilation of live footage filmed by band / crew along with some TV footage was to be released to coincide with the tour according to a Kerrang! interview with the band, but has not been released as of yet.

[edit] Common Dreads (2009–2010)

It was confirmed by NME that Enter Shikari had finished working on their second album, Common Dreads, in March 2009 and announced that they would tour the UK and Europe during 2009. They also made available a free download of a new song, Antwerpen from their website.^[11] On 15 April 2009 Juggernauts was played on Radio 1 as Zane Lowe's "Hottest Track in the World" and was released as a single on 1 June 2009. The B-side of the single is "All Eyes On The Saint". The band also had help from musician Danny Sneddon who helped with the recording of Juggernauts.^[12] On 1 May Kerrang featured their track-by-track of the album. Metal Hammer were the first to review the album online with a track-by-track.^[13] Since it was announced in an interview with Andy Copping on Scuzz on their "The Digital Darkside: Download Special" that there would be 2 secret bands playing at Download Festival 2009, it has been heavily speculated that Enter Shikari would play one of these slots. They were confirmed to be one of the secret bands on 9 June 2009.^[14] Enter Shikari also featured at Reading and Leeds Festivals on 29 and 30 August 2009, playing songs from Common Dreads, as well as acoustic variations of 'Juggernauts', 'No Sleep Tonight' and 'Adieu' from Take To The Skies.

Common Dreads was released through Ambush Reality on 15 June 2009 and debuted at #16 on the UK top 40 album chart. The second single that has been released from Common Dreads was No Sleep Tonight.^[15] The 7-inch vinyl, CD single and MP3 download was released on 17 August 2009. A slightly modified version of the song "Wall" was released as a radio single, and a video for the song "Zzzonked" made of clips of a live show which was played at Norwich UEA, was also released.

A 2-disc version of Common Dreads was due to be released in January 2010.^[16] Frontman Rou Reynolds announced that "We’ve got a different artist for each single from Hospital Records to do drum ‘n’ bass remixes so we’ll be releasing that as a 12". Then we're doing the same thing with (dubstep label) True Tiger who've done a dubstep remix of each single." however it was later said in a Radio 1 interview that in fact they were only having their main singles remixed.

The new single "Thumper"^[17] was released on 19 January 2010, on BBC Radio One, As well the new single "Tribalism", which was first played on Radio 1, 16 February 2010. These songs come off the new B-sides and remixes album Tribalism, which was released on 22 February 2010.

Since March 2009, drummer Rob Rolfe has not been able to perform at United States shows due to a denial of a visa. Rob has chosen Fellsilent drummer, Christopher Mansbridge to fill in for these dates.^[18] Although, on 9 July 2010 Rob stated in a Twitter post that he had obtained a visa. On 30 September 2010 Rob passed through customs at an airport in Houston for Enter Shikari's North American tour in October/November, and confirmed this in a Twitter post stating simply "America, I'm back".

Throughout February–March 2010, Enter Shikari joined the Australian summer festival Soundwave along with other bands such as A Day to Remember and Architects, playing shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. The band then continued to tour Japan with A Day to Remember and Escape the Fate and in April–May 2010, they served as a support act, along with August Burns Red and Silverstein on A Day to Remember's Toursick.

[edit] Live From Planet Earth and A Flash Flood of Colour (2010–present)

On 14 June 2010, Enter Shikari announced that they had returned to the studio to do a "one off new track" called "Destabilise" which was released as a download on 26 October 2010, and a limited edition coloured 7-inch vinyl on 29 November 2010.

During June and July 2010, the band took part in the Warped Tour in USA and afterwards, they played a few festivals such as headlining Redfest and supporting The Prodigy at Milton Keynes Bowl. Following this, they performed an exclusive show at the venue Underworld situated in Camden which was filmed and recorded and features on the live DVD, 'Live From planet Earth'.

