The Great Escape is well known for promoting the cream of up-and-coming musical talent from all over the world. We head-hunt incredible diverse acts for your pleasure and we have put together a list of some of artists we are proud to have as part of our TGE Alumni. Feast your eyes on the likes of Adele before she became a world-dominating songstress and Mumford And Sons when they played an intimate Brighton venue ahead of their growing UK & American success. Here they are, part one of TGE Alumni: Then & Now feature...


ADELE - The Great Escape 2007
Red Roaster Café

What we said then:
19 year-old "South London soulstress Adele makes lush lounge-pop, her voice soaring above her sucker-punch tales of life in the capital."

Where is she now?
Adele has come a phenomenally long way from her MySpace days. Her most recent release Skyfall won Best Original Song at the 70th annual Golden Globes Awards in LA and it won her an Oscar for Best Original Song at the 85th Academy Awards. She has sold over 26.5 million albums with 21 alone and has enjoyed taking both album hot spots in the charts at the same time with 21 at number 1 (for 23 weeks) and 19 at number 2 in 2011 (the first artist since The Corrs, 1999). She has become an inspirational figure for her fans and for the music industry because of these physical sales and will undoubtedly be dubbed a music legend in time.




HURTS - The Great Escape 2010
Coalition

What we said then:
"Manchester duo Hurts sounds like Chris Martin having finally worked out how to use his synthesiser. Listed high on the BBC Sound Of 2010 poll, definitely a band to look out for if you enjoy your music large, heartfelt and dark."

Where are they now?
3 years and 2 albums later and Hurts are still going strong, having had 2 albums reaching the Top 10 in the Album Charts and winning Best New Band at the NME Awards 2011 and performing on the John Peel Stage at Glasto the same year. As of 2013 they have sold more than 3 million albums worldwide and continue to hit up festivals from MAMA Co's own Lovebox 2013 to Rock Am Ring and playing shows all over the world from Ireland to South Korea.





KASABIAN - The Great Escape 2009
Dome

What we said then:
"The standard-bearers of Big British Indie returns this year with their third, terrifyingly titled, album "West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum'. Expect brashness, ballsiness and frontman Tom Meighan's swagger-o-meter to be whacked all the way up to Bo-legged Victorian Cockney. Anthemic..."

Where are they now?
Kasabian were a big band for TGE 2009 and they are ultimate rockstar dads now. They have won awards from Best British Group at the Brit Awards 2010, Best Act In The World Today at the Q Awards 2010, Best Album for West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum in 2010 and Best British Band last year at the NME Awards. Every show is sold out and most they continue to perform on a grand scale at events like Hard Rock Calling 2013 alongside the legendary Paul Weller.






MUMFORD AND SONS - The Great Escape 2008
Sallis Benney Theatre

What we said then:
"Each Mumford And Sons track aches and yearns amidst a cloud of Damien Rice-like massivesness, with plucked violins and heart-grabbing strings just adding yet another huge, Dave Matthews Band layer to the monumental bigness of it all. Astonishing."

Where are they now?
Where aren't they now? Having torn up Britain with their Indie-Folk-Pop sound, they went on to enthrall America with great success. Last year alone Mumford And Sons won a Album of The Year for Babel at the Grammy Awards and after their album became the fastest selling album in the UK it went straight to number 1 in both the UK and USA. They have achieved Best British Album at the BRIT Awards in 2011 and Best British Group in 2013 and headlined Glastonbury 2013 so it's impossible to imagine what more these lads could achieve, but we're excited to see and hear more of their incredible talent.




THE MACCABEES - The Great Escape 2006
Audio

What we said:
"The Maccabees have the same Gang Of Four obsession as anyone-who's-anyone-who-wants-a-record-deal at the moment, but, thankfully, the South London quartet have remembered that jarring, spiky rhythm sections only really come to life when you give them massive choruses to thump along to."

Where are they now?
Since playing the very first Great Escape Festival in 2006, The Maccabees secured themselves as Summer songsters for years to come with hit album Colour It In. They released their second album Wall of Arms and had a small break before releasing their third album Given To The Wild in 2012 which saw them nominated for The Mercury Music Award 2012 and supporting the likes of The Black Keys on their UK Arena tour last year. We're excited to hear and see more of these London indie-poets.