Biography
Codeine Velvet Club unites Scottish singer Lou Hickey with singer and multi-instrumentalist Jon Lawler, founder of the Fratellis, in the service of refined lounge pop that echoes 1960s James Bond film scores and the moody Lee Hazlewood–Nancy Sinatra pairings. The project took shape after Lawler declared his intention to launch a solo effort once the Fratellis completed their tour supporting the band’s second album, Here We Stand. Hickey, who sang at one of Britain’s largest burlesque clubs, had already obtained a grant from the Scottish Arts Council to record an album when Lawler’s wife, a dancer at the same venue, recommended that the two musicians join forces. They began by exchanging song ideas through email and finally met in person in 2009, laying down a three-song demo in Lawler’s studio that earned Codeine Velvet Club a contract with Island Records. During the album sessions the pair added an orchestra and a gospel choir, commissioned Belle & Sebastian’s Mick Cooke to craft the orchestral arrangements, and featured trumpeter Derek Watkins, whose résumé includes every Bond theme from the 1960s into the 2000s. A run of autumn shows preceded the U.K. release of the self-titled Codeine Velvet Club album in late 2009, followed by its American issue the next April.