Farse are an English five-piece

ska-punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 tone and ska with hard ...

band from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

History

They attended St. Thomas Aquinas school in

, where the band formed in 1996 as a four-piece, with the lineup of Ollie Patrick (vocals/guitar), Chris Badham (bass), Dan O'Connell (drums) and Tom Rose (guitar). After releasing a string of demos and a few line up changes (Tom Whithouse joining on second Guitar, leaving Ollie as Vocalist and Ade Preston replacing Tom Rose in the same year), they released their debut album, ''Means to an End'', (recorded at Rich Bitch studios,

Selly Oak Selly Oak is an industrial and residential area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area gives its name to Selly Oak ward and includes the neighbourhoods of: Bournbrook, Selly Park, and Ten Acres. The adjoining wards of Edgbaston and Harborn ...

, Birmingham) on 8 October 2001. The record created a buzz throughout the underground

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

scene in the UK and attracted the attention of the

Moon Ska Europe Moon Ska World, formerly known as Moon Ska Europe, is a ska record label based in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1998 as the European sister label of the defunct American label Moon Ska Records, which was owned by Robert "Bucket" Hingle ...

label. In late 2002 Farse entered

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

's DEP International Studios to record their second album, ''Boxing Clever''. Following the album's release the band's popularity grew, with the video for the song ''Hopscotch'' receiving heavy rotation on the now-defunct digital music channel P-Rock. The band then embarked on several headlining tours throughout the UK before unexpectedly announcing their split in early 2004. Their full final tour was with

Phinius Gage Phinius Gage were an English underground skate punk/melodic hardcore band who started up in 2001 and were active until 2008. They reformed in 2015 and played a reunion tour. History The band is named after Phineas Gage, an 1840s railway for ...

at the end of 2003. During their career they performed with similar acts such as King Prawn,

Voodoo Glow Skulls Voodoo Glow Skulls are an American ska punk band formed in 1988 in Riverside, California, by brothers Frank, Eddie, and Jorge Casillas and their longtime friend Jerry O'Neill. Voodoo Glow Skulls first played at backyard parties and later at Spa ...

Mad Caddies The Mad Caddies (or the Caddies) are a ska punk band from Solvang, California, United States. The band formed in 1995 and has released seven full-length albums, one live album, and two EPs. To date, Mad Caddies have sold over 500,000 albums wo ...

Bowling For Soup Bowling for Soup (abbreviated as BFS) is an American rock band formed in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1994. The band consists of Jaret Reddick (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Burney (guitar, backing vocals), Gary Wiseman (drums, percussion, backing vo ...

Reel Big Fish Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Orange County, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album ''Turn the Radio Off''. Soon af ...

and

Capdown Capdown is an English punk rock band from Milton Keynes. Originally known as Soap, their songs have political themes as alluded to by their name, which is short for Capitalist Downfall. Mixing ska, punk, hardcore, dub, drum and bass, and reg ...

. The final performance was held on Thursday 18 March 2004 at the

Carling Academy Academy Music Group (AMG) is a leading owner-operator An owner-operator is a small business or microbusiness owner who also runs the day-to-day operations of the company. Owner-operators are found in many business models and franchising comp ...

2 in Birmingham. The show involved former band members joining the line up to play old material. The set finished with the song "Youth on Paper", a song said to have been previously unheard at live shows. Bassist Chris Badham now tours with The Mad Caddies. Ade is also the bassist of

Beat Union Beat Union was a pop-punk band from Birmingham, Bromsgrove and Redditch, United Kingdom. They were formerly known as Shortcut to Newark. The group has garnered comparisons to Elvis Costello and The Jam, as well as pop punk groups like Green ...

formerly known as Shortcut to Newark, and has more recently joined

The King Blues The King Blues are a British punk rock band from London credited for fusing punk and hip hop together with influences from ska and spoken word. Tariq Ali described the band's sounds as "rough, radical music that should unsettle the rulers of t ...

replacing Fruitbag as guitarist. Farse played two reunion gigs, one at Subside Bar in Birmingham on Monday, 4 May 2009, and one at O2 Academy 2Brum Live on Farse
/ref> Birmingham on Saturday, 9 May 2009. Farse also performed at the

Slam Dunk Festival Slam Dunk Records or Slam Dunk Music is a British independent record label, promoter and concert organising company, founded in Leeds, England, in 2007. Some notable signees include You Me at Six and Decade. The label evolved from "Slam Dunk", ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

on Sunday, 24 May 2009.

Reformation

On Friday 30 October 2009, Farse played their 'finale' gig at

O2 Academy Birmingham O2 Academy Birmingham is a music venue located in Birmingham, West Midlands, England. Former venue (until 2009) Live music on the site of the O Academy Birmingham's former Dale End venue dates back to 1964 when the venue was first opened a ...

. During this set, frontman Ollie proclaimed that it was not to be their last ever show, in fact, that the group were reforming, writing some new material and getting back out on the road. "Why give up doing something that you enjoy and love so much?"

Band members

*Ollie Patrick – vocals, guitar (1996–2004, 2009) *Chris Badham – bass (1996–2004, 2009) (

) *Dan O'Connell – drums (1996 –1998, 1999–2004, 2009) *Ade Preston – guitar (1998–2004, 2009) (

, The High Society,

) *Tomas Whitehouse – guitar (1998–2004) ;Past members and fill-ins *Adam Price – drums (1998–1999) *Dean Ashston – guitar (2009) (Shooter McGavin, Shortcut to Newark,

) *Tom Rose – guitar (1996–1998)

Discography

Studio albums

*''Means to an End'' – 2001 ( Sucka Punch) *''Boxing Clever'' – 2003 (

)

Music videos

* "Cigarette Through Polystyrene" (2003) * "Hopskotch" (2003)

References

External links

Official MyspaceOfficial Facebook
{{Authority control Underground punk scene in the United Kingdom Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups disestablished in 2004 Musical groups reestablished in 2009