[2][7] Harry McVeigh (from Shepherd's Bush[8]) joined them two years later,[9] and they began playing under the name Fear of Flying at the age of fifteen.

[11] Fear of Flying completed one UK tour as a support act,[11] as well as further slots with The Maccabees, Jamie T and Laura Marling.

[12] They released two double A-side vinyl singles on independent record label Young and Lost Club, "Routemaster/Round Three" on 7 August 2006 and "Three's a Crowd/Forget-Me-Nots" on 6 December 2006.

[16] Two weeks prior to the group starting university, they decided that they would take a second gap year, and perform new material which the band felt did not suit their current outfit.

[20] McVeigh said that the current musical climate had an effect on the split, stating that "Maybe a few years ago, we would have signed a deal and had a chance to make three albums [...].

[6] When asked about the name change in an interview with a radio station in San Francisco, Jack Brown said that "We just thought that we should perform these songs as a different band.

"[23][24] Receiving airtime on BBC Radio 1, Zane Lowe named "Death" his "Hottest Record in the World" on 5 February 2008, despite the song having never been officially released.

[29] To mark the release, the band supported dEUS in London's Scala on 16 April 2008, as well as a performance at the 2008 Camden Crawl.

[33] Beginning in September 2008, the band played their first headline tour, performing thirteen dates in the United Kingdom.

The tour included an appearance at the CMJ Music Festival in New York on 23–24 October, alongside Jay Reatard, Amazing Baby and Violens.

[45] The BBC placed them second in their Sound of 2009 poll,[46] as well as coming third in the 2009 BRITs Critics' Choice Award, behind Florence and the Machine and Little Boots.

[52] After charting high in the midweek sales,[53] the album beat off competition from Lady Gaga, The Script and Kings of Leon.

The bands were supported by The Soft Pack,[60] with White Lies headlining seven of the fifteen dates, including their first appearance at the South by Southwest festival.

[61] During the tour, the band were forced to play a shortened, six song set at New York's Bowery Ballroom,[62] due to McVeigh having throat problems.

[63] During summer 2009, the band played a number of major UK and overseas music festivals, including Rock Werchter,[64] Benicàssim,[65] Coachella,[60] Glastonbury,[66] Isle of Wight,[67] Lollapalooza,[68] Oxegen,[69] Radio 1's Big Weekend,[70] Reading and Leeds,[71] Roskilde[72] and T in the Park.

In an interview with the BBC's Newsbeat programme, McVeigh stated that due to the nature of the band's songwriting techniques clashing with their difficult touring schedules, there will be no new White Lies material until 2010.

[75] Despite this, McVeigh has mentioned that the ambitious recording of "Nothing to Give" and "The Price of Love" (from To Lose My Life...) act as a taster of the different sound to come on their sophomore release.

[90] In an interview with NME in January 2013, bassist Charles Cave revealed that the band's third album was intended to be released in late summer, with one of the tracks promoting the record being called "Getting Even".

[91] On 4 June 2013 it was revealed that the album, which was produced by Ed Buller and recorded earlier that year, would be titled Big TV.

[94] On 23/25 July 2013, White Lies played 3 intimate shows at Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen in London, celebrating the 5 year anniversary of the band's first ever gig at the same venue.

[100] The five-track EP, released on Fiction Records, was limited to 1000 copies and featured covers of tracks by Lana Del Rey and Prince in addition to new versions of their own music.

[105] The Guardian's official website named them an indie-pop band,[12] stating "they made promising, if unremarkable, Franz Ferdinand-styled pop with cheeky chappy lyrics".

[106] White Lies' darker sound[18] has been primarily compared to Joy Division,[107] Interpol[108] and Editors,[109] as well as Arcade Fire,[110] The Killers,[110] Echo & the Bunnymen,[109] Tears for Fears[35] and The Teardrop Explodes.