Operahouse were a five-piece

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band based in Camden

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Operahouse released their debut single, "Man Next Door" in March 2007 on Glaze Records to great response, earning plaudits and airplay from such stations as BBC 6 Music, Xfm, and

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. ...

Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s, hosted his own radio show on ...

. Their next single, "Born A Boy", was released on

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

in January 2008 and in addition to getting even more airplay, scored rave reviews in the ''

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 follow-up "Diane" was released in May 2008, which was also well received. Their next single, "Change In Nature", marked a new milestone for the band. On the band's MySpace, they claimed that they were "throwing off our

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 ...

shackles" and that the music "has a slightly darker ... theme".

History

Singer and guitarist Johnny Lloyd was brought up on

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

. He started playing guitar at eight years old, then quit and took up the saxophone for a few years before deciding he preferred guitar. Originally from Newcastle, Lloyd went to London via Rugby where he played football at school with Jimmy Cratchley. Cratchley started playing guitar with Lloyd when they were about 15. He moved to London to study photography at Camberwell Arts College. When Lloyd was looking for people to join the band he asked Cratchley. As Lloyd and Alex Kaines were both playing guitar, and they needed someone 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 ...

, Cratchley took up the role. Kaines was introduced to Lloyd by a mutual friend in a café in south London, and the basis for Operahouse was formed. Aged 18, Ben Niblett who had been playing drums for five years, was also recruited. Dan White, the most recent member of the band (being the only member who joined after the band formed), was recruited to play the synthesizer and keyboard, and also played the xylophone beat in "Change In Nature". He appeared in the

videos Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

for "Change In Nature" and "Genius Child". In 2007, the band's first single attracted the attention of Dominic Hardisty, who signed

The Killers The Killers are an American rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingd ...

. Hardisty signed the band to his UK based label

Marrakesh Records Marrakesh Records is a small UK independent record label, indie label which, in a previous guise as Lizard King Records, Lizard King, first signed the Killers. It was founded by Dominic Hardisty and is located in London, England. Artists *The Kil ...

. Their debut album was released in early 2009.Marrakesh Record

. Marrakesh Records website. Retrieved 8 July 2008. Operahouse announced their split on 6 July 2009. Johnny Lloyd, Jimmy Cratchley and Dan White have subsequently found new success in indie rock band Tribes (band), Tribes, while Alex Kaines (under his real name of Alex Robertshaw) moved on to become guitarist for

Everything Everything Everything Everything are an English art rock band from Manchester that formed in late 2007. Noted for their eclectic sound and complex, sociopolitical lyrics, the band have released six albums to date – 2010's '' Man Alive'', 2013's '' Arc'' ...

Discography

Albums

*''Change in Nature'' EP (November 2008, Marrakesh Records) *''

Escape from the Sun ''Escape from the Sun'' is the debut album by the indie-rock band Operahouse. It was released in April 2009 through Marrakesh Records, available to buy in certain stores around the UK. The album was well received and gained a lot of good reviews f ...

'' (April 2009, Marrakesh Records)

Singles

*"Man Next Door" (March 2007, Glaze Records) *"Born a Boy" (January 2008,

) *"Diane" (May 2008, Marrakesh Records) *"Change in Nature" (November 2008, Marrakesh Records) *"Genius Child" (March 2009, Marrakesh Records)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official websiteOperahouse live set at Spanking New Sessions MTV2Change In Nature reviewed at Daily Music Guide
English indie rock groups Musical groups from London Musical groups established in 2006 Musical groups disestablished in 2009