Originally, Oxford University students Yannis Philippakis (guitar) and Jack Bevan (drums) played in the cult math-rock band The Edmund Fitzgerald. The group split after they claimed that things got “too serious.” Soon after, they formed Foals along with Jimmy Smith (guitar) and Walter Gervers (bass) — who, at the time, both played in another local British band called Face Meets Grill — and Andrew Mears (vocals).
In 2006, Andrew left Foals to focus on his other band, Youthmovies and Yannis took over vocal duties. Edwin Congreave, a fellow Oxford man, soon joined in on keyboards (even though he'd never played keys or in a band for that matter).
This article appears in Jun 17-23, 2010.