| Ooberman |
Website Links For Ooberman |
Information AboutOoberman |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT OOBERMAN | |
| english musical groups | |
| music from liverpool | |
Ooberman are a Band with strong Indie , Folk and Progressive influences first formed in 1997. They split up in 2003, shortly after the release of their second Album ''Hey Petrunko'', but announced their reformation in April 2006 and began releasing music again soon thereafter. HISTORY Early years Ooberman founders Dan Popplewell and Andy Flett met over a Piano at their School in Bradford , 1988. The first band they set up was The Forestry Commission, with Flett's younger Brother , Steve on Bass Guitar . The band's life soon ended when Popplewell moved to Liverpool , but the three friends kept in touch. Steve Flett moved to Liverpool in 1992, and Andy Flett later joined him in 1997. Ooberman was then born, complete with Sophia Churney ( Keyboards and Vocals ) and Alan Kelly ( Drummer ). The first Ooberman Gig was in June 1997, and their eccentric live shows and quirky Demo s won them the 1997 BT Merseyside Arts Award for Best Newcomers. Their first release was the "Sugar Bum" Hit "Blossoms Falling". Rise and fall By Spring 1999, the band had finished work on their debut album, '' The Magic Treehouse ''. The Album got generally positive reviews, including an 8/10 in NME . The reviews, however, did not translate into sales and after a handful of singles missed the Top 40, Independiente and Ooberman parted company. The band had reportedly had enough with the Music Industry by this time, but in mid-2000, they started work on their second album. During this time, tension within the band caused the original drummer to leave the band, but he was replaced by Paul Walsham. After more than a year working on new material, the band announced that they would release their second album - '' Hey Petrunko '' - at the start of 2002. A mini-album, ''Running Girl'', preceded it in October 2001. As well as getting a new drummer, this time Jaymie Ireland, Popplewell also set up his own record label, Rotodisc. A five track EP - "Bluebell Morning" - and a single - "Beany Bean" - followed, but ''Hey Petrunko'' was delayed. After nearly three years working on the album, it was finally released on the 3 March 2003, to widespread critical acclaim. A tour and another single followed, but the pressure of making ''Hey Petrunko'' strained the band, and in May, Popplewell announced that he and Churney were leaving the band. Rotodisc was shut down, and planned releases and tour dates (including Festival s and foreign Gig s) were scrapped. Reformation In February 2005, a Website - ooberman.net - was launched, claiming to be "the new official Ooberman website". The website had an image, quite distinctly an album cover, entitled "Ooberman - Rare Recordings". Nothing further was heard from the website until December 2005 when Popplewell stated that the new album would be a mix of old, unreleased and new songs.[http://www.oobtube.net/viewtopic.php?t=287] However, in April 2006, the ooberman.net site appeared in full, and a news update dated 20 April stated that "the band have now reformed and recorded a new album... there are no current plans to play live." An album, entitled '' Carried Away '' was released in August 2006 by Rotodisc, distributed in the UK by Cargo Records. The release was preceded by an extremely limited 7" single, "The Beauty of Your Soul", on June 19 , and a download-only single - also entitled "Carried Away" - on July 24 that received Radio Airplay on stations including XFM and 6music , and prominently on Mark Radcliffe 's Radio 2 show. Diversification In December 2006 , Rotodisc released an album by Symphonika entitled ''The Snow Queen''. Symphonika is an orchestral side-project by Dan Popplewell, and the album featured the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and vocals by Sophia Churney. {Link without Title} On 26 February 2007 Andy and Steve Flett released an album of material recorded during Ooberman's time apart under the name Ooberon. It was entitled '' Waiting For The Sonic Boom ''. {Link without Title} Free Music Controversy In August 2007 they announced that their entire back catalogue would be available for free download as a promotion for their album '' The Lost Tapes - Rare Recordings 1991-2007 ''. However, as this included some material owned by Sony the band effectively invited legal action from their former label. FUTURE The band have announced several releases scheduled for the near future. The first of these, '' The Lost Tapes - Rare Recordings 1991-2007 '' will be released in September 2007. Following this will be a second album by Symphonika (provisionally entitled ''Gothic Angel Warriors''), a Sophia-fronted project ''The Magic Theatre'' (provisional album title ''Dark Fairytales'') in 2008 and finally a fourth Ooberman album in late 2008. DISCOGRAPHY Albums
Singles and EPs
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|