Noah - Marling's split

Both acts speak on the reason they had to part with each other's projects

04 August 2008 - Noah and the Whale's new single Five Years Time, featuring Mercury nominated Laura Marling is in the shops today (4 Aug).

The single has already been a hit on downloads alone and is currently sitting at no. 10 up from 14 in the top 100 singles chart.

Laura Marling – who’s album was produced by the Noah And The Whale frontman Charlie Fink – also appears in the single’s video.

But she actually called it day with Noah and the Whale when they played a final gig at the Great Escape festival in Brighton in May.

6 Music caught up with both acts to find out about the moment they went their separate ways.

Laura Marling on parting ways

The Reading-based songstress explained: “It was really sad, I almost burst into tears on stage which is the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done.

“It feels like we’ve all gone through it together and now we have to go our separate ways. Oh, it’s so weird.”

But she is predicting great things for singer Charlie Fink – with whom she was romantically involved - and the band.

“They’re gonna do brilliantly, he’s an absolute genius and so are the band. The reason we had a final gig was because we got to just put a stop to it.

“They’ll get someone else, I can’t just come back whenever I can make it and kick someone out of the band,” she said.

"They’re gonna do brilliantly, he’s an absolute genius and so are the band."
Laura Marling

Charlie Fink on making the break

Noah And The Whale’s debut album Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down is out on 11 August and vocalist Fink told 6 Music about Laura’s involvement with the band.

He said: “For the last year, she’s definitely been a member of Noah And The Whale. She sang on the whole album, and she’s toured with us and she’s done as many gigs as the rest of the band - but obviously because she’s got her own project, from now on it’s gonna be difficult to sustain both.”

Laura released her stunning album Alas I Cannot Swim back in February and has been going from strength to strength, with a heap of rave festival reviews and her deserved Mercury nomination.

Producer Fink told 6 Music it's time to go their separate ways and make the break.

“Although we’re both so heavily involved with each other’s projects I do feel really part of what she’s doing now,” he said, “but at the same time I feel we both have to make the projects separate.

“They have to feel independent because I think it’s very dangerous when bands get closely lumped together.”

However, he didn’t rule out future collaborations with his former flame, saying: “We may end up working together again, we might not,” explaining, “I mean, we may end up working together in a few years or something but I’m not sure. We both wanna have that identity of being independent.”

See below for Noah And The Whale’s forthcoming tour dates:

4 Aug: 6pm instore at Banquet Records London
5 Aug: Instore at Rough Trade East, London
8 Aug: Summer Sundae
9 Aug: Field Day Festival (around 1pm)
11 Aug: London Roundhouse - album launch
12 August: Instore signing at Zavvi, Oxford Street (6pm)
16/17 August: V Festival
13 September: End Of The Road Festival
13 September: Zodiac, Oxford
20 October: The Duchess, York
21/October: The Cockpit, Leeds
22 October: Fat Sams, Dundee
24 October: Stereo, Glasgow
25 October: Academy 3, Manchester
27 October: Whelans, Dublin
28 October: The Limelight, Belfast
29 October: MTV Liverpool Music Week @ Bumper, Liverpool
31 October: Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
1 November: Phoenix, Exeter
2 November: Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
3 November: Waterfront, Norwich
4 November: Koko, London
6 November: Concorde 2, Brighton
7 November: Kasbah, Coventry
8 November: Thekla, Bristol
9 November: Junction, Cambridge
10 November: Glee Club, Birmingham
11 November: Leadmill, Sheffield
12 November: The Old Fire Station, Bournemouth

Georgie Rogers