Bloc Party consists of Gordon Moakes (bass and occasional vocals), Kele Okereke (vocals and guitar), Matt Tong (drums and occasional vocals), Russell Lissack (guitar).
Bloc Party are a British art rock/ post-punk band. The band has been around in various guises since 2002, with names such as The Angel Range, Diet and Union, before settling on Bloc Party in September 2003. The name is a play on block party, a name for a quasi-informal neighborhood festival, which might hire a local band as entertainment. The band has said that the name was not intended to be an allusion to the Soviet Bloc; the absence of a 'k' is purely for aesthetics.
Band members Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack have formed the fulcrum of these various incarnations, and were subsequently joined by bassist Gordon Moakes, and most recently drummer Matt Tong. Lissack and singer/guitarist Kele Okereke met in 1998 in Essex, where Lissack had grown up and Okereke attended school. Lissack attended Bancroft's School and Okereke attended Trinity for sixth form. They bumped into each other again in 1999 at the Reading Festival and soon after formed the band Union. For a short while, Australian-born David Searston was their lead vocalist and guitarist, but he left the group in early 2002.
The band are currently managed by Coalition, and represented by Simon White, formerly of Britpop band Menswe@r.
In 2003 they changed their name from Union to Bloc Party just before releasing their debut single She's Hearing Voices on the then fledgling record label Trash Aesthetics.
The band got their break after Okereke went to a Franz Ferdinand concert in 2003, and was able to thrust a copy of the single into the hands of both Franz lead singer Alex Kapranos and Radio One DJ Steve Lamacq. Lamacq subsequently played the song on his radio show, labeling the track "genius", and invited them to record a live session for the show.
The buzz generated off the back of the Trash Aesthetics single sparked some A&R interest, leading to another single Banquet, this time released by the label Moshi Moshi, and to the eventual signing with indie label Wichita Records in April 2004.Banquet being one of the most succesful singles in england has swept through out the U.S. has brought about much apprecation, especially among college radio stations.