Delirious? (known formerly as The Cutting Edge Band ) are a Grammy nominated and multi-Dove Award winning English Christian rock and worship band, featuring Martin Smith on vocals and guitar, Stuart Garrard (also known as Stu G) on guitar and backing vocals, Jon Thatcher on bass guitar, Tim Jupp on keys and piano, and Paul Evans on drums and percussion.
They are perhaps best-known for their modern worship songs 'Rain Down', 'Majesty', 'Lord You Have My Heart', 'Thank You For Saving Me' and their 1994 song "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever", which has been called a "modern worship classic" and is their most popular song in the United States.
The band was made up of multiple personalities from 1993 to 1996, before the decision was made to take the band full time with a finalized lineup. Between 1997 and 2001, the band targeted the majority of its work towards a mainstream audience, with several singles reaching the top 20 in the UK music charts. However, since 2003 the focus has mainly been placed on the CCM market. Former drummer Stew Smith left the band at the end of April 2008, and it was announced via a press release on the 6th of July 2008 that Delirious? would retire as a band at the end of 2009.
History
The Cutting Edge years (1993-1996)
'The Cutting Edge Band' began life as a worship band for a youth outreach event called "Cutting Edge", instigated by the Arun Community Church in Littlehampton, West Sussex, England. The events became popular via word-of-mouth, leading the band to play at other 'Cutting Edge' events along the south coast of England - monthly events in Portsmouth and Southampton. The events in Portsmouth only lasted a year but the events in Central Hall, Southampton were to run for three years, the duration of the Cutting Edge events. The group remained as the house band for Cutting Edge for several years. The turning point came in 1996 when Martin and his wife Anna were involved in a serious road accident. During a period in hospital Martin made the decision to leave his full-time employment and form the band that became known as Delirious?. The turnout at the events grew so much that the regular venue (a local school hall) had to be replaced with the school's sports hall, whilst the organizers had to charge a small fee to control the numbers attending. Similar challenges took place at the Central Hall in Southampton where up to 1200 people would gather each month. In 1996, an event was held in the open air, on the green next to Littlehampton's beach. An estimated 4000 people attended, while Channel 4 filmed it for a documentary.
The band were able to release their increasingly popular material thanks to lead singer Martin Smith and keyboard player Tim Jupp's roles as recording engineers and producers at a local recording studio. Four EPs were released under the "Cutting Edge" name, in addition to a solo EP from guitarist Stu Garrard, which featured the entire band. Many of the band's most famous songs were written and recorded during this time, including possibly their most famous: 'I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever.' Others included 'The Happy Song', 'Lord, You Have My Heart', 'Thank You For Saving Me', 'Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble', 'I've Found Jesus', 'I'm Not Ashamed', 'Find Me In The River', 'Shout To The North' and 'Obsession'. The music became well known in Christian circles, and demand grew for recordings. By 1996, they had sold over seventy thousand EPs by mail order. These EPs were later released as two albums in the UK, and one double album in the US. A similar composite edition of Cutting Edge was released to retail and sold Gold in Canada according to the CRIA and the band's Canadian distributor.
The last ever Cutting Edge was held the following summer in 1997, again on the beach, where the band played from their Cutting Edge back catalogue and the King of Fools album.
Taking the band full-time (1997-1998)
On 30 August 1995 , Martin, his wife Anna, and bassist Jon were involved in a near-fatal car accident. Jon and Anna were unhurt, but Martin was hospitalized for several weeks with broken bones. While in the hospital, Smith went through a period of depression, before making the decision to become a full-time musician. At this point, Delirious? was conceptually born. The band changed its name in January 1996, and they began to start work recording their new album. They gained unexpected mainstream success in 1997 following the release of King of Fools , the first studio album released under their new name. King of Fools eventually went 'Silver' in the United Kingdom, and Delirious? became one of the most popular and well-known Christian rock groups both in the UK and the United States. Songs such as "Deeper" and "History Maker" gained anthemic status and still surface regularly at Christian youth events. Delirious? also released three singles to the mainstream UK Charts - "White Ribbon Day", "Deeper", and "Promise". The last two both reached number twenty with very little radio airplay; "Deeper" remains the band's best-selling single with over thirty thousand copies sold. The group signed to EMI for its British releases but in 1997 the group signed to both Virgin and Sparrow Records for distribution in secular and Christian markets in the United States. The success of the King of Fools album allowed the band to tour the UK for the first time comprehensively in 1997's 'd:tour'. Delirious? chose to tour without a support band, instead using a DJ and a large visual aspect to the performance.
During the summer of 1997, Stewart Smith and his wife lost their unborn baby through a miscarriage, inspiring the song "Summer of Love" on the DeEPer EP, a re-release of the "Deeper" single. The re-release attained number thirty-nine on the UK Charts.
