The Mock Turtles are an English

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band, formed in

Middleton, Greater Manchester Middleton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk southwest of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester city centre. Middleton had a population of 42,972 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the ...

, in 1985, who enjoyed some success in the early 1990s. Their most famous song " Can You Dig It?", which was released in the UK in 1991, charted at number 18. When the song was re-released in slightly remixed form in 2003, it again reached the Top 20 of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Career

Led by former Judge Happiness singer

Martin Coogan Martin Joseph Coogan (born 16 September 1960) is a musician and radio presenter. He produces and records at the Vibe Recording Studios, Manchester, which he has owned since 2008. Born and brought up in Middleton, Coogan attended Cardinal Lan ...

, elder brother of actor/comedian

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...

, the band began to pick up attention around 1990, with debut album ''

Turtle Soup Turtle soup, also known as Terrapin soup, is a soup or stew made from the meat of turtles. Differing versions of the soup exist in some cultures and are viewed as a delicacy. Versions China In China, and in several countries in Southeast Asi ...

'' and tracks such as "Lay Me Down" and "And Then She Smiles" on the Imaginary label. It was "Can You Dig It?", however, which gained them wider attention. Originally a

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to "Lay Me Down", the band's new record label,

Siren Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology Places * Siren (town), Wisconsin * Siren, Wisc ...

, re-issued it with additional guitar work, and "Can You Dig It?" breached the

Top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

in the

. Their follow up single "And Then She Smiles" failed to replicate the success of the previous single, only reaching no. 44 in the chart. In March 1991, the British music magazine ''

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 ...

'' reported that the band were appearing at the 'Great Indie Festival – A Midsummer's Day Dream' at

Milton Keynes Bowl The National Bowl (originally the Milton Keynes Bowl) is an entertainment venue located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The site was a former clay pit (for brick-making), filled in and raised to form an amphitheatre using sub-soil ex ...

in June that year. Also on the bill were

808 State 808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. They released their debut album, '' New ...

Gary Clail Gary Clail (born 1956) is an English singer and record producer, and the founder of the Gary Clail Sound System. He was part of On-U Sound Records (and also the On-U Sound System) and led Gary Clail's Tackhead Sound System. They had a big hit in ...

Shades of Rhythm Shades of Rhythm are an United Kingdom, English electronic dance music musical ensemble, group most active from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, still performing live today and hailing from Peterborough in 1988. They are best known for being a pa ...

The Shamen The Shamen ( ) were a Scottish psychedelic band, formed in 1985 in Aberdeen, who became a chart-topping British electronic dance music act by the early 1990s. The founding members were Colin Angus, Derek McKenzie and Keith McKenzie. Peter St ...

Paris Angels Paris Angels were an English seven piece band, hailing from Guide Bridge, Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England, associated with the Madchester scene of 1989 -1991. Their music fused indie guitars with electronic dance music. The ban ...

plus

Flowered Up Flowered Up were an English indie pop- alternative dance band, formed in Camden Town, London in 1989, active during the Baggy movement. Their 13-minute single " Weekender" reached the UK top 20. The band split up in 1994 amid drug problems. Fo ...

. The Mock Turtles, however, were unable to follow up the early success and were dropped by their label, three members briefly joining up as Ugli in the mid-1990s, remaining in limbo until

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

used "Can You Dig It?" for an

advertising campaign An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and conc ...

in late 2002 and more famously in 2003. This saw the band make a comeback with

Norman Cook Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...

doing a

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

of the song, taking the track to No. 19 in the United Kingdom. Eight new tracks were included on a new ''Greatest Hits'' album, together with older songs from their early 1990s peak. Most recently, the track "And Then She Smiles" has been used as the theme song for the television programme ''Stella'' on Sky1. ''Turtle Soup'' was reissued in 2017 with additional non-album singles and B-sides and covers.

