Bearsuit first came to public attention following their championing by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, and their debut single "Hey Charlie, Hey Chuck" was voted number four in the Peel programme's Festive Fifty of 2001.[2] They recorded four Peel Sessions in 2001 and 2002 and their single "Chargr" was number two in the first Festive Fifty after Peel's death.[2]
After their third album, oh:io, in 2007, the band underwent a line-up change, swapped violins, flutes and horns for synths and guitars, brought in producer Gareth Parton (the Go! Team, Foals, the Breeders) and recorded the more pop-oriented album The Phantom Forest (released in 2011).
First single from the album "Please Don't Take Him Back" was released in October 2010 on the UK label Fortuna Pop!; it was playlisted on BBC6 Music, received airplay on Radio 1 and XFM, and was reviewed in NME, Vice, Artrocker, Clash Magazine, and many more online. A free download single, "A Train Wreck", was released in December 2010 followed by "When Will I Be Queen" in March 2011. The band toured the UK in March and April, followed by a European Tour in July 2011.
As well as touring extensively in the UK, the band toured the US, playing festivals including Latitude, Bestival, The Great Escape and Offset, as well as several abroad including SXSW, Emmaboda (Sweden), Primavera Sound (Spain), Contempopranea (Spain) and CMJ in New York, where they were voted 'Best Breakthrough Act' in a New York Times poll of badge-holders and received positive reviews, including Pitchfork.
Members have also played in the Polyphonic Spree, Cruiser Chimps, Evader, Keytarded, Hyper Kinako, The Bavarian Rocket Group, Velvia, Tell Me How, the Aprons, Mega Emotion, Lady Di, P0VT3R and Invisible Cities.
In 2016
Following a hiatus from 2012, Bearsuit reformed to play at Indietracks festival in 2016,[3] and one of Fortuna POP's 'Twenty Years Of Trouble' farewell concerts in 2017.[4]
