In the hedonism that usually comes when one is at a festival, it was at The Reading Festival in 1999 that Okereke and Lissack decided to form Bloc Party, along with Gordon Moakes and Matt Tong. Their brand of indie art rock has been compared to bands such as The Cure, Blur, The Smashing Pumpkins, Pixies and Joy Division.

Bloc Party got their break by giving Radio One DJ Steve Lamacq and Franz Ferdinand lead singer Alex Kapranos a copy of their demo, "She's Hearing Voices", which was then released as a single.
In February 2005, the band released their critically acclaimed debut album Silent Alarm, which NME later made their Album of the Year. The album went on to be certified platinum in the UK a year later.
The band built on this success with the release of their second studio album, A Weekend in the City, on February 5, 2007 in the UK. The album reached a peak of No.2 in the UK and 12 in the Billboard Hot 200.

Bloc Party donated their track - “The Present” - to Help! A day in the Life
Brendan Benson
Michigan born Brendan Benson sings and plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboard and drums. He has released three solo albums and is a member of the band The Raconteurs.
Brendan appeared alongside Keane at the Iraq Appeal gig at The Brixton Academy in November 2007.