The group began as a solo project by lead vocalist Dan Smith, but later expanded to include keyboardist Kyle Simmons, bassist and guitarist Will Farquarson and drummer Chris "Woody" Wood.

An accompanying video for the single was released on the band's official VEVO channel on 29 June 2012, and digitally through Virgin Records on 20 August 2012.

In August 2012, the band performed at UK festivals like Reading and Leeds, as well as supporting British singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé.

[13]"Laura Palmer" was released on 3 June 2013, and an accompanying video for the track premiered through the band's official VEVO page on 12 April 2013.

On 4 February 2014 Bastille won the BRIT Award for Best Breakthrough Act and performed a remixed version of "Pompeii" with Rudimental and their song "Waiting All Night" at the ceremony.

Two hours after their appearance, sales of Bad Blood were up by 132% to give them a second week at number one in the UK album chart and "Pompeii" had climbed 29 places in the singles.

[21] Also in April 2014, the band performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.

"[25] On 21 October 2014, Bastille announced their third mixtape, VS. (Other People's Heartache, Pt.III) with the release of their song "Torn Apart", featuring the artists Grades and Lizzo, on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show.

VS. (Other People's Heartache, Pt.III) was released on 8 December 2014 and featured the Gemma Sharples Quartet, Haim, MNEK, Tyde, Rationale, Lizzo, Grades, Angel Haze, F*U*G*Z, Braque, Rag'n'Bone Man, and Skunk Anansie.

[31] On 2 June 2016, the band uploaded a trailer including an excerpt from the then-unreleased song Two Evils announcing the name of the album to be Wild World.

[citation needed] On 16 June 2016, Annie Mac debuted "Good Grief" on her BBC Radio 1 show as the "hottest record in the world".

On 24 June 2016, Bastille performed the songs "Good Grief" and "Two Evils" live for the first time at Glastonbury Festival as part of their set on the Other Stage.

Including other artists such as Stormzy and Rita Ora, the cover of the Simon & Garfunkel song "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was released on 21 June 2017 to raise money for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.

[45] On 17 August 2018, Bastille and Marshmello collaborated on the single "Happier", which reached a high of 2 on the UK Official Charts in October 2018 and the Billboard Hot 100 in February 2019.

Also released was "Other People's Heartache, Pt 4" on 7 December 2018 which featured the likes of Craig David, Jacob Banks, James Arthur, Kianja, Lily Moore, Moss Kena, Rationale, Swarmz, and S-X.

[60] The band was one of 23 artists to feature on the Live Lounge Allstars cover of the Foo Fighters song "Times Like These" to help raise funds for the COVID-19 pandemic.

[66] The band released an ReOrchestrated version of their song "Warmth" from their second album Wild World as an Amazon Music exclusive on 15 January 2021.

[80] Singles "Run Into Trouble", with Brazilian DJ Alok, "Remind Me" and "Revolution" were released on 1 April, 9 June and 28 July, respectively, ahead of the album.

This is evident in their second studio album, Wild World, and their Other People's Heartache mixtapes, which incorporate audio clips from various sources, including television, film, and even a United States Department of Justice informational video.

In an article published by music magazine The Line of Best Fit, Smith writes: "Our mixtapes started life with a cover that we used to play of "What Would You Do?"

For instance, the penultimate track on Bastille's album Bad Blood, titled "Laura Palmer", pays tribute to the tragic prom queen from Lynch's Twin Peaks.

The album's cover, featuring Dan Smith caught in a car's headlights on a nocturnal country road, also exudes a Lynchian feel.

This encounter left a lasting impression on Smith, as he described Lynch as "overwhelmingly kind, funny, and inquisitive" in an article published on Redbull's website.

[107] The band contributed "The Driver" to the soundtrack for the 2011 film Drive starring Ryan Gosling, and the song was included on Bastille's own mixtape, VS. (Other People's Heartache, Pt.

So to get to a point where we can do this version with a real choir and orchestra and with someone like Zimmer – who is responsible for so many huge cultural moments for me – is exciting and a privilege.

Examples include their rendition of "Killing Me Softly with His Song" by Roberta Flack in the Bad Blood X version of their album Bad Blood, "Dancing in the Dark" by Bruce Springsteen for the edition "Give Me The Future + Dreams of the Past" of the studio album Give Me the Future,[109] "Can't Fight This Feeling" by REO Speedwagon (featured in a Christmas advert for British department store John Lewis & Partners in 2019[110]), and "Basket Case" by Green Day (released as a soundtrack for The Tick TV series.

[111]) Frontman Dan Smith has cited as influences many artists including Kate Bush, Amy Winehouse, Lorde, Christine and the Queens, and the Cranberries.

The band's song "The Driver" was used in the re-scored soundtrack of the 2011 film Drive produced for the BBC by Zane Lowe for its October 2014 TV broadcast.

They also went on to play the song on The Voice van Vlaanderen (2013),[126] Conan, making their American TV debut (2013),[127] The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2013) and Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Along with Marshmello, Smith performed their collaboration, "Happier", on Good Morning America (2018)[131] and then at the final of the 15th season of The Voice with the entire band (2018).