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Rat Boy
Potential source for Rat Boy's name
Born	Jordan Cardy (1996-02-21) 21 February 1996 Chelmsford, Essex, England
Other names	Rat Boy
Years active	2014–present
Musical career
Genres	Hip hop Punk Indie
Instruments	Vocals, Keyboard, Bass, Guitar
Labels	Parlophone Hometown Records (Former)
Website	ratboy.co.uk

Jordan Cardy (born 21 February 1996), known as his stage name Rat Boy, is a British musician from Chelmsford, Essex.

Early Life

Rat Boy left school as he did not enjoy it and wanted to spend his time doing something more creative. He was a fan of art and music, but after leaving art school and applying for multiple jobs, and being denied from multiple different places in retail, he eventually managed to get a job in a Wetherspoons in Chelmsford. While working behind the kitchen in Wetherspoons (Claiming that they wouldnt allow him out the front as he was "too weird") he would would sit and write lyrics about the different people he saw around, ride his bike home and have conversations with drunk people that he would record. Rat Boy was eventually fired from Wetherspoons for serving somebody a raw burger . With his new found free time he would spend it skateboarding or teaching himself the music software "Logic" with the hopes of beginning a band.

Career

After many unsuccessful attempts at bringing together a band(but having difficulty finding people who could rehearse with) he decided he would move on and go solo. The outcome of Rat Boy going solo was "The Mixtape". "The Mixtape" is a 5 track mix with each song being around 3 minutes long and including Rat Boy on the vocals, keyboard and bass. He even produced all of the tracks himself. Upon completion, Rat Boy sent out "The Mixtape" to record companies and music blogs to try get his name out there, he managed to get some response. The one that stood out most to him was Drew McConnell (Backing vocals and Bass for Babyshambles) who paid for Rat Boy to go to meeting with him to help Rat Boy get into the music scene. In addition to this "The Mixtape" was featured in NME Magazine and played by some large radio channels such as BBC Radio 1, XFM and BBC Radio 6. There is Merchandise available to purchase online which endorsed by Rat Boy, such merchandise includes: t-shirts, baseball caps and bucket hats. Rat Boy was also recently added to the BBC Sound Of 2016 Longlist, this is a poll which takes place annually where over 100 'Music Specialists' choose which artists they believe will be successful within the next 12 months, the musical acts chosen are primarily relatively unknown in the public domain when considered for that poll. In previous years many, now successful, artists have been featured in this list such as 50 Cent, Adele, Jessie J and Sam Smith. He is also currently on the MTV Brand New for 2016 list.

Rat Boy currently plays live shows with a band which is made up of him and 3 of his friends.

Musical Style

Rat Boy’s music is a mixture of lots of different styles such as hip-hop, reggae and punk. He has on many occasions claimed to have taken inspiration for his music from other notable bands and artists such as Jamie T, Blur and the Streets. A lot of the inspiration for the music that Rat Boy writes is from the reality of the area where he lives. The lyrics to many of his songs deal with realistic that many people from similar areas will face. In Fake I.D he describes getting turned down after trying to get into a bar or club after trying to use a Fake I.D, then preparing to head home and getting mugged.

Many of Rat Boy's songs consist of narratives and stories within the lyrics and this is said to be favoured by the artist.

Despite being a solo artist, Rat Boy has already created a number of tracks and is currently selling some of them on iTunes. Without having a band, Rat Boy is able to decide his own fate and create whatever types of music he likes.

Discography

The Mixtape(2014)

Songslist:

• Sportswear
• Carry On
• Journey
• Laughter
• Hanging Round

Other Singles

• FAKE ID
• Intro
• Knock Knock
• Left 4 Dead
• Sign On
• Wasteman

Tours/Concerts

Rat Boy went on tour for the first time in 2015, with concerts in places such as Newcastle and Liverpool. He also played at the Reading and Leeds festivals.

2015 Tour/Concert dates:

May

• London, the Dublin Castle(27th)

June

• Field Day(6th June)
• Manchester, Sound Control(23rd)

July

• Truck Festival(18th)
• Latitude Festival(19th)
• London, Boston Arms(24th)

August

• Reading Festival(29th)
• Leeds Festival(30th)

September

• Nottingham Bodega(16th)
• Glasgow, King Tuts(17th)
• Liverpool, Studio 2(18th)
• Leeds, Wardrobe(19th)
• Skelmersdale, Library(22nd)
• Stoke, Sugarmill(23rd)
• Birmingham, Sunflower Lounge(24th)
• Leicester, Cookie Jar(25th)
• Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach(27th)
• Guildford, Boileroom(28th)
• London, Dingwalls(29th)
• Southampton, Joiners(30th)

October

• Bristol, Exchange(1st)
• Falmouth, Mono(2nd)
• Rayleigh, Mill Arts and Events(3rd)
• O2 Academy Leeds, Leeds(12th)
• Banquet Records, Kingston upon Thames(13th)

November

• MountFord Hall, Liverpool(9th)
• De Montfort Hall, Leicester(10th)
• O2 Academy, Sheffield(11th)
• The Dome Leisure Centre, Doncaster(12th)
• O2 Academy Newcastle, Newcastle(15th)
• Plymouth Pavillions, Plymouth(20th)

2016 Tour/Concert dates:

• Rat Boy is a confirmed act for NME's Award Show (Concerts which take place in various venues around London annually in February)

External links

http://www.ratboy.co.uk/