Hope Of The States

Chichester-based post-alternative rock group Hope Of The States were active from 2000 to 2006, and got their break after a Sony BMG music representative glanced upon a review of the band on the Planet Sound Teletext service and was very interested in the positivity of said review. The group were signed shortly after, and released their first single, the 2000-only hessian-cased CD of Black Dollar Bills, in March 2003, followed by Enemies/Friends in September of the same year. Tragedy then struck the band, as the group's original guitarist James Lawrence committed suicide in January 2004, with the band's first album, The Lost Riots, being released in June. The single, The Red The White The Black The Blue was released prior to the album in May, and hit #15 on the UK Charts. Nehemiah was the final single from the album, released in August with heat-sensitive sleeves. The band went back to the studio for 2005, before the group's final album Left was released on 19th June, following the Blood Meridian EP in April and the Sing It Out single 2 weeks previously. Blood Meridian's video is below, as are the downloads.