Vampire Weekend were formed in New York in 2006 by frontman and guitarist Ezra Koenig, along with band members Rostam Batmanglij (who later left the group), drummer Chris Tomson and bassist Chris Baio.
The band met at Columbia University, bonding over their love of punk rock and African music, choosing the band name 'Vampire Weekend' from the name of a short film Koenig worked on one summer during his college studies. Their first perormance was a battle of the bands at Lerner Hall in 2006.
Vampire Weekend broke through in the UK with their 2008 self-produced eponymous debut album carrying a distinctive sound that spanned indie pop, Afropop and chamber music. Their Official Chart debut came in February 2008 as A-Punk entered the Top 75, while its follow up Oxford Comma gave the band their first Top 40 entry on the UK Official Singles Chart. Peaking at Number 38 Oxford Comma is Vampire Weekend's highest-charting single in the UK. The album reached the Top 20 of the Official Albums Chart, peaking at Number 15.
Vampire Weekend's next three albums - Contra, Modern Vampires Of The City, and Father Of The Bride all reached the Top 5. Image: press / SJM Michael Schmelling
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A Punk and A-Punk are the same single, with a continuous run in the top 100.