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RMS NEWS
Tuesday, 19th February 2013
THE 100'S BELLAMY BLAKE: “IT'S PRETTY MUCH OVER.”
by Abigail Jacobs
When The 100 first cancelled their Liverpool show three weeks ago, no one could have guessed that that was the first sign. But earlier today, they broke their two-week radio silence and announced their split, with a statement saying that they were 'finished' and that all their future gigs were cancelled, as well as the album that had been planned for the next year. They added that they were doing 'the best thing for all of us' and that 'it's sad, but we thought it was better to end things than to push ourselves too far'. They expressed their thanks for the support they had received over the years and said they were ‘so incredibly grateful for everyone who got us to where we are: we can't express our gratitude and thanks enough.'
Speaking to RMS News, bassist Bellamy Blake said: “It became pretty obvious during the first few days of our European tour that this wasn't going to work any more.”
He added: “I mean, of course it sucks, but I think this is the best thing for the band. We're all on good terms and we're coping OK. But this split is something we all felt we needed.”
“Raven, Miller and Clarke are all incredible musicians and I'm really thankful to have been able to work with them and play music for three years. But this? It's pretty much over.”
There are some obvious glossing-overs of the truth in his statement. No one can deny that he and lead singer Clarke Griffin (assumed to be his ex-girlfriend now, if you’ve somehow missed that one) are most definitely not on speaking terms. It's widely suspected that the reason for the band's breakup is the end of the five-month long relationship between Griffin and Blake. There's hard evidence for this, too: aside from the absence of social media posts with the two of them together, fans are pointing to videos in which Blake tells paparazzi to, “F*ck off, and find someone else to harass,” in response to questions asked about his now-finished relationship with Griffin.
Griffin, on the other hand, has been very quiet in the last few days and has not responded to our request for an interview. Bandmates Raven Reyes and Nathan Miller have also mostly stayed below the radar: however, Reyes responded to our request for an interview with the message: “We're still friends,” and has emphasised the fact that, “This isn't a publicity stunt. Everyone who knows us knows that we're better than that.”
This split marks the end of three years and two albums, numerous awards and a dedicated fan following. Is this definitely the end, though? Blake certainly thinks so.
“I don't want anyone to think that we might get back together,” he said. “This isn’t a break. It’s a split, and it’s going to be forever.”
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LATEST MAGAZINE
Wednesday, 20th February 2013
It’s true: Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake, pop music’s cutest couple, have split
by Melanie Beatty
The split we’ve all been dreading is true. After the social media updates stopped completely, we were all on edge about Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake’s five month long (if we’re speaking in official terms; it’s more like two years if we’re talking about the tension) relationship. But apparently that’s over, and so is the band.
There has been absolutely no warning about this. One minute they were rocking out onstage, Bellamy stealing her microphone, Clarke chasing him around the stage to get it back, and the next, they were over, and The 100 with them.
“Clarke was the one who finally ended it,” were the words of an unnamed source speaking to Today Magazine. “They were dragging each other down because they couldn’t stop fighting, but Clarke was the one to realise that they needed to stop seeing each other, and she was the one who was brave enough to say the words.”
No one seems to know the reason for this breakup, but it can be assumed that it’s because they simply spend too much time together. It’s hard for musicians: if their significant other isn’t in the band, they never see them, but if they are, they’re all they see.
“Bellamy is pretty much heartbroken,” added the source. “He thought she was the girl he was going to marry, but she just threw away their relationship. And the band is finished, too, so right now he has nothing.”
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The Grounded
Friday, 22nd February 2013
THE 100'S RAVEN REYES: “I WOULDN'T BE SO SURE.”
by Finn Collins
So The 100 officially announced their split on Monday in a short statement thanking their fans and showing gratefulness for the support they had been given. The next day, in an interview with RMS News, Bellamy Blake said that it “wasn't going to work any more” and called the band’s split “forever”.
Bellamy Blake may say one thing, but Clarke Griffin and Raven Reyes seem to say another. In this exclusive interview with The Grounded, another side of the story is revealed.
You announced that you were broken up on Monday.
Raven: Yeah, that's right.
Why is that?
Raven: We’re all sort of in a weird place right now and the band isn't functioning in a way that's going to let us work together.
Is that to do with inter-band relations? I mean, we've all heard the rumours.
Raven: I'm not sure what you mean.
Come on, you know. Clarke and Bellamy scooted around each other, then dated and, presumably, broke up.
Raven: I don't really know if that's appropriate -
Clarke: No, it's fine. Um, yeah. We've broken up now, and we both need some space. So obviously that means the band isn't going to work with both of us in it, and Raven and Miller didn't want to kick anyone out.
Do you ever think you could get back together?
Clarke: What, me and Bellamy?
You and Bellamy, yes, but also the band.
Clarke: I don't know. I don't really want to think about getting back together; the relationship's over and I think it should stay like that.
How about the band? Let's say that we wait a few months or years and you two are okay again. Would you consider reforming the band?
Clarke: I don't know about that, either. I guess we'd have to have really moved on.
So you're saying you're not going to be performing or writing or doing anything in music ever again, both as individuals and as a band?
Clarke: We've split and things aren’t looking good. As for solo stuff - I think we all work better together, because I've always imagined being in a band and not as a solo artist. Something about having other people to share everything with felt more right to me. I can't write good songs by myself, because I'm constantly in need other opinions and, you know, I can't even play drums. Or guitar, really.
Raven: I'm a drummer, so there's no way I'm embarking on a solo career. We haven't split because we're having an ego struggle, or anything. I think we all belong in a band. But I mean, yeah, right now, we can't work together.
“Right now”? Do you mean getting back together isn't totally out of the question?
Raven: I mean, a lot of bands call it quits and then get back together again once they've had a breather and found themselves as individuals again. All I'm saying is I wouldn't be so sure.
Finally: do you have any regrets about the way you did things?
