Maximo Park

Maximo Park is an English indie rock band, signed to Warp Records, who formed in 2000. Drawing comparisons to Pulp and Franz Ferdinand, MaxÔmo Park were North-East England’s response to the post-punk revival of the 2000s.

Maximo Park formed in Newcastle and got their name from Maximo Gomez Park, a Havana meeting place for Cuban revolutionaries. Initially, the four founding members played only a few small shows, with Archis Tiku on vocals, frequently switching instruments. On the verge of splitting up, they discovered Paul Smith in a pub. Having found someone with a stage presence, they started to write their first songs together, all despite the fact that frontman Smith never imagined himself as a frontman. He’d never sung on stage before so it was a touch of luck that he turned out to be good.

In 2005, they swiftly rose to indie fame with their debut album, A Certain Trigger, which was produced by Paul Epworth and that led to an increasingly devoted fan base in the UK. The success of the album was reinforced by a series of increasingly large tours and a support slot to the Kaiser Chiefs on the NME Rock & Roll Riot Tour. In July 2005, Maximo Park's debut album was nominated for the Mercury Prize. The band played the Glastonbury Festival and the Brixton Academy as part of Xfm’s 2005 Winter Wonderland show, which sold out in ten minutes.