Californian garage rockers Black Rebel Motorcycle Club were one of a handful of American bands credited with re-energising the UK indie scene in 2001, along with The Strokes and The White Stripes. Though both those bands have found fame in their homeland, BRMC's fanbase is still chiefly British.
Their first album B.R.M.C. (2001) gave more than a nod in the direction of The Jesus and Mary Chain and spawned the driving singles "Rifles" and "Whatever Happened to my Rock and Roll (Punk Song)". Though it charted in the UK it failed to have any impact on the US music scene.
For that they had to wait until their next album Take Them On, On Your Own (2003) which peaked at No.47 in the Billboard charts, although it peaked at No.3 in the UK. Unfortunately this wasn't good enough for their record label and the band were dropped. Meanwhile, drummer Nick Jago had to leave the band to attend rehab for drug and alcohol problems. With no record deal and no drummer, Hayes and Been recorded their third album Howl. It was very different stylistically from their previous albums, with less rocking and a more folky sound. They signed with Echo to release it and the critics loved it, though the album failed to chart quite as well as Take Them On....
A fourth album Baby 81 was released in 2007, and with Jago back on board, it marked a satisfactory merger of the styles of all three of their previous albums.