Raven: Not at all. When I look back, I see two albums that I'm really proud of. I mean, when it comes to it, we were incredibly lucky to even get the EPs out at the very beginning, because so many talented bands never even get a record deal. And that's something that I'll always be incredibly thankful for: the opportunity to get to write and play music with my three favourite people in the world. We were really young when we started out and even now, Bellamy, who's the oldest, is only twenty-four. And it takes a lot for someone to look at a bunch of totally inexperienced teenagers and think, “Yeah, they could be alright,” and then, to continually trust them, even when they messed up more times than they did stuff right. So that's something that I'll always be thankful for.
Clarke: When I was younger, I'd lie in bed and look up at the ceiling and dream about singing my songs in front of thousands of people, with my bandmates around me. And I'm so incredibly thankful that I was able to have this opportunity to write music and perform it, because that's all I've ever really wanted.
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ALL THE GOSSIP
Tuesday, 11th June 2013
ARE THE 100 BACK TOGETHER?
by Jasper Jordan
Raven Reyes, ex-drummer of band The 100, celebrated her twenty-third birthday this week. Naturally, photos of this big celebration appeared online, and using a bit of detective work, there's an interesting suggestion to be made.
Mainly: what the hell are exes Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin doing in the same place together?
Now, I'm not saying that The 100 are back together: it's only been a few months after they announced that they were “pretty much over”. But surely if they're all at a party together, it means something?
I know that hanging out doesn't constitute them getting back together. Also, they said several times that they were “still friends” and that there was no bad blood between them. And whilst that definitely applies to Raven Reyes and Nathan Miller's relationships with their ex-bandmates (for example, only last week, Clarke was spotted out shopping with Raven, and Miller regularly spends time with Clarke, Raven and Bellamy, judging from snaps on his social media accounts), the same cannot be said for whatever's going on between Bellamy and Clarke, after their confusing, ambiguous break up, which lead to the splitting up of the band.
But now they're at the same party together. Surely that means that they're at least on the kind of terms where you can stand to be in the same room as the person? And do you remember how they said that the reason for why The 100 split was because of tensions between Clarke and Bellamy after their breakup?
Let's not assume anything too quickly: it's early days yet, and they still have plenty of time. Keep your feels on hold, ladies and gentlemen. But this encounter clearly shows that there’s hope, and Bellarke can be resurrected.
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The Studio
Monday, 25th November 2013
Have you heard 'Forgiveness' by The 100's former lead singer, Clarke Griffin?
by Wells Jaha
It's been ten months since the band which Clarke Griffin was lead singer of, The 100, split, owing to tensions leading up to and after the breakup between Griffin and bassist Bellamy Blake. But it seems that things are looking up for Griffin, after last week she posted to YouTube an original song that she states at the beginning, “I wrote, alone.”
The song is called 'Forgiveness'. It's a simple video: just a girl, a piano, and her voice. But in classic The 100 style, the lyrics pierce right to the heart of the song, and with lines like: 'You know we'd fall so easily back/Fall so easily back together' and 'Isn't ten months enough time to think/Tell me you're not thinking about me’, it's easy to look deeper into them and suggest that for what it's worth, Clarke Griffin is not over Bellamy Blake.
Griffin accepted our request for an interview, in which she discusses 'Forgiveness', Bellamy Blake and whether there's any future for The 100.
Tell us a bit about when and why you wrote ‘Forgiveness’.
I think, as with all the other songs I’ve written, I just had something I needed to say. I wrote it down for the first time a few months ago, but it was just a fragment of a verse. Last week I finished it properly and I decided to post it to YouTube because it's free, and stuff on the internet spreads crazy fast. I needed to get what I had to say out there, because, well, it's pretty self-explanatory if you listen to the song.
What was different about writing alone?
It takes much longer, because there was no one to drag me out of my bed and force me to go to a writing session. I had a lot of trouble with getting down the right lyrics, because usually one of us would start with them and Miller, who's the poet, would scrap about half and refine the rest. But it's a bit too concentrated in its meaning to really be a song The 100 would write. ‘Forgiveness’ was something I had to write by myself, and a message I needed to send out by myself.
So what kind of message were you intending to send out?
The song's about someone who's found themselves really missing something that they used to have, and the forgiveness aspect is: whatever's happened in the past, they're okay with it now. And they've learnt to accept what happened. The lyric: 'Ignore yourself and listen to me/Come back, this is something we both need' sort of sounds like a plea, but really the song is about forgiveness and letting go. And I think sometimes you have to let go of something to give it the chance to come back to you.
What kind of response have you received from the intended audience?
That’s well phrased! Nothing yet, but I’ll keep you posted. Or I guess OK Magazine will.
So does this mean that it’s possible The 100 could be making a comeback? I mean, it's widely accepted that the reason why you guys disbanded was because of tensions between you and Bellamy, but that's apparently now cooled down enough for you to write a song about it.
I don't know what he's thinking, to be honest. We haven't properly spoken to each other in a long time. But now that I'm OK with things, I think that's a definite possibility. I still talk to and hang out with Raven and Miller, so I might give them a call.
So, to conclude: Clarke Griffin is officially okay again, and we're all entertaining the very strong possibility of The 100 getting back together. Until then, stay tuned.
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The Ark
Saturday, 14th December 2013
THE 100 ARE BACK
by Monty Green
It's true; we're not making it up to get more readers. Their sudden split earlier this year, attributed to the long, overdrawn breakup between lead singer Clarke Griffin and bassist Bellamy Blake, was a huge shock to everyone, but it appears that the pair has reconciled and The 100 are making music again.
Of course, there were those who, at the time, refused to give up hope that The 100 had indeed called it quits, but when nine months had passed and even the theory that they'd taken a temporary break because Griffin was pregnant with Blake's baby proved itself false, it seemed that they would never appear onstage together again.
