Ben Folds - Ben Folds Five

Ben Folds Five

In 1995, Ben Folds Five released their self-titled debut album. The debut was followed by Whatever and Ever Amen in 1997, and the odds-and-ends compilation Naked Baby Photos was released in early 1998. Whatever and Ever Amen spawned many singles such as "Brick", "Song for the Dumped", and "Battle of Who Could Care Less". In 1999, the band released what was to be their final album for over a decade, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, which included the hit, "Army".

Folds has described his former band as "punk rock for sissies", and his oddball lyrics often contain nuances of melancholy, self conflict, and humorous sarcasm, often punctuated by profanity.

Despite its presence on multiple Billboard genre charts, no Ben Folds Five singles reached the US Hot 100, although they did show well on both adult contemporary and modern rock charts. However they gained a strong following in the United Kingdom and Australia early in their career, and like many other 'alternative' American acts this was largely thanks to consistent support from national broadcasters in those countries, the BBC in Britain and the ABC's Triple J youth radio network in Australia (and ABC-TV's music video show Rage).

The group's first chart breakthrough came in the UK, when "Underground" made the lower reaches of the Top 40, peaking at #37. Britain was the Five's strongest territory in terms of chart success, with five singles making the national Top 40 there – "Underground", "Battle of Who Could Care Less", "Kate", "Brick" and "Army" – although none managed to crack the UK Top 20.

In Australia "Underground" likewise broke the band locally and while it did not make the ARIA chart, it came in at #3 the 1998 Triple J Hottest 100 poll. The 1998 single "Brick" became the group's only major chart placing in Australia, reaching #13; it also came in at #53 in the ARIA Australian Top 100 for that year and earned a Gold Record award while its parent album Whatever and Ever Amen peaked at #9 and charted for 32 weeks.

Folds and his bandmates have moved many albums since 2001. He said, "The songs have been getting a great reaction, it makes me look forward to having a new album out there because it’s been a while. This feels like a really free period in my life and I’m really enjoying it.” Ben Folds Five reunited to perform its first concert appearance in nearly 10 years on September 18, 2008 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Memorial Hall. The one-off gig was part of the MySpace "Front to Back" series, in which artists play an entire album live. The band played its final album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner. The concert aired during October and can be viewed at Nowwhat.com. All proceeds from ticket sales benefited the charity Operation Smile, of which Ben's uncle, Jim Folds, is on the board of directors for the North Carolina Chapter. The band reunited once again in 2011 and subsequently released the album "The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind" and went on tour in 2012.