Aidan Curran posted on March 30, 2008 13:26
You've probably been following (via On The Record) the adventures of Bell X1 (right) in the USA.
With the States slayed, the Celbridge band's next objective is to conquer the old continent. In April and May, Bell X1 will be supporting Nada Surf on the latter's European tour.
The two bands will be calling to Spain, Germany, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands... and it all kicks off in France, where Nada Surf have always been more than one-hit wonders.
After rolling off the ferry at Cherbourg, Bell X1 will be down the road at Caen on 21 April. The following night they hit Paris, with a show at the Bataclan - a lovely ballroom-style hall in the hip Rue Oberkampf part of town.
The French leg of the tour ends with a concert in Lyon on April 26.
With luck, the three French dates should help Bell X1 to build on their current exposure in France. 'Flock' has just been released here on the Rykodisc label and is on the listening posts of the bigger record stores. What's more, 'Flame' and 'Just Like Mr Benn' have been getting airplay on Paris radio.
And no, none of the French DJs have called the band "Bell Onze".
What the DJs have been mentioning without fail, though, is Bell X1's link to Damien Rice. Their former Juniper bandmate is very popular in France, a country which always loves sensitive artists - especially those visitors who do their interviews in French, like Damo does. We don't know if Paul Noonan spent as much time on his French homework as he obviously did studying 'Soundings'.
You can check out the full Bell X1 European tour schedule on their MySpace page. Here's 'Alphabet Soup', which features a reference to an Irishwoman who spent a lot of time in France:
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