Debut single released

The band’s debut single ” Queen of the Troubled Teens ” was released on 17 March 1997, and built upon the chaotic reputation of their shows. Along with ” Self Healer “, ” Satan Polaroid ” and ” A Film for the Future “, the song was included in a live session on Jeff Cooper’s show “XS” (now Radio2XS ) on Sheffield’s Hallam FM . It was also supported by BBC Radio Scotland DJ Peter Easton, and influential Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq . Lamacq was particularly impressed with the track “Self Healer” and asked, on the air, that if anyone knew anything about the band, they should contact him. In the summer of 1997, Idlewild played their first London shows which were attended by the likes of Lamacq, and representatives from Deceptive Records . Reviews at this time, in the pages of NME and Melody Maker compared their live gigs to “a flight of stairs falling down a flight of stairs”. The band were soon asked to record a single for Fierce Panda Records and to record an EP / mini-album with Deceptive. In October 1997, the band spent six days with producer Paul Tipler in South London . The result was Captain , which the band describes as “an innocent, frank nugget of noise pop magic”. After the release of the “Chandelier” single, the band signed a deal with Food Records / EMI in December. Following the record deal, the members quit their respective jobs or university courses.