This was all to change. After Griffin's song 'Forgiveness' appeared on YouTube and unleashed the Internet equivalent of a small hurricane, something must have been sparked. On Friday, Griffin posted to her long-neglected Instagram account a photo of her at a party with her ex-bandmate, Nathan Miller. This would be evidence enough had not she and Miller retained a close friendship despite the end of their musical partnership. But confirmation arrived in the form of Bellamy Blake's younger sister, Octavia Blake, because later that night, the younger Blake posted to social media three photos of her (presumably) at the same party. And in the corner of the background of one, was Clarke Griffin, standing opposite and talking to her ex-boyfriend, Bellamy Blake.
The internet went insane. And whilst Hello Magazine and Perez Hilton managed to focus their efforts on the renaissance of the premise of 'Bellarke babies', this small music blog was more interested in the new musical prospects this would bring.
But it didn't stop there. This morning, the notoriously outspoken former drummer of the band, Raven Reyes, took to Twitter for the big reveal. Posting on The 100's account for the first time in months, she wrote:
'jesus. just bc they're talking doesn't mean they're fucking. -r'
Then:
'you should've seen them at clarke's recording sesh on thursday. bellamy was full-on staring. miller almost threw up.'
And lastly:
'and if you want to see more awkward interactions, come to our gigs next month!'
Following another internet storm that resulted in Twitter crashing not once, but twice, Marcus Kane, The 100's producer and regular co-writer, tweeted:
'It's a bit early to start talking about the eye colour of Clarke and Bellamy's offspring, but I can confirm one thing: we're back in the studio.'
So there you have it. The 100 are back and writing music, there's sexual tension between Griffin and Blake again, and the fangirls are screaming once more. The re-entrance of this frankly refreshing talent into music is sure to spice up the charts and the O2 arena. I'd book your tickets quick, though; teenage girls are scarily fast.
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Interview with The Dropship FM
Monday, 16th December 2013
Interviewer: Echo Teles
Echo: Thank you guys so much for coming in! I know you're really busy at the moment, what with your album and all the media attention.
Bellamy: No, it's nice to be here. We like talking about ourselves.
Echo: So, let's get right to it. Tell us why you guys got back together.
Clarke: It felt pretty lonely without everyone. We all work better and write music better together and songwriting isn't something that you can just let go of. I would wake up in the middle of the night and I would have this fantastic riff in my head and automatically I would think, “OK, record it on your phone, and then show it to everyone tomorrow.” I know I did 'Forgiveness' and that was really great, because I was getting back into it, but it wasn't the same. And I just thought, “Why the hell shouldn’t we get back together?” So I called Raven and said, “Screw it, let's start again,” and then by that afternoon we were sat in my apartment and everyone had at least ten bits of melody or something on their phone or down on paper.
Bellamy: It felt really natural and god, I missed it so much. And the problems that lead to us taking a break weren't there any more, so it was totally fine.
Echo: Can I ask what those problems were?
Bellamy: Um, well, you probably know that Clarke and I were in a relationship in the few months leading up to the split. And that didn’t end great –
Clarke: It ended terribly. We both became massive douches. But Bell especially.
Bellamy: Thanks, princess.
Echo: At the time, did you think that that was it for the band?
Clarke: I think when I was in the place that I was in it was very hard to look into the future because there was so much going on with right now. I was so confused and overwhelmed with everything that was happening that the band was pretty much my last concern. But after a while I really started to miss music. Obviously, by then, I was OK again, and we could start over.
Bellamy: I had zero faith. I genuinely thought that that was it, and then I started thinking about all the ‘what ifs’ whilst trying to convince myself that hey, maybe it wasn't all over. I tried to get into music in other ways, too; I thought about forming a new band and maybe going into producing or something, but it just wasn't the same.
Raven: I knew that it wasn't it and that these two idiots would sort themselves out.
Echo: Oh, so are you two together again?
Clarke: Oh, f*ck no. That would be too messy.
Bellamy: She's charming, isn't she?
Echo: And you've rescheduled the album. Can you tell us a bit more about it? When it's out, what's going to be in it?
Bellamy: It's out, what -
Clarke: Fall 2015.
Bellamy: Yeah. Marketing was like, spring is too early and, you know, it's not gonna be a very summery album; most of it's pretty reflective and sort of, I don't know, quite raw in some places.
Echo: Can you expand on the general feel of the album?
Bellamy: It's just quite … personal. But also universal in its themes and emotions.
Raven: What Bellamy means to say is it's a sort of a heartbreak album. But it's also about putting yourself back together, which I think a lot of heartbreak albums don’t emphasise; of course you're not OK when it's happening, but slowly you begin to realise that it does in fact get better. So, that feeling of 'it will get better' is something we really wanted to include. I mean, if it hadn't got better, we wouldn't be sitting here writing this album. And I think songwriting in itself is more than just a way to express your emotions; it also helps you accept what happened and ultimately to move on.
Echo: So this process is something you've all gone through?
Bellamy: Yeah, otherwise we wouldn't be writing songs about it.
Miller: Heartbreak's a rite of passage for songwriters.
Echo: About the internet. I know that rumours spread like wildfire and a lot of the time there's stuff floating around that just isn't true. Is there anything that any of you want to clear up?
Clarke: I'm not pregnant with Bellamy's kid.
Raven: I have never had sex with anyone in this room. Bellamy, sit down, stop leaving the room, you d*ck.
Echo: OK, guys, one last question, because we're running out of time. Clarke, Bellamy: any comments on that picture from the party on Friday?
Raven: Jesus, it's always about these two, and never me or Miller.
Bellamy: Uh, not really. I mean, we were just talking. I wasn't even drunk, so we didn't even awkwardly hug.
Clarke: It was cold, so that was really inconsiderate of him. I was freezing. And I hinted, like, ten times that I wanted his jacket, but he ignored me.
Bellamy: You heard it here first, ladies. Don't date me; I'll never give you my jacket.
Echo: Thanks so much guys, again, for coming here.
Clarke: No, it means that I don't have to go through another writing session with this one until this afternoon. And, you know, it was fun.
Echo: So, good luck with the album; I'm sure it's going to be great. And maybe a tour before its release?
Raven: If we can persuade Bellamy to leave his sister alone, sure.
