• 2005-

  Romy Madley CroftGuitar, vocals2005-

  Oliver SimBass, vocals2005-

  Jamie SmithBeats, production2006-

  Baria QureshiKeys, guitar2005-2009
• The xx's two singers, Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim, met in preschool in a London suburb when they were only 3 years old. "They had music classes, and I remember sharing a xylophone in that music class," Sim recalled to NPR.
• Croft and Sim first met the band's producer and beatmaker Jamie Smith at 11, when they started at the Elliott School in Putney, South London. The same educational establishment also spawned Hot Chip, Burial and Four Tet.
• After several years of making music individually, the trio formed the xx in their final school year along with keyboardist Baria Qureshi. In late 2009, Baria Qureshi left the group.
• They won the Mercury Prize for their self-titled first album, which has sold nearly 1.7 million copies worldwide.
• Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft are both gay. Madley Croft told The Guardian about her relationship with British designer (and band stylist) Hannah Marshall:
  
  "When we first got together Hannah was always so much better in social situations than me. I felt so shy. But through being with her I feel so much more at ease. I've noticed that's happened in a different way with me than it has with the boys. And I know it's because I've been with someone."
• Oliver Sim was one of the faces of Dior's spring/summer 2016 campaign along with actor Alain-Fabien Delon, model Victor Nylander, and artist Rinus Van de Velde.
• Jamie Smith and Romy Croft shared a love of skateboarding from the age of 12. Croft told Q Magazine: "It became a consuming passion. We'd go to the Southbank (a place in London where there is a space for skateboarding on the underpass) at eight in the morning."

Comments

More Songfacts:

Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out The Barrel)Will Glahe

In 1939, a polka craze swept America thanks to "Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out The Barrel)."

BloodstreamEd Sheeran

Ed Sheeran's "Bloodstream" was written after an experience taking MDMA during a wedding celebration in Ibiza; it's basically about all the feelings that he got from that time.

Won't Get Fooled AgainThe Who

"Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who is about a revolution, but it doesn't have a happy ending, since in the end the new regime becomes just like the old one. Pete Townshend thought that whoever was in power was destined to become corrupt.

Good TimesChic

The disco song "Good Tmes" by Chic was a huge influence on early rap, providing the bassline for "Rapper's Delight."

Dancing QueenABBA

ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson conceived "Dancing Queen" as a dance song with the working title "Boogaloo," drawing inspiration from the 1974 George McCrae disco hit "Rock Your Baby." Their manager Stig Anderson came up with the title "Dancing Queen."

Uptown FunkMark Ronson

The actress Michelle Pfeiffer gets namechecked in the 2014 megahit "Uptown Funk" ("Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold"). When it was released, "Riptide" by Vance Joy was on the charts; that song also mentions her ("Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen").

Editor's Picks

Intentionally AtrociousSong Writing

A selection of songs made to be terrible - some clearly achieved that goal.

00s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

Do you know the girl singer on Eminem's "Stan"? If so, this quiz is for you.

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary MachineSong Writing

Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)Songwriter Interviews

Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.

Grunge Bands QuizMusic Quiz

If the name Citizen Dick means anything to you, there's a chance you'll get some of these right.

John WaiteSongwriter Interviews

"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.