Iain Archer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Iain Archer
Archer in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Iain Denis Archer
Born	Error: Need valid birth date: year, month, day Bangor, Northern Ireland
Genres	Rock, folk, indie
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, producer
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Sticky Music, Bright Star, Play It Again Sam

Iain Archer is a talented musician from Bangor, Northern Ireland. He is a writer, producer, singer, and songwriter. He has won two Ivor Novello Awards, which are big awards for songwriting. In 2004, he won for the album Final Straw by Snow Patrol. In 2016, he won for "Hold Back the River", a song he co-wrote with James Bay. This song was also nominated for a Grammy Award! Iain was also nominated for an Ivor Novello Award in 2013 for the song "Two Fingers" by Jake Bugg.

Music Career

Iain Archer started his music career in the mid-1990s. He released two solo albums on a label called Sticky Music. He also toured with famous artists like John Martyn and Nils Lofgren.

Working with Snow Patrol

From 2001 to 2002, Iain joined the band Snow Patrol. He played guitar and sang backing vocals for them. He helped write songs for their very successful album Final Straw. This included the hit song "Run". "Run" became a top 5 song in the UK in 2005. Later, in 2008, it became a number 1 hit when Leona Lewis covered it.

During this time, Iain also worked with Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol. They were part of a group called The Reindeer Section. This group included members from other cool bands like Belle & Sebastian and Teenage Fanclub.

Solo Albums

In 2004, Iain went back to making his own music. He released the album Flood the Tanks. In 2006, he released Magnetic North. Both albums were very well-liked by music critics. His most recent solo album, To the Pine Roots, came out in 2009.

Tired Pony

In 2009, Iain became a member of a band called Tired Pony. This band had some really famous musicians in it! It included Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol and Peter Buck from R.E.M..

Tired Pony released their first album, The Place We Ran From, in 2010. It featured other artists like Zooey Deschanel. They recorded their second album, The Ghost of the Mountain, in 2013.

Songwriting Success

Iain Archer is also known for writing songs for other artists.

Working with Jake Bugg

In 2012, Iain started working with Jake Bugg. He helped produce and co-write many songs on Jake's first album. This album became number 1 and was nominated for a big award called the Mercury Music Prize. Some of the songs they worked on together include "Lightning Bolt" and "Two Fingers".

They worked together again on Jake Bugg's second album, Shangri La, in 2013. Iain co-wrote eight songs on this album. In 2013, "Two Fingers" was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for Best Song.

Collaborations with Other Artists

Iain's songwriting career continued to grow. In 2015, he worked with James Bay. He co-wrote three songs on James's number 1 album Chaos and the Calm. One of these songs was "Hold Back the River". This song won an Ivor Novello Award in 2016 and was nominated for a Grammy Award.

In 2017, Iain produced and co-wrote songs for Liam Gallagher's number 1 solo album As You Were. He also worked with Niall Horan from One Direction on his first solo album, Flicker. They co-wrote "Paper Houses", which became a number 1 hit in the United States.

In 2019, Iain returned to perform with Snow Patrol. He filled in for their guitarist, Nathan Connolly, who had a hand injury.

Other Projects

Besides writing and producing music, Iain Archer has done other interesting things. In 2010, he created the music for a film called America's Wildest Refuge: Discovering the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

He has also shared his music knowledge with students. In 2016, he was a visiting professor at Leeds College of Music. From 2018 to 2019, he mentored students at Queen's University Belfast. Since he has won Ivor Novello Awards, he is now a member of The Ivors Academy Songwriter Committee. This group helps support songwriters.

Iain Archer is married to singer Miriam Kaufmann.

Images for kids

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  Archer in 2009