Echo: Good luck with that. The 100, everybody!
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Interview with The MT UK
Wednesday 12th February, 2014
Interviewer: Harper Reist
Harper: Hi, guys, thanks for coming in.
Bellamy: Oh, not at all, it's a pleasure to be here.
Harper: So how are you? Resting a bit; no gigs or anything just quite yet.
Bellamy: Yeah, the ‘we’re back’ shows finished last week. We're good; we're recording some of the vocals to one of the songs we all wrote together this afternoon, so I'm excited.
Raven: Bellamy's only excited because there's this bit where he gets to go all high and Jeff Buckley. At first we were like, “no f*cking way,” - oh, I'm sorry, can I swear in this?
Harper: Yeah, sure, they'll bleep it anyway.
Raven: Great. But then he got us all coffee for like a week. Clarke was the first one to cave in.
Bellamy: My bit is the best bit of the song.
Harper: So, how's the album coming on? Is everything written?
Bellamy: We're in the middle stage. We've got about ten songs written down, but we haven't really chosen which ones we'll put on the album yet. And we've got a few audio files on Clarke's phone from when, in the middle of the night, stuff just hit us.
Clarke: We split for ten months and you don't stop writing just because your band broke up. We've all got little pieces of songs that we wrote by ourselves that we haven't touched yet. But I guess we can always just get the album out and leak the ones that didn't make it. Or stuff them on the exclusive extended South Atlantic Ocean version.
Raven: Clarke thinks she's hilarious. She's not.
Harper: Do we have anything on the album title? Any singles, maybe?
Bellamy: We don't want to spill the album title just yet, but there's a single that's definitely going on. It's called 'Surrounded' and it's about fame. Obviously being famous is something that we knew would happen if we got successful, but being famous somehow means that you can't be treated as a human being. There were a lot of incidents that sort of inspired the song, but an example would be, I don’t know, when Clarke was photographed a couple of weeks ago, out buying groceries, and all these so-called news outlets were like, “Clarke Griffin’s Cleavage Is On Full Show,” and, “Nice tactic, but your face still looks tired.” And if she had spent three hours on her hair and makeup, they would be tearing her apart for being 'unnatural' and 'making an effort for no reason'. It's such a ridiculous line to walk.
Clarke: Obviously, I have a thicker skin now, than when I started out, but I'm not going to lie and say that being criticised for looking too nice one day and then being attacked for not making an effort the next doesn't make me really, really mad. And there's sexism in the industry, too: I mean, when we started out, everyone wanted the magazine covers to be just me, because, you know, blonde, female lead singer. And at award shows the people ask me and Raven who designed the dresses we're wearing and Bellamy and Miller about our music. Stuff like that.
Raven: Bellamy spends longer than all of us combined picking out his outfit, you know. He used to do photography, so he talks about his 'eye for colour' a lot.
Harper: Are there any other particular incidents you guys want to share?
Miller: Someone asked Raven how she achieved the 'natural' look last week and what foundation or something she was using. She screamed at them. I think they're still recovering.
Clarke: If we're gonna go all out with the calling-out-the-media-and-society-on-their-sh*t thing, can we get the camera in on my face? Like, weirdly close up? OK, look at this. This is a pimple. Pimples are normal. I have pimples. Everyone: it is OK to have pimples.
Harper: Oh, god, I agree. If I'm not wearing makeup, everyone asks me if I'm tired. But lastly, because we're running out of time: it's Valentine's Day this Friday. Does anyone have any plans?
Clarke: Raven does.
Raven: Clarke thinks she can embarrass me, but I know she respects people's privacy way too much to reveal anything.
Bellamy: His initials are KW.
Raven: Thanks a f*cking lot, Bellamy.
Clarke: Bell, that's really unfair if the poor guy wanted to keep it a secret.
Miller: Not everyone is as noble as you, Clarke.
Harper: How about you guys? Miller, Clarke, Bellamy?
Bellamy: Clarke and I are chaperoning my sister and her boyfriend.
Clarke: We are not chaperoning them. Bellamy's being a d*ck and I felt sorry for Octavia, so I said we'd drive them to wherever they're going. It's a 5 mile hike or something, so I was like, “Nope, I'm going to sit at home and watch Pride and Prejudice.” But he's going with them, because he's an overprotective jackass.
Bellamy: I'm not going on the hike with them. Jesus. I don't want to die.
Harper: Well, that's all we've got time for today. Thanks so much for coming in, guys. I'm looking forward to the album: out this autumn, it's going to be amazing. The 100!
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TODAY MAGAZINE
Saturday, 15th February 2014
Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake spend Valentine's Day the right way
by Sienne Peterson
It's been about a year since their breakup lead to The 100 splitting, but following their reconciliation last December, it seems Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin are spending a lot of time together, after social media posts by both Clarke and Bellamy suggest that the pair are once again treading the line between friendship and something more.
There's no doubt that they're good friends. And we know it was months ago, but 'Forgiveness' was a straight-up confession of 'I'm still in love with you'. It's not just one sided, either: Bellamy has defended Clarke numerous times in interviews against critics and he still looks at her the same way he used to. Also, Clarke never fails to tease Bellamy, whether it is about his “overprotective big brother syndrome” or his “disgusting coffee breath”. But what else is going on between these two?
Posting to Instagram, Clarke captioned her selfie with bandmate Bellamy: 'pizza and Orphan Black with this one because all my other friends have ditched me'.
It appears not all of her friends had ditched her: a mysterious other man, who has been Clarke's best friend since childhood, called and she spent twenty minutes on the phone with him, according to the caption of a pouty selfie from Bellamy. Is that jealousy hiding behind that adorable face?
Things have been getting cosy between the pair ever since Bellamy's younger sister posted that snap in December. Judging from recent social media updates, including countless photos being uploaded, there is something going on between the will-they-or-won't-they bandmates.
A source told us that things have been getting “heated” between the two of them and that “Bellamy looks at her like she’s the sun.”
