Hard-Fi tease live return with ‘Stars of CCTV’ posters on London Underground
The noughties indie rockers look set for a show in October
By Joe Goggins
Noughties indie rockers Hard-Fi appear to be teasing a return, as eagle-eyed commuters on the London Underground have begun to notice.
The Staines outfit had a Mercury Prize-nominated UK number one album in 2005 with ‘Stars of CCTV’, which spawned the indie disco classics ‘Cash Machine’, ‘Hard to Beat’ and ‘Living for the Weekend’. They followed it up with ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ in 2007 and ‘Killer Sounds’ in 2011, before quietly going on hiatus after the release of a ten-year retrospective best-of in 2014.
Now, though, posters depicting the instantly recognisable cover art for ‘Stars of CCTV’ have emerged across London. Beneath the silhouette of a security camera on a bright yellow background reads: ‘London. 01.10.22’. A comeback show is evidently in the works, presumably with a setlist leaning heavily towards their debut record.
Fresh posts on the group’s Instagram lend credence to the rumours. Clearly back in their rehearsal space, recent dispatches have included a clip of sheet music for ‘Stars of CCTV’ being leafed through and a quick-fire run through the deep cut ‘Move On Now’, apparently on the same piano that was used for the recording of the debut album. “My Nan’s old piano, aka the ‘Move On Now’ piano is getting a tune courtesy of @handelpianos also used on ‘Stars Of CCTV’ and ‘Living For The Weekend’,” reads one caption.
Hard-Fi’s quiet retreat to the sidelines after ‘Hard-Fi: Best of 2004 – 2014’ was out of step with the brash, no-nonsense persona that frontman Richard Archer gave off both on and off stage. In 2020, he spoke to NME about his politically-driven new group, OffWorld, and in doing so offered some clues as to the future of Hard-Fi.
“We’ve talked about it,” the singer said of the notion of playing ‘Stars of CCTV’ in its entirety, “but we’d also like to do some new material, because otherwise you just feel like you’re a heritage act. Saying that though, I’ve been to a couple of those gigs and they’ve been great. At the end of the day, that’s what people want. That album has defined people’s lives and when they were growing up. We’ll definitely do it at some point, but with new music too so we’re not just trading on past glories.”