In August 2010, Enter Shikari returned to Australian shores for a headlining national tour, playing sold out shows in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne and near-sellout shows in Perth and Brisbane. On 2 October 2010, the band went on their headlining "Destabilise" Tour in North America with Haste the Day, Sleeping With Sirens, MSWHITE, and LightsGoBlue.^{[citation needed]} The band then supported 30 Seconds to Mars on their Into The Wild Tour leg of UK arenas in November and December 2010.^[19]

Also, at the end of 2010, the band collaborated with UK drum and bass band The Qemists on their single Take it Back which was released on 28 March 2011.

On 21 March 2011, it was confirmed that Enter Shikari will be playing at the Reading and Leeds festivals in late August and on 26 April 2011, the band confirmed a mainland European tour starting in Kiev, Ukraine on 7 September, and ending in Tilburg, Holland on 3 October 2011. Also, on 14 June 2011, the band confirmed a UK and Ireland tour which will take part during the month of October. Support for these two tours will be provided from Your Demise and letlive.

In May 2011, the band traveled to Bangkok, Thailand to record their third studio album. Recording began on 8 May 2011, and finished on 14 June 2011. On 19 May 2011, they released the single; "Quelle Surprise". It was originally planned to be the first single released from the new album however, Rou Reynolds has since confirmed that it won't feature, and instead will be a stand alone single much like Destabilise.^[20]

In June 2011, the band signed to Hopeless Records in the US, and embarked on the Vans Warped Tour for the second year in a row.^[21]

On 11 July 2011, the band released their third live album and first DVD, bundled together as Live From Planet Earth. Distribution of the non limited edition version of Live From Planet Earth and other Enter Shikari stock has been affected however following a fire at the PIAS distribution warehouse in London, after it was set on fire by rioters following the 2011 England riots. This was announced via the bands' Facebook after many fans discovered that the fire had affected the bands' label Ambush Reality, and Rou confirmed a majority of the stock had indeed gone up in flames in an interview with Rocksound.^[22]

In the fall and winter of 2011, Enter Shikari will embark on a US tour called "The Dead Throne Tour" with The Devil Wears Prada, Whitechapel, and For Today.

On 8 September 2011, the band announced that the first single from their 'as yet untitled' third album will be called "Sssnakepit." The single was announced for release on 20 September 2011 along with a video recorded for the track at Dingwalls Club in Camden Town, London. ^[23] A video of the first live performance of the song posted on the band's Facebook shows the rap hardcore influences in the song, as well as the title suggests a further political theme. The band had also been playing another new song live titled "Arguing with Thermometers", during their European fall tour. The debut performance of this song took place on 12 September in Warsaw, Poland.

During the band's show in St.Petersburg, Russia, on 8 September 2011, bassist Chris Batten revealed that the band's third album was set for release in January 2012.

On 19 September 2011, Sssnakepit was played twice in a row on Zane Lowes show as his 'Hottest Track In The World'. The music video (produced by Stand Your Ground Media) for Sssnakepit was released the same week. 'Arguing with Thermometers' was announced to be on the new album on Lowe's show, when a live studio session was played. ^[24]

A leak from UK Magazine Rock Sound revealed that Enter Shikari's third studio album will be titled "A Flash Flood of Colour" and will be released on 9 January 2012, however, due to shipping issues the band has since moved the release date back a week to 16 January. It was also revealed in the leak that the band are planning a March 2012 UK tour.

On 4 December 2011, the band posted this on their Facebook page: "we've kept this news under our hats for now, BUT, who's interested in hearing another new track?? WELL... if you keep your eyes peeled on our wall tomorrow, we'll give you the details. tease tease." Sure enough, the next day "Gandhi Mate, Gandhi" was released on the band's YouTube page and iTunes. It was also broadcast on the Zane Lowe show on BBC Radio 1.^[25]

On 5 January 2012 the band released the studio version of "Arguing With Thermometers" on their YouTube page. It was also played on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show in the morning as his "Hottest Track In The World". The official video for the song was uploaded to the band's YouTube page on 17 January 2012. A few days prior to the song's release the band showcased a still shot of the video, seeing Rou dressed as a news reporter called "Phillis McCleavland".