In 1998, the band released their second live album, d:tour , which featured many of the songs from the King Of Fools album in addition to some songs from the Cutting Edge period. It was recorded at Southampton Guildhall on the final night of the 'd:tour'.
The first mainstream push (1999-2000)
After a brief hiatus, the 1999 album Mezzamorphis attained number twenty-five in the UK mainstream album charts (number two in the independent section), and soon became certified silver in the UK. During this time, the band found resistance in the mainstream due to their "Christian" label, despite widespread critical acclaim in the music press. However, the work was aimed as a "secular" audience, causing many former fans to shun the album and claiming that Delirious? had "sold out" to mainstream markets.
Several singles from Mezzamorphis gained some British chart success. For example, the first single, "See The Star", peaked at number sixteen on the charts (a career high for the band), following an appearance on television show The Big Breakfast. Despite the success of the single, the song choice was slightly controversial as it was arguably one of the weaker songs on the record. In the band's 2007 book, guitarist Stu G stated that:
"...there are differing opinions regarding whether this was the right choice or not." - Stu G
The second single, "It's OK", subsequently reached number eighteen. In the US, "Gravity" was chosen over "See the Star" as lead radio single for promotion.
Exactly one year later, in 2000, the band released a worship-oriented album, Glo (short for glorious ). This album was the number one Christian seller for eight months. Several songs from the album, while not being released as actual singles, gained immense popularity in the Christian-music world, most notably the guitar-driven "My Glorious" and the more introspective "Jesus' Blood". The track "Investigate" eventually became a favourite concert closer for the band. That year, Delirious? toured the US and appeared to an audience of 55,000 at the Creation Festival.
The second mainstream push (2001-2002)
The second attempted mainstream album, Audio Lessonover? (an anagram of 'Radio One Loves Us') was released in 2001. The band hired well known music producer Chuck Zwicky (Semisonic, Madonna). Zwicky wanted to go with a more stripped down sound than the sonically layered Mezzamorphis and Glo. It has been noted by the band that there were tense and strained moments during the Audio Lessonover recording sessions, but in the end it stretched them as musicians and as a band. The first single "Waiting For The Summer" reached number twenty-six on the charts, hindered by limited radio airplay. This led to a planned second single, Take Me Away, being cancelled. Critically, the record itself received less favourable reviews in comparison to their previous three albums, whilst commercial album sales were also lower. Again they received criticism for "selling out" to achieve success in mainstream markets. The band members are often questioned about the apparent critical 'failure' of the album in interviews to this day. In 2009, bassist Jon Thatcher stated:
"I think it's a good album. I'm glad we made that record. I think after Mezzamorphis it was probably another step further that people weren't expecting but I think that's what good bands do." - Jon Thatcher
That year the group took part in major tours with Bon Jovi and Matchbox Twenty.
The band's first compilation, Deeper, was released in early 2002. It was a double album, comprising of many remastered classic worship songs from the Cutting Edge albums, in addition to tracks taken from
Seventeen
Easily prevent prom fashion emergencies with this gift bag from Hollywood Fashion Tape. Five of you will win a package of Hollywood Fashion Tape, Red Carpet Assortment, CoverUps ...
YouTube - SeventeenMagazine's Channel
Read reviews and win book freebies at seventeen.com/buzz ... Subscribe to Seventeen: http://subscribe.hearstmags.com/subscribe/splits/seventee...
Freebies - Seventeen.com ...
Get the latest fashion, beauty, dating, and health tips. Plus, win freebies, take quizzes, and check your daily horoscope!
Seventeen July 2008 freebies codes.? - Yahoo! Answers
does anyone know the codes for the July freebies i…
FreakyFreddiesFreebies.com
free freebies seventeen.com freebies freebies uk birthday freebies killer freebies freebies neopets.com las vegas freebies kid freebies cross stitch freebies
Freebies - Absolute-Forum.com :: Freebies, Coupons
Freebies - Find freebies, discuss and share freebies you have found with our readers. ... Free Earrings from Seventeen mag-11/24 12:01 ET
October monthly freebie winners ...
Freebies Quizzes Horoscopes Games 17 Buzz Trauma When I was 17... Play Spin The Bottle Get Advice ... Hearst[Teen]Network: Seventeen.com | CosmoGIRL.com | TeenMag.com | MisQuinceMag.com | ...
Seventeen Magazine | Facebook
Seventeen Magazine Love the 2009 Style Stars?! Win their freebies all month long! http://www.seventeen.com/fashion/special /style-blog/style-star-freebies
Seventeen Magazine - Lashblast Volume Blasting Mascara From Covergirl ...
PriceNetwork.ca >Shopping >Freebies >Seventeen Magazine - Lashblast Volume Blasting Mascara From Covergirl (Nov/07)
Seventeen freebies aug codes? 10 pts!? - Yahoo! Answers
does anyone have the codes for the freebies for se…