Lias Saoudi
British musician and writer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lias Saoudi is a founding (and only constant) member of English rock band Fat White Family,[1] and also performs with The Moonlandingz[2] and Decius.[3] He was also in the original lineup of Warmduscher.[4]
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Lias Saoudi | |
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Saoudi performing with Fat White Family in 2021 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | |
| Education | Slade School of Fine Arts |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | |
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Saoudi was born in Southampton and grew up in Scotland and Northern Ireland. His father was from Algeria and his mother from Yorkshire.[1]
He attended the Slade School of Fine Art in London.[1][5]
Musical career
Lias Saoudi formed The Saudis with his brother Nathan and Alex Sebley. Upon returning to the UK following an Algerian tour, the band "collapsed"; Sebley left the band and was replaced by Saul Adamczewski[6] after the breakdown of his own band The Metros.[7][8]
In 2011, Saoudi and Adamczewski formed Fat White Family while living in a squat in Peckham, South London.[1][9]
Saoudi was involved in numerous musical projects in the mid-2010s; In 2014 Decius released their first single, Come To Me Villa,[10] Warmduscher was formed in the same year with Saoudi as a founding member,[4] and the following year he formed The Moonlandingz.[2]
In the late 2010s to early 2020s, Saoudi's musical projects began to gain wider critical acclaim; Fat White Family released Serfs Up! in 2019, their first album on a major label (Domino), which was described as a "giant leap forward" by The Guardian,[11] while Decius released their debut album Decius Vol. I which made multiple album of the year lists in 2022.[12][13][14]
Writing
Saoudi started publishing autobiographical pieces on The Social Gathering during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom[15][16] under the title Life Beyond the Neutral Zone.
His work was included in the 2021 anthology of contemporary Irish authors The New Frontier: Reflections From the Irish Border.[15][17]
He is a guest editor for Ambit Pop, a new version of the literary magazine Ambit.[15][18]
In 2022 he published his semi-autobiographical book Ten Thousand Apologies, covering his childhood and the history of Fat White Family.[19] Co-written with Adelle Stripe,[19][20] the book became a Sunday Times Bestseller[21][22] and was named Rough Trade Records' Book of the Year.[23] It was shortlisted for the Penderyn Music Book Prize.[24]
Bibliography
- The New Frontier: Reflections From the Irish Border. New Island Books, 2021.[15]
- Ten Thousand Apologies: Fat White Family and the Miracle of Failure. White Rabbit, 2022.[25]