Artist · chart history
The Middle East
Band Townsville Australia Active 2005–2011
The Middle East formed in 2005 in Townsville, Australia and was active until 2011. The Middle East has 2 chart appearances on 1 radio countdown from 1 station on RockLists, spanning 2009. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Blood”, which appears on 1 list with a best position of #64. The station that charted The Middle East most often is Triple J (Australia (national)), with 2 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2009.
The Middle East were an indie folk band from Townsville, Queensland, who got together in 2005 and built a following the modern way: small hometown gigs first, then a groundswell on music blogs that carried their name across Australia and overseas. Early in 2008 they put out The Recordings of The Middle East, a record made at home that brought "Blood" and "The Darkest Side", hushed, swelling songs that start as a murmur and end up as a full-throated singalong.
They split, reunited in 2009 and signed with the Australian indie Spunk Records, which gave those home recordings a second life. Their first proper studio album, I Want That You Are Always Happy, followed on 8 April 2011 in Australia and New Zealand, but come 31 July 2011 they walked onstage at Splendour in the Grass, up in Woodford, for what was supposed to be the very last time. Jordan and Joseph Ireland, Rohin Jones, Mike Haydon and Mark Myers were among the players. The goodbye didn't quite stick: they reunited in 2019 and again in 2023.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by The Middle East on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blood | 1 | #64 | – | 2009 | |
| 2 | The Darkest Side | 1 | #87 | – | 2009 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 64 | Blood | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2009 |
| 2009 | 87 | The Darkest Side | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2009 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about The Middle East.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.