A tour is anticipated to be announced sometime this year, with fans getting to witness their undeniable chemistry on stage.
“But for now,” said the source, “they want to take it slow.”
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CELEB WEEKLY
Saturday, 8th March 2014
The 100 members celebrate bassist Bellamy's birthday in style
by Roma Reid
Thursday was the 26th birthday of The 100's bassist and occasional vocalist Bellamy Blake. According to snaps on social media, his bandmates and sister threw him a surprise party which included several Guitar Hero and Call of Duty tournaments.
'I have the best friends in the world' posted Bellamy to Twitter and adding a photo of himself pictured with everyone in the room.
His sister, Octavia Blake, posted a photo with herself and drummer Raven Reyes and a video of both Raven and lead singer Clarke Griffin kissing Bellamy's cheeks. The video shows Bellamy crinkling his eyes and sticking out his tongue in disgust before pushing them away and swatting Clarke's face. We'd like to know what happens next!
The pair, popularly known as 'Bellarke', have refused to confirm their relationship, yet constantly act loved up. They also regularly deny in interviews that they are involved. Is it a marketing ploy, or is there something really there? Who knows. What we do know, however, is that they'd have the cutest children. #bellarkebabies
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GOSSIP MAIL
Wednesday, 25th June 2014
Are they or aren't they? Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake seen out for cosy coffee date
by Katie Monroe
They're rumoured to have rekindled their romance and this intimate coffee date definitely suggests that.
In what appeared to be a break from songwriting, the stunning blonde and her equally gorgeous bandmate took an afternoon off to have some coffee and to chat.
The 23-year-old lead singer was seen talking to and laughing with the 26-year-old bassist as they chatted casually over coffee.
Clarke's wavy blonde hair was pulled back lightly into a messy bun and she wore a classy black-and-white striped blouse with casual high-waisted shorts. She added a pair of sunglasses and soft leather boots to complete her look.
Bellamy, rejecting the 'man bun' trend, let his curly locks hang loose as he donned a dark hoodie over a white shirt and light blue jeans. He, too, added sunglasses propped on top of his head.
A source said: “They don't want to rush into it because it didn't work out so well the last time. But they definitely still really like each other and want to keep hanging out.”
Well, it certainly seemed that way as Bellamy leaned forward to lick Clarke's nose and Clarke responded by sticking out her tongue.
“It was really cute,” an onlooker commented. “She was scrunching up her face but you could tell she really wanted him to kiss her.”
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Interview with The MT UK
Thursday, 21st August 2014
Interviewer: Taylor Morley
Taylor: So, welcome back, guys. Are Raven and Miller OK?
Bellamy: Thanks, we're glad to be back. And yeah, they are: Raven is ill and Miller was like, “If no one stays behind she'll trash the hotel room and since I never speak in those things you two can go.” So, yeah.
Taylor: I hear the album's coming out September 4th?
Clarke: Yeah. I was talking to one of my friends and she was saying how school in the UK began on the 4th of September, at least for her little brother, and so I was like, OK, our label gave us a leeway, let's make this day less terrible for them. So that's why it's out then.
Taylor: And the tour kicks off the next day?
Bellamy: That's right. It's going to last for ten months or so, because now that we've written another album all we really want to do is start performing again. We're starting it in Boston, because that's where we played our first gig ever and obviously that's a very important place to us. Then we're going to go to loads of crazy places: Tokyo is on the list, which is amazing. And we've got Cologne, which is fantastic because I love Germany -
Clarke: Bellamy can speak German, because he's better than all of us.
Bellamy: Yeah, I went there for like three months after I finished college because I was like, “Right, classics degree. What the hell do I do now? I know, I'll go to Germany.” I'm not fluent, though.
Taylor: Can you say something? In German, I mean.
Clarke: Yeah, say something! I won't understand it anyway.
Bellamy: OK, OK. Um. Ich liebe das Mädchen neben mir sitzt.
Clarke: That was great. I didn't understand any of it, but it was great.
Taylor: I took German for A-level, you know. So I'm semi-fluent.
Bellamy: Jesus.
Taylor: Nah, I'm not. I just said that to see if you'd reveal anything.
Clarke: Aw, our Bellamy's gone all red!
Taylor: Anyway. The new single's coming out on Tuesday, right?
Bellamy: Yeah. It's called 'This Is The Way Home'.
Clarke: Bellamy wrote the chorus some time last year, and I was scrolling through his phone, and I clicked on the audio file, and it was just a guitar and his voice and nothing like the upbeat synth mix it is in the album or as a single, but I thought it was really fantastic. And eventually he gave in, so now it’s our first single. We also recorded it acoustic, so that version going to be in the exclusive extended South Atlantic Ocean edition.
Taylor: Is that a thing?
Clarke: The exclusive extended South Atlantic Ocean version? Oh, yeah, definitely. At first our manager was like, “Are you insane, no one who lives in the South Atlantic Ocean owns a CD player,” but Raven argued that it showed we were funny and original and Miller was like, “We're doing it.” So it's happening. And you can download it off Google Play, because I don't think Google Play gets enough credit.
Taylor: So if you're going to chip out a few extra dollars, that's the edition to buy?
Bellamy: Well, they've all got their special bits. I'd say buy them all. Some have acoustics, some have Miller improvising; in the UK edition, something really special happens that's not so easy to find.
Clarke: He's wrong. The best one is the exclusive extended South Atlantic Ocean edition. Buy that one.
Taylor: This has been really fun, guys. One more question before we wrap up, and it's the question on everyone's lips; are you two dating?
Clarke: Us two? God, no. Actually, Bellamy had a date last week. He was gelling his hair and everything and it ended up in this weird, gooey mess on his head. It was awful.
Taylor: Oh, OK. Well, thanks, guys. This has been really fun. I look forward to the album, and good luck for the tour! Clarke and Bellamy from The 100, everyone!
-
Interview with Sunset FM
Tuesday, 14th October 2014
Interviewer: Maya Vie
Maya: So, I guess it's just us today.
