Hard-Fi

Formed in the home of Ali G in 2003, Staines group Hard-Fi recorded and released their debut mini-album, Stars Of CCTV, in 2004 on the Necessary Records label started up by the band's manager Warren Clarke. 1000 copies were pressed, with half initially going on public sale, but this had to be changed as all the copies were sold due to high demand for the mini-album. Major label Atlantic Records then picked up the group in December of that year and reissued the mini-album as a full-length album with the same title in July 2005. Prior to the album's release, the singles Cash Machine, Tied Up Too Tight and Hard To Beat were released, with Hard To Beat being the best charting, at #9. Shortly after the reissue of Cash Machine in December, though, the album hit #1 in the next month and was declared as a platinum-selling album. A live DVD+CD set, In Operation, was released in May 2006, with the band's follow-up to Stars Of CCTV, Once Upon A Time In The West, released in September 2007. Cash Machine's original video (known as the Heist version) is below, with downloads afterwards.