The band released their new album on 16 January 2012, and played three album release shows. The first was for HMV in London at the Borderline. People who had pre-ordered the album via HMV were automatically entered into a prize draw to gain access to the release show as no tickets were sold. The second show was in Kingston upon Thames, at the Hippodrome. This was for Banquet Records and tickets were sold with special offers available if the ticket was bought with an album. The final show was played in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

At the end of the first week of the album being released, the album reached number four in the U.K charts.

The band began their first tour of "A Flash Flood Of Colour" on 10 March 2012 at the Melkweg in Amsterdam, Holland; with two weeks worth of dates across mainland Europe and the United Kingdom, ending with a sold out show at Hammersmith Apollo in London on 23 March 2012. Support came from Young Guns, The James Cleaver Quintet (Europe only) and Tek-One (UK only).^[26]

Soon after, that band took the "A Flash Flood of Colour World Tour" to America for a 7 week stint, with support from letlive. and At The Skylines.^[27]

The bands Summer 2012 plans feature festivals across Europe, including festivals such as Radio 1's Big Weekend, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Pukkelpop, FM4 Frequency Festival, Sonisphere in Spain, T in the Park, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park, and many more, ranging from the end of May to the end of August.^[28]

Band members[link]

• Roughton "Rou" Reynolds — lead vocals, programming, keyboards, synthesizers, acoustic guitar
• Liam "Rory" Clewlow — guitars, backing vocals
• Chris Batten — bass, backing vocals
• Rob Rolfe — drums, percussion, backing vocals

Discography[link]

• Take to the Skies (2007)
• Common Dreads (2009)
• A Flash Flood of Colour (2012)

Ambush Reality[link]

Ambush Reality is an independent record label that only releases music by Enter Shikari. Formed in July 2006, it is co-owned and run by the members of the band and their friends.^[29] The band has decided that, in order to tour in the United States, they will have to sign with a major record label in America.^[30] On 28 August 2007, Ambush Reality said that Take to the Skies came out in North America in October 2007, with Ambush Reality joining Interscope Records imprint Tiny Evil. Ambush Reality signed a distribution deal with Warner Music in order to make the album Common Dreads and future releases more accessible outside the UK and also more widely advertised and promoted.^[31] As of 8 December 2010 Enter Shikari / Ambush Reality have left distribution through Warner and will distribute throughout UK/Europe/Japan/Australia via PIAS Entertainment Group. As of 21 June 2011, Enter Shikari's releases in North America and Canada will be via independent record label Hopeless Records.^[32]

Side projects[link]

Reynolds has produced music as part of a side project with the name "Rout"[3], which he sometimes performs in small venues and before shows. He previously used the names "Shark & Blitz" and "Routron 5000".^[33] The music develops on his penchant for electronics, resulting in a drum and bass/jungle/dubstep sound. Some songs feature samples of Rou and friends fooling around as well as iconic lines from movies or songs.

Frontman Rou Reynolds has also set up his own clothing company Step Up Clothing [4].

Drummer Rob Rolfe also performs as a DJ under the alias "Sgt. Rolfy" specialising in freeform hardcore music.

Enter Shikari promoted the film Zeitgeist: Moving Forward through their website, encouraging their fans to join the Zeitgeist Movement, stating: "Single-handedly the biggest influence on all that is Enter Shikari!".

Reynolds was also involved in hardcore side project JBM along with his friend Matt Pendell.

Accolades and Readers Poll Results[link]

Miscellaneous

• Rock Sound's poll for 'who will make it in 2007'.^[42]
• Ourzone Reader's Poll: Best Live Band 2011.^[43]
• Ourzone Reader's Poll: Who Will Own 2012.^[44]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website