shame

From the Queen's Head

shame, always stylized in lowercase, formed in 2014 at the Queen's Head pub in Brixton, where drummer Charlie Forbes's father coined the band's name, and the members began writing while still at secondary school. They are linked to the Windmill scene alongside Black Midi and Squid. The line-up has not changed across four albums. The self-released EP Gone Fisting came out on November 23, 2014.

"Visa Vulture" came out in 2017, then "Concrete" on September 20, 2017 and "One Rizla" in November, with a headline show at the Scala in London on October 18, 2017. Songs of Praise (January 12, 2018, Dead Oceans) was recorded in April 2017 at Rockfield and reached 32 in the UK, with Metacritic at 83; Rough Trade ranked it the best album of 2018. They toured 22 US dates in spring 2018 and played the Reading and Leeds main stage on August 26, 2018. Drunk Tank Pink (January 15, 2021, produced by James Ford) reached number 8, and Food for Worms (February 24, 2023, produced by Flood and recorded live in the studio) reached 21. Cutthroat (September 5, 2025) was recorded in December 2024 at Salvation Studios in Brighton with John Congleton and reached 86.

The Stereogum interviewer John Norris reports more than 660 shows since forming, per setlist.fm. Charlie Steen told the Mancunion in 2018 about influences including the Stooges, Joy Division and the Pixies, and NME's reviewer heard the Fall. NPR's Bob Boilen wrote that of the 70 bands he saw at that year's SXSW, shame seemed to mean what they played more than any other.