Hope & Social (stylised as Hope&Social) are a six-piece (plus) rock band based in Leeds, England. Formed in 2008, they have released 3 albums in under three years and have toured extensively. Hope and Social are characterised by their "Pay What You Want" approach to their music. In July 2008, Hope & Social released their first EP with a full-length album to follow. On 7 October 2008, the band appeared on Channel M, a TV station based in Manchester. On 3 June 2009, the band released their new album, Architect of this Church. The album was in the making for 2 years and took over 16000 man hours to record. It was made available to purchase on their website, for however much the purchaser thinks it is worth. In 2009, the band performed twice at Glastonbury as finalists in Glastonbury's Emerging Talent Competition. In April 2010, Hope and Social released April, their second full-length album and the first to feature fully the new line-up of the band. In May 2011, Hope and Social's third studio album Sleep Sound was released and immediately rose to No.1 on bandcamp.com. In March 2012, the band released an album Cotton Wool & Knotted Wood, recorded live, and their fourth studio album All Our Dancing Days was released on 13 November 2012. The band kicked off the opening ceremony for the 2014 Tour de France at Leeds Arena, performing with The Band Anyone Can Join, consisting of 100 local people. Members Current members: Simon Wainwright – Vocals, Guitar and Piano Rich Huxley – Guitar, Cello, Banjo and Vocals, Glockenspiel, Piano Ed Waring – Rhodes, Organ Gary Stewart - Drums, Vocals, Piano, Backing Vocals James Hamilton - Brass, Piano, Glockenspiel, Backing Vocals Simon Fletcher - Bass, Sousaphone, Backing Vocals Past members: Simon Goff – Bass and Strings Four Day Hombre 13 March 2006 saw the nationwide release of their debut album, Experiments in Living, as Four Day Hombre and through their own record label, Alamo Music. The publicity activities accompanying the release of this album, along with the unusual history of Alamo Music, raised the profile of the band considerably during 2006. On 7 February 2006 they played a half-hour session on the Janice Long show on BBC Radio 2, which featured a number of live acoustic performances as well as a discussion with the band. The album release was followed by a tour of Barfly