George Bedford Daniel is a British drummer and record producer. He came to prominence as a founding member, principal producer, and drummer of the indie art pop band
the 1975.
His songwriting and producing partnership with the 1975's
Matty Healy made him the co-recipient of four
Brit Awards, and two
Ivor Novello Awards including Songwriter of the Year. He has also been co-nominated twice for the
Mercury Prize, and once for the
Grammy Awards.
Life and career
Early life and the 1975
George Bedford Daniel[1] was born in
Brussels, Belgium, and grew up in
Seattle, Washington, U.S., returning to England to settle in
Wilmslow, Cheshire when he was nine.[2] He was first inspired by the airiness of
Fleetwood Mac's works.[3] In 2002, whilst at
Wilmslow High School,[4] he joined
the 1975 as drummer, replacing
Matty Healy,[5] who had been promoted to lead singer, replacing future
Editors keyboardist
Elliott Williams.[6] Having taken
music technology at
GCSE, Daniel left school at sixteen to study
music production at a nearby college; at the time, he and his bandmates were demoing the band, and Daniel would regularly use the studio at college to work on 1975 wares, even going so far as to submit 1975 content as coursework.[3] To keep the band together, Daniel and bandmates Adam Hann and Ross MacDonald went to university in
Manchester, during which time all four members worked as delivery drivers for a Chinese restaurant.[7]
In 2018, after Healy emailed
No Rome inviting him to the UK,[18] he and Daniel produced Rome's third EP, RIP Indo Hisashi,[19] as well as his fourth EP the following year, Crying in the Prettiest Places.[18] In 2020, while at that year's
St Jerome's Laneway Festival, Healy, Daniel, and
Charli XCX worked on No Rome's 2021 single "
Spinning", which was credited to "No Rome feat. Charli XCX & The 1975",[20] and charted at No. 94 on the UK Singles Chart;[21] later that year, Daniel and Burton coproduced Rome's album It's All Smiles.[22] In March 2022, Daniel and
A. G. Cook produced the title track to Charli XCX's album Crash,[23] and later that month Daniel produced its deluxe version tracks "Selfish Girl" and "How Can I Not Know What I Need Right Now".[24] In July 2022, he produced her "Hot Girl", which appeared on the soundtrack for Bodies Bodies Bodies,[25] and the following month he coproduced her and
Leo Birenberg's
Bottoms.[26] In January 2023, they teamed up for a remix of
Caroline Polachek's "
Welcome to My Island",[27] and in October 2023, he coproduced XCX's and
Sam Smith's single "
In the City",[28] which charted at No. 41 on the UK Singles Chart.[21]
In 2021, Healy and Daniel coproduced
Beabadoobee's Our Extended Play,[40] and the following year Daniel coproduced her and
PinkPantheress' "Tinkerbell is Overrated", which
Coupdekat later cited as inspiring her 2023 song "Babyteef",[41] and which later appeared on Beabadoobee's album Beatopia,[42] which charted at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart.[43] In May 2023, he coproduced "Feels Like My Hands Are On Fire" from
Salute's EP Shield,[44] and in August 2023, he released a remix of
Carly Rae Jepsen's "Shadow", an album track from The Loveliest Time, which she had released the previous month.[45] In September 2023 he remixed
Coco & Clair Clair's "The Hills (feat. Deela)",[46] which appeared on the deluxe version of their album Sexy.[47]
Personal life
In May 2016, while on the 1975's I Like It When You Sleep Tour, Daniel broke his shoulder after slipping off their tour bus. He was temporarily replaced by The Japanese House's drummer Freddy Sheed, whom he later congratulated for learning their entire set in less than 24 hours.[48]
In 2021, he was dealing with depression, which, combined with Healy's breakup with
FKA Twigs, prompted the band to hit a wall during the making of the band's fifth studio album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language.[49]
Daniel's relationship with British musician
Charli XCX was made public in May 2022,[50] and they announced their engagement in November 2023.[51]