Bellamy: Yeah, we're just so busy right now because of the tour and we've got a hell of a load of interviews, so you just get me and Miller.
Maya: How's the tour going? How are you finding Australia?
Bellamy: Oh, it's great. I love Australia. I should probably come live here when I'm sixty-four and the death metal ruins my ears.
Miller: Vegemite tastes like shit, though.
Maya: Oh, my god, you think so too? I thought I was the only one, because everyone I have ever met in my life adores it. But I think it just tastes like cardboard, and sad memories of unlucky discoveries.
Bellamy: I feel left out of this Vegemite-hating group.
Miller: F*ck off, Bellamy.
Maya: You've got a show tomorrow night in Melbourne, is that right?
Bellamy: Yeah. I've never played in Melbourne before, so it's exciting. Kylie was born there, I think. That's what Clarke said. Clarke loves her.
Maya: She is amazing. I'm currently resisting the urge to break out into song.
Miller: Bellamy lied. He's the one who loves Kylie, not Clarke.
Maya: Everyone loves Kylie, there's nothing to be ashamed about. And then you've got Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and finally Sydney. You've done concerts at Sydney and Brisbane before, right?
Bellamy: Yeah, Sydney and Brisbane were amazing.
Maya: Which do you like more?
Bellamy: I don't know. They're both fantastic. I think Sydney is more chilled, and Brisbane is just crazy.
Maya: I think I was at your Brisbane concert last year, actually. It was incredible. You and Clarke dueted 'Almost' and I swear to god, my eardrums burst that night. Maybe 70% of the room was teenage girls and I can't remember what you did to make them scream even higher than humanly possible, but it was something.
Bellamy: The feeling of standing on stage and playing your songs, and hearing other people sing your songs back to you is probably the best feeling in the world.
Maya: Was performing something you really missed when you were on hiatus?
Bellamy: Oh, god, yes.
Miller: It was air guitar all the time. And Bellamy doesn't even play guitar, he plays bass, so it was made up chords. My heart broke watching him.
Bellamy: I can play ten chords on guitar. C7 is not one of them.
Maya: One last question. I know everyone says it every time, but I think they'll pay me more if I ask it. Are you and Clarke dating?
Miller: I'm gay, so. No.
Maya: I meant Bellamy and Clarke, and you knew that.
Bellamy: Uh, no. We're not. Clarke and I dated before and it ended really badly. So no, we're just friends.
Maya: I'm really sorry if I've offended you or anything.
Bellamy: No, it's fine. You asked nicely.
Maya: Well, that draws out interview to a close. Next up, The 100's 'Surrounded'. Bellamy and Miller of The 100, everybody! Don't go anywhere.
-
JUSTMUSICNEWS
Friday, 30th January 2015
OMG! THE 100'S BELLARKE IS TOGETHER AGAIN
by Eliza Roberts
And all is right with the world.
During a live show on Thursday, Bellamy Blake tried to kiss Clarke Griffin. We're not lying. You can watch it for yourself in this video, taken by a screaming teenage girl.
I know, right? So adorable! But that isn't all: they've been acting like that for months now, so Bellamy standing in front of Clarke and trying to twist his neck around so his mouth met hers without falling offstage isn't anything new.
After the show, fans crowded outside the premises to try and greet the band and take some photos. Fifteen minutes later, The 100 showed up, Clarke talking with drummer Raven and Bellamy laughing at something on Miller's phone. So they were taking photos and autographing shirts, as usual, when one fan asked Clarke who she would, “Kill, f*ck and marry,” out of her bandmates. She laughed and responded: “I'd marry Miller, because he can cook the best out of all of us. Um – hang on, I'm getting to you! – hmm. OK, I'd make all your slightly weird dreams come true and have sex with Raven, because if I tried to kill her I think she'd kill me and, well, I guess Bell's dead now. Sorry, Bell.”
The fan responded: “No, only the creeps want you and Raven together; the real dream is you and Bellamy dating again.”
Clarke didn't reply to that for a few seconds, because she was in the middle of taking a selfie with a fan, but moments later, she said: “Oh. Well, sometimes dreams come true.”
Tell me that doesn't mean they're dating. Tell me! I dare you.
You can watch a video of this glorious interaction below.
-
The Grounded
Sunday, 19th April 2015
The 100: “We don't really know what we're doing, but somehow we're on the right road.”
by Genevieve Fox
I'm supposed to be meeting The 100 in an apartment in San Diego: specifically, the apartment of bassist and backing vocalist Bellamy Blake's younger sister, Octavia. Octavia Blake is also the one who opens the door for me when I arrive ten minutes late, but apparently The 100 don't stick to schedule either: lead singer Clarke Griffin is currently napping on the couch; Bellamy Blake is playing with her hair whilst reading a book about four inches thick and sporting black, square, hipster glasses; drummer Raven Reyes is channel surfing and eating plain nachos, and lead guitarist Nathan Miller is playing Spider Solitaire on his phone, or texting someone (it appears he is doing both simultaneously). They look like a bunch of bored, tired teenagers, with the exception of the older Blake, who is engrossed in the rise and fall of the Roman Empire – nothing like the frankly international phenomenon that they've become over the last two years.
They stand up when I introduce myself – even Griffin, who wakes the second Blake's fingers leave her hair. “Sorry,” she says, and she genuinely sounds sorry. “I'm still jet lagged after, like, a week.”
They've flown to San Diego for a two-week break from touring, because Blake insisted on visiting his sister, whom, judging from the grimace she gives him when he ruffles her hair, he shares a close relationship with.
“How are you?” asks Blake (Bellamy, this is; Octavia has just left the apartment to go on a spontaneous hike). I respond with, “I'm good, thanks. And you?” True to the image, Bellamy Blake has the most attentive manners out of anyone I have ever met. “Yeah, I'm fine. Your journey was OK, right? I'm sorry this apartment is so far away from humanity; I keep telling Octavia she needs to move somewhere where there are shops less than half an hour away, but she won't listen, as usual.”
