Formed in Harlow in 2008, the Essex five-piece Morning Parade consists of lead vocalist Steve Sparrow, guitarist Chad Thomas, bassist Phil Titus, keyboardist Ben Giddings, and drummer Andy Hayes. Combining trance-style synths with anthemic rock guitars in the same vein as Friendly Fires, Delphic, and Fenech-Soler, their energetic sound and low-key secret live gigs soon attracted the attention of various record labels, and eventually resulted in a major-label deal with Parlophone. They began work on material with Blur producer Jason Cox at Damon Albarn's 13 Studios. Their first single, "Under the Stars," saw release in late 2010, after causing a huge stir, selling 9,000 copies of their debut single. It was followed by a succession of singles ("A&E," "On Your Shoulders," and "Us & Ourselves")in 2011. The band's self-titled debut full-length album came out in early 2012 on Parlephone, recorded with Everything Everything and Bats for Lashes producer David Kosten, and was keenly anticipated. They have shared a stage with Coldplay, supported 30 Seconds to Mars, The Wombats, Walk The Moon, Biffy Clyro, Florence and the Machine, and sold out headlining tours in the UK and in Europe.