From debut album Blackened Sky through to 2021’s The Myth of the Happily Ever After, they have grown a strong and loyal following. The alternative rockers have sold more than a million records in the UK alone.
This week Biffy will play three shows at Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom - celebrating their first three albums (Blackened Sky, The Vertigo of Bliss and Infinity Land). So we thought that we’d join them in looking back at their history.
1. Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro were formed in Ayrshire in 1995 by Simon Neil, Ben Johnston, and James Johnston. The childhood friends played their first gig as Skrewfish supporting the band Pink Kross at the Key Youth Centre in East Kilbride. However, two years later the trio would move to Glasgow for university. Neil headed off to Glasgow University, whilst the Johnston twins headed to Stow College. And the college would play a role in the future of the band. | Getty Images
2. Stow College
Stow College’s Electric Honey record label, run by students at the college, has been dubbed by Uncut as the most successful student label in the world. The label released Biffy’s debut EP thekidswhopoptodaywillrocktomorrow in 2000. The EP and subsequent slot at T in the Park lead to the band being signed by Beggars Banquet later that year. The band would follow the EP up with the release of Blackened Sky, The Vertigo of Bliss and Infinity Land between 2002 and 2005, further cementing their reputation as one of the best up and coming bands in the country. | Glasgow School of Art
3. Biffy Clyro
However, it was their next album, 2007’s Puzzle that brought them to the attention of a wider audience. The album reached number two in the UK charts and was voted album of the year at many music publications. The following year, they’d get their first top 10 single with the release of Mountains from Only Revolutions - it reached number five. Now, Biffy were firmly in the mainstream - so much so that single Many of Honour would later be covered by X Factor winner Matt Cardle in 2011, who scored that year’s Christmas number one in the process.
Photo: Getty
4. Biffy Clyro
Double album, Opposites, would see the band get their first UK number one album in 2013. The band were also announced as headliners for the second day of that year’s Reading & Leeds Festival. Opposites would be the final Biffy album for three years - with the band announcing a year off in 2015. Photo: Zak Hussein