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Ooberman are an English
band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...
with strong
indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...
,
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...
and progressive influences first formed in 1997. They split up in 2003, shortly after the release of their second
album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
'' 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 The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
at their school in
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
, 1988. The first band they set up was The Forestry Commission, with Flett's younger
brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...
, Steve on
bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
. The band's life soon ended when Popplewell moved to
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, but the three friends kept in touch. Steve Flett moved to Liverpool in 1992, and Andy Flett later joined him in 1996/7, after commuting back and forth from Birmingham where he was studying. Ooberman was then born, complete with Alan Kelly (Drums) and last member
Sophia Churney Sophia Churney is an English singer-songwriter and musician, She is best known for her work with the band Ooberman, as well as their side acts Symphonika, The Magic Theatre, and Ooberon. Her brother was the late musical performer Russell Chur ...
(
keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...
and
vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
). The first Ooberman
gig Gig or GIG may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Gig'' (Circle Jerks album) (1992) * ''Gig'' (Northern Pikes album) (1993) * ''The Gig'', a 1985 film written and directed by Frank D. Gilroy * GIG, a character in ''Hot Wheels AcceleRacers'' ...
was in June 1997, and their eccentric live shows and quirky
demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...
s won them the 1997 BT Merseyside Arts Award for Best Newcomers. Their first release was the "Sugar Bum" 7" inch single on
Graham Coxon Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Cox ...
's
Transcopic Transcopic was a British record label created in 1998 by Blur guitarist Graham Coxon for his solo releases, as well as those of other left field artists. Along with Coxon's music, the label issued records by acts such as Ooberman, The Buff Medw ...
record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
, followed by the critically acclaimed " Shorley Wall" EP on Tugboat Records. The band then secured up a major
recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
with Independiente, on which they released their first proper single: the
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
"Blossoms Falling".


The Magic Treehouse

By Spring 1999, the band had finished work on their debut album, ''
The Magic Treehouse ''The Magic Treehouse'' is the debut album from Ooberman, released in October 1999 on Independiente Records. The album was produced by Stephen Street, famous for his work with The Smiths and Blur (band), Blur, among others. Four singles were re ...
''. The
album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
got generally positive reviews, including an 8/10 in ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
''. The reviews, however, did not translate into sales and after a handful of singles missed the Top 40, Independiente and Ooberman parted company, as did their publishing and management companies further down the line. The band (or rather Danny and Sophie) had reportedly had enough with the
music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...
by this time, but in mid-2000, they (or Rather Danny) started work on their second album. During this time, tension within band members caused the original drummer (Alan) to leave the band, to be replaced by Paul Walsham.


Hey Petrunko

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 another new drummer – 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 3 March 2003, to some 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 A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
s and foreign
gig Gig or GIG may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Gig'' (Circle Jerks album) (1992) * ''Gig'' (Northern Pikes album) (1993) * ''The Gig'', a 1985 film written and directed by Frank D. Gilroy * GIG, a character in ''Hot Wheels AcceleRacers'' ...
s) were scrapped.


Reformation

In February 2005, a
website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...
– 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. 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 19 June, and a download-only single – also entitled "Carried Away" – on 24 July that received
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...
on stations including XFM and
6music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...
, and prominently on Mark Radcliffe's
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
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 Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmon ...
and vocals by Sophia Churney. 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''. In September 2007 the band released '' The Lost Tapes – Rare Recordings 1991–2007'', a collection of rare and unreleased recordings covering the period in the title.


The Magic Theatre

On 7 June 2010, a new album ''London Town'' featuring Ooberman members Sophia Churney and Dan Popplewell as "The Magic Theatre" was released accompanied by eleven free HD videos. The album's orchestral sound was achieved on a low budget by Popplewell writing library music, designed to be used as background for films and television, that fitted his songs, and re-using the recordings with new vocals by him and Sophia Churney.


Discography

Many of the band's releases have been issued on their own label, Rotodisc.


Albums

*1999 ''
The Magic Treehouse ''The Magic Treehouse'' is the debut album from Ooberman, released in October 1999 on Independiente Records. The album was produced by Stephen Street, famous for his work with The Smiths and Blur (band), Blur, among others. Four singles were re ...
'' *2001 ''
Running Girl ''Running Girl'' is a mini-album by Ooberman, released in October 2001 on the band's own Rotodisc label. A single of the title track was released in November 2001. The title track was also featured in slightly remixed form on the band's '' Hey ...
'' (mini album) *2003 '' Hey Petrunko'' *2006 '' Carried Away'' *2007 '' The Lost Tapes – Rare Recordings 1991–2007''


Singles and EPs

*1998 "Sugar Bum" *1998 " Shorley Wall EP" *1999 "
Blossoms Falling "Blossoms Falling" is a song by Ooberman, released as their first single for Independiente, and the first to be taken from the band's debut album ''The Magic Treehouse''. It reached No. 39 in the UK, the only Ooberman single to date to make the ...
" *1999 "Million Suns" *1999 "
Tears from a Willow "Tears from a Willow" is a song by Ooberman, released as the third single from their debut album ''The Magic Treehouse''. It was released by Independiente in October 1999. In the song's radio edit, a reference to LSD was removed, but remained ...
" *2000 " Shorley Wall" *2000 " Dolphin Blue" *2001 "
Running Girl ''Running Girl'' is a mini-album by Ooberman, released in October 2001 on the band's own Rotodisc label. A single of the title track was released in November 2001. The title track was also featured in slightly remixed form on the band's '' Hey ...
" *2002 " Bluebell Morning EP" *2002 "Beany Bean" UK #79 *2003 " First Day of the Holidays" *2006 " The Beauty of Your Soul" *2006 "Carried Away" (download only) *2006 "Crashing Ellipticals" (download only)


References


External links


Official website
– Ooberman's new official website, with details of the new album
The Magic Treehouse
– Long-running unofficial website with news, discography and song information
The Oobtube
– Ooberman forum
Ooberman on MySpace
– Officially endorsed MySpace page with audio streams {{Authority control English indie rock groups Musical groups from Liverpool Independiente Records artists Rough Trade Records artists