Iain Archer

Born in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, Iain Archer worked as a singer-songwriter and guitarist, issuing records from the mid-90s onward yet reaching a wider audience only when Flood The Tanks appeared in 2004.

Growing up amid music at home, he took up guitar and began composing by his early teens. At the start of the 90s he settled in Glasgow, Scotland, where steady gigs on the local circuit helped him cultivate a following. Two folk-pop albums earned positive notices yet passed largely unnoticed; even offers to support John Martyn and David Gray on tour failed to lift his fortunes, which had stalled by decade’s end. After moving to London he took a job at a hostel for the homeless. Jonny Quin of Snow Patrol then asked him to play several shows with the band; Archer remained and contributed to three tracks on their breakthrough album Final Straw. His involvement in the hit single “Run” brought an Ivor Novello Award in 2005, and he also appeared on recordings by the Snow Patrol offshoot Reindeer Section.

Snow Patrol’s sound clearly shaped Flood The Tanks, which leaned more toward indie pop than Archer’s earlier folk-inflected work. Among its strongest cuts were the reflective “Summer Jets” and “Running In Dreams.” The Snow Patrol link drew fresh press attention, prompting independent label Play It Again Sam to reissue the album.