Current Members

- vocals, guitar, percussion (1985–present) *

Martin Glyn Murray Martin Glyn Murray (born 1 February 1966 in Helsingør, Denmark) is a Danish-born British actor who has played Mark Thompson in '' Families'' and he has also been in ''The Bill'', '' Sharpe'', ''Aristocrats'', ''Enigma'', ''Enemy at the Gates'', ...

- guitar (1985–present) *Andrew Stewardson - bass, viola, guitar (1989–present) *Joanne Gent - keyboards, cello, guitar (1989–present) *Steve Barnard - drums (1993–present)

Former Members

*Steve Cowen - drums (1985–93) *Steve Green - bass (1985–89) *Krzysztof Korab - keyboards (1985–89)

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (LP/CD) –

Imaginary Records Imaginary Records was an independent record label based in Heywood, Greater Manchester, England, which specialised mainly in indie rock and post-punk. It was started in 1985 by Alan Duffy, known for his lyrical contributions to Porcupine Tree's f ...

1990 *''87–90'' (LP/CD) – Imaginary Records 1991 *''Two Sides'' (LP/CD) –

Siren Records Siren Records was an independent music label based in Auckland, New Zealand formed in 2000. Goldenhorse Riverhead took the record for longest climb in the album charts to the #1 position of just under 2 years, finally reaching triple platinum ...

1991 *''Can You Dig It – The Best of the Mock Turtles'' –

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

2003

Singles

*"Pomona" (12") Imaginary Records 1987 *"Wicker Man" (12") Imaginary Records 1989 *"And Then She Smiles" (12") Imaginary Records 1989 *"Lay Me Down" (12"/CDS) Imaginary Records 1990 *"Magic Boomerang EP" (7"/12"/CDS) Imaginary Records 1990 *"Are You Experienced?" (12") Imaginary Records 1990 *" Can You Dig It?" (7"/12"/CDS/C-s) Siren Records 1991 UK No. 18 *"And Then She Smiles EP" (7"/12"/CDS) Siren Records 1991 UK No. 44 *"Strings And Flowers" (7"/12"/CDS/C-s) Siren Records 1991 *"Can You Dig It?" (

Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...

remix) (CDS) Virgin Records 2003 UK No. 19

Compilation appearances

*'' Beyond the Wildwood – A Tribute to Syd Barrett'' – "No Good Trying" – 1987, Imaginary Records *''

Fast 'n' Bulbous - A Tribute To Captain Beefheart Fast or FAST may refer to: * Fast (noun), high speed or velocity * Fast (noun, verb), to practice fasting, abstaining from food and/or water for a certain period of time Acronyms and coded Computing and software * ''Faceted Application of Subje ...

'' – "Big Eyed Beans From Venus" 1988 Imaginary Records *''Shangri-La – A Tribute to the Kinks'' – "Shangri-La" / "Big Sky" 1989 Imaginary Records *''Time Between – A Tribute to the Byrds'' – "Time Between" / "Why" 1989 Imaginary Records *''Indie Top 20 Volume X'' – "Lay Me Down" 1990 Beechwood Music *''Ouch. Relativity Sampler'' – "Mary's Garden" 1991 Relativity *''Fifteen Minutes: A Tribute to the Velvet Underground'' – "Pale Blue Eyes" 1994 Compilations that feature "Can You Dig It?" are: *''The Best Bands... Ever!'' Virgin/EMI, 2002 *''Q: The Album'' Virgin/EMI/Universal, 2003 *''I Luv Smash Hits'' Virgin/EMI, 2003 *'' Now That's What I Call Music! 54'' Virgin/EMI, 2003 *''The X-List'' Virgin/EMI, 2003 *"Smash Hits Chart Summer 2003" Virgin/EMI, 2003 * "EPIC" Sony Music Entertainment UK, 2010 *''101 Indie Classics'' EMI TV, 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mock Turtles, The Musical groups from Greater Manchester Music in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale English indie rock groups People from Middleton, Greater Manchester Madchester groups Imaginary Records artists Virgin Records artists