Fiercely independent and gratifyingly genre-less, Biffy Clyro have built up one of the country's most loyal fan bases through a grueling, seemingly non-stop tour schedule that has taken them from the tiniest, most gig-starved outposts of the British Isles (“It's just absolutely crazy up in the north of Scotland,” Simon Neil says. “If you play a gig, everybody comes out to see it and they plan a two-day party around the gig.”) to huge dates with the likes of the Deftones and playing the main stages at Reading, Leeds and T In The Park. They answer to no-one else, sound like no one else, and still rehearse in the same windowless YMCA room they've always used.

Members of the band have never actually disclosed information regarding the matter of where the name Biffy Clyro originates, though there are a number of stories circulating which offer an explanation as to how their name came about. During an interview on Soccer AM the band claimed that they named themselves after former Scottish footballer Biffy Clyro, though they have also spoken of owning a Cliff Richard pen that they dubbed the ‘Cliffy Biro’ which later transformed to Biffy Clyro in a drunken tongue-tied stupor.

The seeds were sown back in the mid-'90s, when school friends Simon Neil and Ben Johnston got their first guitar and drums respectively. Christening themselves Screwfish and bringing Ben's twin brother James in on bass, they soon moved on from covering the music they loved - Guns N' Roses, Soundgarden and Tool all made their impact on the embryonic band - to realising there was a spark of something special happening with their own sound. Their first gig, supporting local heroes Pink Kross at a youth centre, was followed by a move to Glasgow, ostensibly to study audio engineering (Ben and James) and electronics in music (Simon), but in truth it was to avoid getting a job so they could concentrate on the band full-time. Manager Dee Bahl was one of the first people to spot Biffy's potential and offered them a chance to release an independent single on fellow Scottish post-rocker’s Aereogramme’s Babi Yaga label, culminating in the release of their debut single ‘Iname' in 1999. They were then picked up by Glasgow's Electric Honey label for the insightfully titled ‘thekidswhopoptodaywillrocktomorrow' EP.

“When our first single was out we thought we'd made it,” grins the guitarist. “It's just the most exciting feeling in the world, we were actually a proper band then for the first time ever. It was an amazing feeling.” 

By the time they were spotted by Beggars Banquet, in the unsigned bands tent at 2000's T In The Park festival, they had spent night after night wooing crowds with their often heart wrenchingly pretty and emotional, often raging and raucous attack on rock. There could be no doubt about their ambition and drive, something the indie label allowed them to nurture. Their first single for Beggars, ‘27', was promptly awarded Single Of The Week at Kerrang! Not likely to rest on their laurels, they stopped touring just long enough to release their debut album, ‘'Blackened Sky' in 2002. The debut displays the band in their most anthemic and sensitive period, with songs veering from ethereal beauty to raging furor frequently within the space of a bar. It also showcases the earlier conceptions of the quirkier aspects to their sound that would be explored and expanded on in their later work.

A mere year post ‘Blackened Sky’ and the spiky ‘Vertigo Of Bliss' arrived, recorded in a single day, giving it the feel and the electricity of the live shows their rapidly-expanding army of fans devotedly turned out to time after time. “The high points are every time we play a gig and people are singing the words back at us,” says Simon Neil. “It's just so mind-blowing, just because we still practice in the same place we did four or five years ago. There's no windows or anything in it, so when we play our songs it's just the three of us, so it's surreal when we go to venues and people are singing every word. Sometimes the fans know the words better than we do. I'll end up singing the wrong line, and everybody in the crowd's singing the right one. It's so exciting that people love Biffy Clyro as much as me, Ben and James do.”

The band followed the release of their sophomore with a relentless tour before retreating to Monnow Valley Studios in Monmouth, Wales to record their third album. ‘Infinity Land' proved to all that Biffy Clyro's time had finally come, and those who have been under their spell for all this time are surely getting ready to be joined by countless more like-minded souls. It's proof that people don't need to be spoon-fed easy, boring, obvious music. People are hungry for more. For something with heart and brains, aggression and gorgeous melodies to cling onto. ‘Infinity Land’ saw the band move into darker territory in terms of both sound and lyrical content. Simon Neil has stated in various interviews that the title ‘Infinity Land’ is a reference to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer;

“...It was in a Jeffrey Dahmer book, he talks about his ideal place, which is called Infinity Land – his idea of heaven – which is really grim, being surrounded by corpses and shit. You don’t know what it’s about, it could sound hopeful, but when you know what it’s referring to, it becomes quite sinister. In a way, it’s kinda cool that people don’t know what we’re referring to, that people make up their own meanings for things....it could be quite optimistic, but it’s not”.

2006 saw Biffy Clyro leave Beggars Banquet and sign with 14th Floor Records, an offshoot of Warner Bros. In September of the same year the band traveled to Canada to record their fourth album at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver and The Farm Studios in Gibsons. ‘Puzzle’ saw its physical release in June 2007, receiving mass critical acclaim and aiding the band in reaching their highest UK album chart position ever, shooting to number two in its first week of release. ‘Puzzle’ was voted the Best Album of 2007 by Kerrang! And Rock Sound and is noted for its departure from the quirky and sometimes unconventional songs and having a more straightforward mainstream sound.

Support slots for acts such as Muse, The Who, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and The Rolling Stones were significant in expanding Biffy’s fan base. In 2008 Biffy Clyro toured alongside Queens Of The Stone Age on their European and North American tours for era Vulgaris and also opened for New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi during their Lost Highway tour. The band will also be performing at this year’s Leeds and Reading festivals on the main stage. The band have been working on new material lately and recently showcased their new song ‘Mountains’ at Glastonbury in June and are slated to release the track as a single on August 25th, followed by a fifth album in 2009.

December 2008 will see Biffy Clyro play their biggest headlining tour to date, stopping at Manchester Academy on Friday 19th.