It's when Griffin says, “Bell, she's here to interview us, stop bombarding her with questions,” and he responds with, “I'm just being hospitable,” that I think I understand, finally, why the media are so obsessed with their are-we-or-aren't-we thing they have going on. He absent-mindedly presses a kiss to her forehead before leaving to get us coffee and orange juice, and I look around to see if this is something out of the ordinary. Apparently not: Miller is still engrossed in Spider Solitaire, Reyes has turned off the TV and is waiting for orange juice and Griffin is looking at Blake as he disappears into the kitchen
“He's always like this,” she says, with a bright, wide smile on her face. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Raven Reyes, the drummer, rolling hers and Nathan Miller, the lead guitarist, is definitely snorting, but I smile back in response.
The story of how The 100 met is ridiculous; so ridiculous, in fact, that there's no chance that they made it up. Griffin and Reyes first met when they discovered they had the same cheating boyfriend at a small gig Griffin was performing. Reyes describes this as, “Fucking awful, but he's still playing crappy bass in his garage, so that makes it easier not to kill him.” Blake and Miller met in a youth detention centre when Blake was seventeen and Miller fifteen: Blake was in for multiple accounts of beating up “anyone who attacked Mom,” and Miller had been caught illegally smoking for the third time. It's a testament to just how much they really mean they won't omit any of the truth about their pasts when they tell me this, and I admire them for it. Then I ask them how these two halves of The 100 met and the look on their faces is more reluctant, and for a second I start imagining group homicide or a drug smuggling business.
“I was going to hook up with Bellamy,” says Reyes suddenly. “I was pretty hung up on the whole cheating thing, so I thought: fuck this, I'm going to get over him. Bellamy's phone rang outside the club and his ringtone was this cover of 'Friday I'm In Love', you know, by The Cure, and it was a really f*cking amazing cover. So I asked him who this band was and he showed me his YouTube channel, with these covers he did with his sister and Miller but how they needed a drummer and I was like, “What d*ckhead puts his own cover as his ringtone?” But also, “This is f*cking perfect.” Octavia didn't want to be in it, though: she just did the covers for fun and she was starting college soon, so we needed a lead singer.”
“They were doing a gig in this weird bar that I liked to go to with my dad and I remember looking at the drummer and being like, damn, she's hot – wait, sh*t, she's the girlfriend,” adds Clarke. “And she came up to me after their show and said, “Do you want to be our stand-in lead singer? I remember you were really good.” And we scheduled a practice for Friday, because, you know, the song.”
“Bellamy wanted to schedule it for Thursday because he's a pessimist,” adds Reyes. “That's a reference to the nursery rhyme.”
I ask them what the first practice was like. “God, I hated him,” says Griffin, laughing and getting her hair in Bellamy's mouth in the process. “I was like, who is this asshole bassist who thinks he knows how to sing? F*ck you, this bit stripped is back and the vocals need to reflect that.”
Blake smiles, too. “And I was like, who the f*ck is this highborn princess coming in here and ordering around a band she isn't even in yet? Then she insulted the bass, so we spent all of that practice, and the next, and the next arguing. I would've quit, but Miller was like, “If you do, you'll regret it, you d*ck.” So then I tried to make it into a competition of who would be the first to give in, and I ended up staying in the process.”
It took Griffin and Blake two months for them to sort out their differences and another one for Griffin to officially join the band. Five months later, the demo tapes they had sent around were finally recognised.
“It was so weird,” says Griffin, on how they asked her to officially join the band. “Miller sent a really cryptic text: 'skip dinner and meet us at Bellamy's apartment at four' and I thought they were breaking up with me. I arrived, and there were two sad, deflated balloons in the corner of the room and a 'happy birthday' banner that had fallen onto the floor. There was a cake in the middle of the room, too – Victoria sponge, which apparently Bellamy had made. To this day I have no idea how he knew I liked Victoria sponge.”
“I thought all princesses ate posh cakes,” says Blake. “And I was right.”
“Anyway,” says Griffin. “So apparently it was the band's birthday, not mine, and they had decided to call themselves The 100 because it was the 100th day after Bell first yelled at me for calling the bass 'unimportant'. I tried to argue, because I really wanted to be The Griffinators, but Miller glared at me, so I shut up.”
But now, a little more than two years after their split, and almost one and a half years after their reconciliation, they're bigger than ever. The 100's music has developed from the popular alternative stuff to alternative stuff that climbs up the charts and wins them BRIT Awards and Grammy nominations. Of course, with the kind of success, attractiveness and drama The 100 have, comes overbearing media attention, which they address openly in the singles 'Surrounded' and 'Talk'. They've earned a reputation for always speaking their minds and not being afraid to criticise anyone.
Naturally, that makes their publicist's life very hard, but when I ask them about it, Reyes replies, “I don't want to stay quiet and lie about stuff because it helps the band's image. I don't believe in the idea of an image: it's a construction. Not that I'm picking fights because it's a rock star thing and I want to be a rock star, or anything. We're gonna do what we want, and the world's gonna watch. I just don't want to be something someone has spent hours putting together so we get higher sales. I want to be authentic and honest. That can be our image.”
It’s very fortunate that the band who rejects branding is the same one who doesn’t really need it. The classic rock music rejection of all things for an economic gain isn’t enough to base an entire persona on. But the authenticity of the band, in a world where most things are fake, is a big draw. Their charisma is on a whole new level entirely. Something about Reyes makes you want to listen to her, and the other three aren’t exactly hiding in the shadows. Miller is the classic strong and silent type, but he can command attention when he wants it, and when Blake and Griffin are together, it feels like they could take on the world.
The band is very open about the attention they get from the tabloids and are constantly speaking out about it. “I'm not a f*cking reality star,” says Griffin, as she sips her part coffee, part orange juice cocktail. “I want to make music. I don't care if the sales drop because my life isn't interesting enough. The people who really matter - the fans I really want – wouldn’t buy the records because my dating history is splashed across the news. Of course, I want to have a really close bond with my fans, because music is about connecting people, but no one deserves to have cameras pressed up against their door when they wake up in the morning.”
