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 writer, producer, singer, and songwriter from Bangor, Northern Ireland. He has won two Ivor Novello Awards, which are very important awards for music writers. He won in 2004 for the album Final Straw by Snow Patrol. He also won in 2016 for "Most Performed Work" with the song "Hold Back the River", which he wrote with James Bay. This song was even nominated for a Grammy. In 2013, Archer was also nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for the song "Two Fingers" by Jake Bugg.

Iain Archer's Music Journey

Starting His Career

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

Joining Snow Patrol

From 2001 to 2002, Archer joined the band Snow Patrol as a guitarist and backing singer. He helped write songs for their very successful album Final Straw. This included the hit song "Run", which reached the top 5 in the UK in 2005. Later, in 2008, a version of "Run" by Leona Lewis became a UK No. 1 hit. During this time, he also worked with Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol in a group called The Reindeer Section. This group included members from other bands like Belle & Sebastian and Teenage Fanclub.

Solo Albums and Success

In 2004, Iain Archer went back to his solo music career. He released the album Flood the Tanks, and then Magnetic North in 2006. Both albums received great reviews from music critics. His most recent solo album, To the Pine Roots, came out in 2009.

Being Part of Tired Pony

In 2009, Archer became a member of a band called Tired Pony. This band was made up of musicians from other famous groups, including Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol and Peter Buck from R.E.M.. Tired Pony released their first album, The Place We Ran From, in July 2010. They recorded their second album, The Ghost of the Mountain, in early 2013 in Topanga Canyon, California.

Working with Jake Bugg

In 2012, Archer started working with the singer Jake Bugg. He helped produce and co-write many songs on Bugg's first album, which reached No. 1 and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. These songs included popular singles like "Lightning Bolt" and "Two Fingers". For "Two Fingers", Archer was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award in 2013. They worked together again on Bugg's second album, Shangri La (2013), where Archer co-wrote eight songs. This album was recorded in Malibu with famous producer Rick Rubin. In 2014, Archer also played guitar on Bugg's Messed Up Kids EP.

Songwriting Achievements

Iain Archer continued to have many successes as a songwriter. In 2015, he worked with James Bay, co-writing three songs on Bay's No. 1 album Chaos and the Calm. One of these songs, "Hold Back the River", won an Ivor Novello Award in 2016 and was nominated for a Grammy.

In 2017, Archer produced and co-wrote songs for Liam Gallagher's No. 1 solo album As You Were. He also worked with Niall Horan from One Direction on his first solo album Flicker, co-writing "Paper Houses", which became a No. 1 hit in the United States. In 2018, Archer worked with Isaac Gracie and Lisa Hannigan, writing and producing songs for them. In 2019, he even performed with Snow Patrol again when their guitarist was injured.

Other Contributions

Besides writing and producing music, Iain Archer has also worked on other projects. 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 knowledge by being a visiting professor at Leeds College of Music in 2016. From 2018 to 2019, he mentored students at Queen's University Belfast. Because he has won Ivor Novello Awards himself, he is now a member of The Ivors Academy Songwriter Committee, helping to support other songwriters.

Iain Archer is married to singer Miriam Kaufmann.