The Boy Least Likely To

  • Wendover, England
    hometown
  • Rock
    genre
  • 2002
    started
  • Bio
    full story
  • Share
  • Similar
Close

About The Boy Least Likely To


U.K. duo the Boy Least Likely To was one of the freshest and most exciting indie pop groups to surface in the mid-decade. The group is made up of singer/lyricist Jof Owen and Pete Hobbs. Owen writes the words and sings them; Hobbs writes the music and plays it. Formed in the English countryside (specifically Wendover), the Boy Least Likely To is influenced by country storytellers like Marty Robbins, C-86 indie pop groups like the Pastels and Television Personalities, and turn-of-the-century pop groups like Belle & Sebastian and Kenickie.

They began releasing records on their own Too Young to Die label in 2003. The Papercuts 7" was first; then came the incredibly good Be Gentle with Me/Hugging My Grudge later in the year. The Fur Soft as Fur single followed in 2004 and the Best Party Ever album (which contained many of the songs released as singles) was unleashed in February of 2005. The record garnered some good reviews and lots of attention from blogs, all of it well deserved. Live shows in the U.K. and Europe were undertaken to support the album, and the rest of 2005 saw re-releases of Papercuts and Hugging My Grudge on 7" and an iTunes U.K.-only release of Monsters. The Best Party Ever was issued in America in early 2006 and the band toured the U.S., both as an opening act for James Blunt and as a headliner.

After a long delay, the duo's second album, The Law of the Playground, surfaced in spring of 2009. To celebrate the holidays in 2010, they released a full-length album of Christmas songs -- some traditional, some the duo composed --titled Christmas Special. Before their next album, the duo decided to switch things up and set aside the instruments they had used to create their music in favor of electronic gear. Out went the banjos and ukuleles, in came cheap drum machines and wonky old synths, though their trademark cheerful songwriting style stayed about the same. The fourth album, The Great Perhaps, was self-released in early 2013. ~ Tim Sendra, Rovi

Scroll up Scroll down

Photos

From position 0, showing 1 items, asking 10
See All
  • Rough Trade
    The Boy Least Likely To
    Rough Trade

News

From position 0, showing 12 items, asking 10
See All
Next Page
  • The Boy Least Likely To
    James LaRosa On Hit The Floor Episode Four's Full-Blown Watergasm
    VH1 Blog
    June 18, 2013
    This week's episode of Hit The Floor Ahsha learned how to be sexy ( in front of a camera ) and we learned a little bit more about our friend De...
    Read More
  • The Boy Least Likely To
    Hit The Floor Episode Four: Learning To Be Sexy
    VH1 Blog
    June 18, 2013
    Happy Belated Father's Day to T.I., Pete Davenport , Kanye West, and any other men who may not have known their one nights stand resulted in the mi...
    Read More
  • The Boy Least Likely To
    Malala Launches Petition After Pakistani Schoolgirl Attack
    MTV Act
    June 17, 2013
    The attempt on Malala’s life brought worldwide attention to girls’ rights to education, but, unfortunately, seeking an education is still dangerous ...
    Read More
  • The Boy Least Likely To
    Nick Lachey Tells Singers To Kick 'Pride' Aside On 'The Winner Is'
    MTV News
    June 17, 2013
    98 Degrees member opens up to MTV News about hosting new NBC competition.
    Read More
  • The Boy Least Likely To
    GREATEST TRANSFORMER EVER: Giant Soundwave Masterpiece Edition... With Shooting Tapes
    MTV Geek
    June 17, 2013
    Two words: "LASERBEAK, EJECT." In the 1980s, there was no cooler " Transformers " toy than Soundwave, at least in this writer's opinion.  I mean, he ...
    Read More
  • The Boy Least Likely To
    Father's Day Gift Guide: From 'Man Of Steel' To Yeezus, We Got You Covered!
    MTV News
    June 16, 2013
    Why give your dad the same old, same old, when you can give him a pop-culture gift he'll really want on Sunday like — beer bling?
    Read More
  • The Boy Least Likely To
    Manga Tipsheet: Alice, Atomcat, and Zombie Girlfriends
    MTV Geek
    June 14, 2013
    It's a slow week in terms of numbers, but a good week if you're looking for something fresh, with two new series debuting from Kodansha and two one-sh...
    Read More
  • The Boy Least Likely To
    This Week in Comics: 'Man of Steel' And Comics Sales, 'Superman Unchained' And More
    MTV Geek
    June 13, 2013
    By Matt D. Wilson With projections showing that this week's " Man of Steel " is almost certain to be a box-office hit , and with "Iron Man 3" leadi...
    Read More
  • The Boy Least Likely To
    Austin Butler Recalls Doing Time With Other 'Bling Ring'
    Hollywood Crush
    June 13, 2013
    Anticipation for Sofia Coppola's take on the true story of teens robbing Tinseltown has been at a fever pitch for months now, but did you know the Bli...
    Read More
  • The Boy Least Likely To
    Kanye West Teaches A Thing Or Five About Yeezus: Here's What We Learned!
    MTV News
    June 12, 2013
    Yeezy says a ton in his new New York Times interview, but what does he say about the music?
    Read More
  • The Boy Least Likely To
    News in Brief: The Chills Anniversary, Reading Rainbow, the Boy Least Likely To, Stereosonic Fest
    www.pitchfork.com
    the Boy Least Likely To release the holiday album Christmas Special on November 29 in Europe via Too Young to Die and November 30 in North America via...
    Read More
  • The Boy Least Likely To
    Turntable Interview: The Boy Least Likely To
    stereogum.com
    The Boy Least Likely To reached a certain level of fame in the '00s on the strength of their debut album The Best Party Ever and the singles "Paper Cu...
    Read More

Discography

From position 0, showing 3 items, asking 10
See All
  • Christmas Special (2010)
    The Boy Least Likely To
    Christmas Special (2010)
    Too Young to Die
  • The Law of the Playground (2009)
    The Boy Least Likely To
    The Law of the Playground (2009)
    +1 Records
  • The Best Party Ever (2005)
    The Boy Least Likely To
    The Best Party Ever (2005)
    Too Young To Die
Are You The Boy Least Likely To? Claim this page | Learn more about Artists.MTV | FAQ for Artists | Opportunities
The Boy Least Likely To Bio | The Boy Least Likely To News | The Boy Least Likely To Discography |
MTV | MTV Jobs | Privacy Policy | User Content Agreement | Copyright | Artist Index | Social Projects Agreements | Ad Choices |
Portions of this page powered by
This site contains content from artists, fans, and writers from around the internet in it's natural form. Such content is not representative of Viacom Media Networks.

©2012 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. MTV and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

  • Explore
    • Popular
    • Emerging
    • Genres
      • Rock
      • Hip Hop
      • Indie
      • Electronic/EDM
      • Country
      • Pop
    • Collections
    • Artist To Watch
  • Search
  • Are you an artist?
    • Claim Your Page
    • Learn More
    • FAQ
    • Opportunities