Blake adds, “We choose to share pictures of ourselves having coffee and playing pool. We don't choose to have fifty cameras follow us whenever we go out.”
It's a very screw-everything, rock music stance to take (some might even call it naive) but that's part of the appeal with The 100. They're young, and idealistic, and are willing to fight for what they deserve and to do what they want to do. Frankly, it's refreshing.
I ask them about how they feel about the media attention on Bellamy and Clarke's maybe relationship, and both Reyes and Miller let out sighs so drawn-out and synchronised that I can only imagine the number of times questions on Bellamy and Clarke’s relationship status have been asked before.
“It's our business,” says Griffin, finally, after exchanging a glance with everyone. “I mean, we knew that the media was gonna get involved, because we're, you know, fairly famous, but that still doesn't make it OK for them to follow us around. They forget, or maybe they don’t care, that these are real people in those glossy magazines.”
“Also, it was really f*cking annoying,” adds Reyes, and we all laugh. “Miller and I were sitting there and all they cared about was Clarke and Bellamy's relationship, and it was like, hey, we're half of the band, pay us some attention, come on. It wasn't nearly as dramatic as everyone made it out to be. Mostly they just watched paintbrush-making documentaries.”
'We Are The 100', the album which was released last September, was very much about themselves and focused on reinstating who they were: a bunch of young kids with loud opinions and a knack for core-cutting lyrics. It's sold over a million copies in the last year alone, and earned them a Grammy nomination. As a band, they have also been nominated for several awards, winning, among them, the American Music Award for Artist of the Year.
That's not the kind of stuff that really matters to The 100, though. “No one is going to remember us because we were nominated for two Grammys,” says Blake. “That's not what music is really about to me. I mean, I love winning stuff. But what makes an artist or a band really great is the music they make and the feeling people get when they listen to it, so that's the real goal.”
When I ask them about the future, the answer is definite. “Touring,” says Reyes. “We're still writing, too, and there's gonna be an album out next year.”
“Clarke and Bellamy can get married,” adds Miller, speaking for the first time. “Then they can get divorced, and remarried. Taylor and Burton this sh*t.” I don't know if he's being sarcastic or serious. Blake goes bright red, like a kid who's been caught texting in class and Griffin snorts loudly, but I get slightly suspicious when she doesn't say anything for the next five minutes.
“We're really young, though,” adds Bellamy, once he has recovered. He's stopped twirling Clarke's hair and is playing with a loose piece of thread on his shirt. “I mean, I'm the dad of the band, and I've just turned twenty-seven. Clarke and Raven are twenty-four, and Miller is twenty-five. So, I mean, we don't really know what we're doing, but somehow we're on the right road.”
I ask them about what their ultimate goal is, and what they want to do as a band, and it seems that they've got that figured out too.
“We want to do as many gigs as possible and create the best music possible,” says Griffin, simply. Then I ask her what her personal goals are, and she raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean? Like, my bucket list?”
I tell her we'll go with that. “Alright,” she says. “I don't really have a bucket list. I mean, when I was twelve, I wrote down a list of stuff I wanted to do with my life, and it had stuff on like 'become a doctor' and 'meet Beyoncé' and 'hold hands with Colin' who sat opposite me in class. But I guess if anything, I think I want to be able to always express myself – through music – and empower over people to, as well. I'm not really sure,” she admits. “I don't have that much figured out yet.”
Blake says he wants to meet Michael Phelps, Reyes wants to travel in the TARDIS and Miller wants a lifetime supply of tacos. It's exactly the kind of thing you'd expect a bunch of twenty-somethings to say.
When the interview draws to a close, I stand up and thank them all. “No problem at all,” says Blake. They all walk me to the door (even Miller, who has said barely anything for the whole interview) and I don't fail to notice Blake's arm around Griffin's waist and the absently comfortable way Griffin leans into him.
Griffin sees me watching them and she actually winks, before she does something that makes me stand, mouth open, in utter shock. She stands on her tiptoes (Blake is almost six foot, whereas Griffin barely makes five foot three) and presses a light, assertive kiss to the corner of Blake's mouth.
I can't help myself. “You're dating?” I almost squeal, like a teenage girl on her Tumblr blog. “I mean,” I say as I try and regain some of my dignity. “Does this mean you two are together again?” I try again. It doesn't work. I sound like every other media outlet who has invested too much time and effort into analysing the relationship between Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin.
Reyes makes a 'Jesus, not this again' face, Blake is ignoring everyone except Griffin and Miller looks so bored he might actually fade from existence. Griffin, however, grins at me. “You didn't actually ask,” she says.
I manage to regain most of my composure, but what's happening right now is massive, and everyone wants to be the first to report it. “You're together again,” I state, slightly wary.
“Obviously,” says Griffin, who is so casual about this I wonder why she even bothered to keep it a secret in the first place. She and Blake are looking at each other like they're the only ones who matter in the universe, which is sort of hypocritical, since they spend most interviews insisting that they're not the only ones in the band. Reyes rolls her eyes again and Miller has already gone inside, but Blake is laughing at something Griffin is saying and it does kind of feel as if it is supposed to be like this.
I get the bus back to civilization and read over the notes I made during the interview on the way back, and like every other human being who has ever seen Blake and Griffin together, I start to think about them. There’s a magnetism about The 100, but even more so with Blake and Griffin. All four of them are charismatic, even Miller, when he talks, with their ‘we’re-taking-on-the-world’ attitude and their refusal to sit down and be quiet. But the music industry isn’t just about attitude, and Blake and Griffin are clearly the ones who make the big, boring decisions in the band.
I think I can see why everyone on the face of the Earth is so obsessed with them. So what if it didn't work out the last time? It’s a part of The 100’s anti-image: they do what they want, and they don’t care what other people think. And like with most of their choices, this one will probably work out. To paraphrase Raven Reyes: “They're gonna do what they want, and the world's gonna watch.”