Idlewild, named after the quiet meeting place in Anne of Green Gables, formed in December 1995 in Edinburgh, Scotland when a 19-year-old Roddy Woomble met drummer Colin Newton at a party.

Soon, the trio began writing songs together, and, in need of a bassist, they brought Phil Scanlon into the fold, due to the fact that he owned a bass guitar.

The band's debut single "Queen of the Troubled Teens" was released on 17 March 1997, and built upon the chaotic reputation of their shows.

Along with 'Self Healer', 'Satan Polaroid' and 'A Film for the Future', the song was included in a live session on Jeff Cooper's show 'XS' (now Radio2XS) on Sheffield's Hallam FM.

October marked the arrival of their debut album Hope Is Important which the band now describes as "a confused, skewered, noisy, sad pop record".

These songs held a more aggressive, emptier sound than those previously, and the band were pleased with the results; however, they remained unsure of their direction.

Hitting a stride, the band returned to the studio with producer Dave Eringa and recorded "Little Discourage" and "Roseability" in their first session.

Hope Is Important was released in America, and to support it, the band performed a small number of tour dates on the East Coast.

As 2001 began, the band re-entered the studio, this time with producer Stephen Street, to record songs written in the last half of 2000.

The album went gold in the UK and a third single, "Live in a Hiding Place", was released as the band embarked upon a four-month European tour in September, which included supporting dates with Coldplay.

[3] Fairfoull had become increasingly distant from the band over the past year, often being absent during the recording of The Remote Part,[4] and his drinking habits were having a negative impact on his bass playing.

[9] Fairfoull approved of being replaced as Idlewild bassist by his good friend Fox, though he also added, "It felt a bit like if you left your wife, and a week later she started shagging your brother.

With Fox and Stewart officially in the band, Idlewild spent January of the following year writing songs and practising in an old lighthouse outside Edinburgh.

A final single from The Remote Part, "A Modern Way of Letting Go", introduced the new line-up to the UK via several television appearances and another short tour of Britain and Ireland.

The Remote Part received its US release in March 2003 and the band embarked upon a cross-continent, nine-week headline tour playing their biggest US shows in New York City and Los Angeles.

As 2004 began, Idlewild spent the first four months of the year writing and demoing new songs up in the Scottish Highlands, and in Roddy's flat in London.

The band chose to work with American producer Tony Hoffer and flew out to Los Angeles and spent the next three months recording and mixing the new songs.

Roddy rented a room on the Lower East Side and stayed there for the remainder of the year, listening to the album they'd just made.

Woomble's solo material was written alongside Rod Jones, friend Michael Angus and folksinger Karine Polwart, and produced by folk musician John McCusker.

Meanwhile, Woomble started writing a column for Scottish newspaper The Sunday Herald and released an album with Kris Drever and John McCusker, entitled Before the Ruin, in September 2008.

"[15] On 21 November the band sent an email to fans on the mailing list offering them a chance to preorder the new album (along with "exclusive packaging & including at least one bonus track") to be "shipped within weeks of completion".

All fans who bought the album this way would also have their name appear in the CD booklet and on a roll call on the band's official website.

Fans who pre-ordered the album were also allowed to download their choice of live tracks that the band had recorded at the King Tut's series of shows.

An end to the band's hiatus was made public in September 2013, by which point Gareth Russell and Allan Stewart had left to be replaced by multi-instrumentalist Luciano Rossi.

[21] In addition to Woomble, Jones and Newton, the album also included contributions from new members Rossi and bassist Andrew Mitchell of The Hazey Janes.

[22] Idlewild marked the 15th anniversary of The Remote Part by playing the album in full at two Christmas 2017 shows at the ABC in Glasgow, which sold out within a day,[23] and KOKO in London.

[24] The second Glasgow show was notable for surprise guest appearances by former Idlewild members Allan Stewart and Bob Fairfoull.

[25] The band then spent 2018 working on a new album, and playing another The Remote Part anniversary show in Edinburgh with Fairfoull once again appearing as a special guest.

[31] In 2010, Jones founded The Fruit Tree Foundation, alongside Emma Pollock (The Delgados), in order to raise awareness of mental health problems.

[32] In 2006, Woomble worked with several musicians including Kate Rusby, his wife Ailidh Lennon, songwriter Karine Polwart (to whom he presented the Horizon Award at the BBC Folk Awards 2005, and with whom he performed at Celtic Connections) and Idlewild guitarist Rod Jones on his debut solo album My Secret is My Silence, produced by John McCusker.