The Pineapple Thief are an English progressive rock band founded in 1999 by Bruce SoordinYeovil, Somerset. As of June 2024[update], the group consists of Soord on vocals, guitars, and keyboards, Jon Sykes on bass, Steve Kitch on keyboards, and Gavin Harrison on drums. They have released 16 studio albums, 6 EPs, and several live and compilation albums.
Bruce Soord started the musical project Pineapple Thief (named after a dialogue in the movie Eve's Bayou) as an outlet for his music in 1999.[2] The project's debut album, Abducting the Unicorn, was released by Cyclops Records in 1999 and followed in 2002 by 137.
In 2003, Soord released Variations on a Dream and subsequently decided to form a band, adding "The" to its name, to differentiate its initials PT from Porcupine Tree, another English progressive rock band.[2] Its first lineup consisted of Soord on vocals, Jon Sykes on bass, Wayne Higgins on guitar, Matt O'Leary on keyboards, and Keith Harrison on drums. As a full band, they released 12 Stories Down in 2004, re-recorded and remixed as 10 Stories Down a year later. O'Leary subsequently left the band, and Steve Kitch, who co-produced and mixed 10 Stories Down,[citation needed] joined on keyboards.
Following the release of Little Man in 2006, the band published What We Have Sown in late 2007 as a final Cyclops release before being signed to Kscope, a division of Snapper Music. In 2007, the Pineapple Thief's music featured in the third season of the MTV reality series The Hills; the song "Snowdrops" can be heard in episode 28.[3]
The Pineapple Thief playing at Lunario in Mexico City (2019)
In May 2008, the Pineapple Thief helped relaunch the Kscope label with their seventh studio album, Tightly Unwound. They also released a mini-documentary film on their website, featuring interviews and two exclusive live tracks.[4]
This was followed in 2009 by the EPs The Dawn Raids Volume 1 and The Dawn Raids Volume 2 as well as the box set 3000 Days, a 2-CD remixed and remastered collection of songs from their ten-year history to date.
The band's next release, Someone Here Is Missing, came out in 2010.[5] The album features artwork by Storm Thorgerson. It was followed by the download-only album Someone Here Is Live later that year.
The band entered the studio in 2012 to record their ninth full-length record, which included a 22-piece orchestra and choir.[citation needed]
On 8 February 2014, the band announced that Dan Osborne had replaced Keith Harrison on drums.[6]
The Pineapple Thief's tenth studio album, Magnolia, was released on 15 September 2014.
