Sparrow and the Workshop were an indie three-piece based in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, consisting of the

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

-born,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-raised Jill O'Sullivan (vocals, acoustic guitar), Welshman Nick Packer (guitar, bass) and Scotsman Gregor Donaldson (drums, vocals). The band's debut album ''Crystals Fall'' was released by

Distiller Records Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heating ...

in 2010 to critical acclaim, with the likes of ''Drowned in Sound'' and ''Clash Magazine'' awarding the album 9/10. The band was notable for their use of harmonies and bastardized instruments/FX pedals and they have been compared to bands as varied as

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

and

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

Career

Sparrow formed in early 2008 and soon after caught the attention of Distiller Records, who offered to put out a single and EP for them in 2009. They have toured with many bands including British Sea Power, Idlewild, Broken Records,

Sivert Hoyem Sivert is a Scandinavian male name, a variant of Sigvard and Siward. It may refer to: *Sivert Høyem (born 1976), Norwegian singer *Sivert Langholm (1927–2022), Norwegian historian *Sivert Mattsson (1907–1999), Swedish cross country skier *Si ...

(ex- Madrugada) and supported the likes of

The Lemonheads The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member. After their initial punk-influenced releases and tour ...

and

Thee Oh Sees Osees are an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1997, now based in Los Angeles, California. The band currently consists of primary songwriter and core member John Dwyer (vocals, guitar), Tim Hellman (bass), Dan Rincon (d ...

. They were invited to support American psych-rockers Brian Jonestown Massacre on their 2010 European tour after band leader Anton Newcombe saw their video of Devil Song on YouTube. In May 2010 the band played a number of gigs in New York, one of which was again supporting Brian Jonestown Massacre in

Williamsburg Music Hall Music Hall of Williamsburg (formerly Northsix) is a New York City venue located at 66 North 6th Street in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. The venue is operated by The Bowery Presents, a group stemming from Bowery Ballroom. It has a cap ...

. They were also invited by Spider Stacy to join

The Pogues The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse". T ...

as main support (on Anton Newcombe's recommendation) on their 2010 Farewell Christmas Tour. In 2008 the band played at Connect Festival and British Sea Power's Sing Ye from the Hillsides Festival in Tanhill, North Yorkshire. The following year they played the BBC Introducing tent at

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

in 2009, along with End of the Road Festival and

Kendal Calling Kendal Calling is a music & arts festival, held annually at Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District, Cumbria in the North West of England. It has grown from a two-day, 900 capacity event in 2006 to a 25,000 capacity 4-day music festival. Kendal C ...

. They completed a string of festivals in 2010, including Green Man Festival, T in the Park, Bestival, Stag and Dagger,

Pohoda :''The word "pohoda" means "relax" or "ease" in the Slovak and Czech languages.'' Pohoda is an open-air summer music festival in Slovakia, first organized in 1997 in Trenčín. It is the biggest Slovak music event organized annually. The current ...

Hop Farm Festival Hop Farm Music Festival was an annual music festival at The Hop Farm Country Park in Paddock Wood, Kent, England, first created by John Vincent Power of Festival Republic. After its first year it was nominated at the UK Festival Awards with "Be ...

, Moseley Folk Festival,

Standon Calling Standon Calling is an annual music festival held near the village of Standon, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, in the grounds of private residence Standon Lordship. It is a themed boutique festival which grew from a birthday barbecue into an annual ...

Y Not ''Y Not'' is the 16th studio album by Ringo Starr, released on 12 January 2010 on the UMe and Hip-O Records labels. Music, lyrics and recording "Peace Dream" features former Beatle Paul McCartney on bass; another Beatle, John Lennon is re ...

2000 Trees 2000trees festival is an independent music festival held from Wednesday to Sunday on the second week of July at Upcote Farm, Withington, near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. It offers a diverse selection of more than 120 acts across five stages, ...

and the Insider festival in Aviemore. The band released single ''Black to Red'' on 11 October 2010 through Distiller Records with an accompanying DIY 3D video. In April 2011 the band released their second album, ''Spitting Daggers''. Produced by acclaimed producer Leo Abrahams, the album was again well received with Drowned in Sound and the BBC giving the album 8/10 and 7.5 respectively. ''Spitting Daggers'' was released in Europe in September 2011. On 6 January 2013, the Scottish blog and label

Song, by Toad Records Song, by Toad is an independent record label and music blog based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 2008 by Matthew Young, and has released a number of critically acclaimed albums by acts including Meursault, Rob St John and Sparrow and ...

announced it will be releasing Sparrow's upcoming single, ''Shock Shock'' (produced by

Iain Cook Iain Andrew Cook (born 2 November 1974) is a Scottish musician, composer, record producer, and member of Glasgow-based pop band Chvrches. He played guitar for the Scottish post-rock band Aereogramme until their breakup in 2007. Cook also co ...

and ex-

Delgados The Delgados are a Scottish indie rock band formed in Glasgow in 1994. The band is composed of Alun Woodward (vocals, guitar), Emma Pollock (vocals, guitar), Stewart Henderson (bass guitar), and Paul Savage (drums). Biography The band was for ...

member Paul Savage). Their album ''Murderopolis'' was released in May 2013.

After Sparrow

After releasing their third album, Murderopolis, in 2013, the band took a break and O'Sullivan formed an alt pop duo with Jenny Reeve and, with the help of drummer Johnny Scott, released the album Fly, Invisible Hero in 2017. O'Sullivan's latest project, Jill Lorean, is a collaboration between O'Sullivan and musician/producer Andy Monaghan and drummer Peter Kelly and has so far resulted in one 6-track EP, ''Not Your First'' (2020), and a full length album, ''This Rock'' (2022). O'Sullivan has also released a collaborative album with renowned musicians Alasdair Roberts,

Alex Neilson Alex Neilson (born 22 September 1982) is an English drummer, percussionist and singer who is based in Glasgow but grew up in Leeds. He is a founding member and main songwriter of folk-rock group Trembling Bells (2008-2018). He is also known for ...

and

Bonnie "Prince" Billy Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...

under the moniker Three Queens in Mourning (2020). In addition, she collaborated with Sean Cumming (John Knox Sex Club) on storytelling project Do the Gods Speak Esperanto, released in 2017.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Crystals Fall'' (2010, Distiller Records) * ''Spitting Daggers'' (2011, Distiller Records) * ''Murderopolis'' (2013, Song, by Toad Records)

EPs

* ''Sleight of Hand'' (2009, Distiller Records) * ''Into the Wild'' (2009, Distiller Records)

Singles

* "Devil Song" (2009, Distiller Records) * "Horses Grin" (2009, Distiller Records) * "I Will Break You" (2010, Distiller Records) * "Black to Red" (2010, Distiller Records) * "Snakes in the Grass" (2011, Distiller Records) * "Shock Shock" (2013, Song, by Toad Records) * "The Faster You Spin" (2013, Song, by Toad Records)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sparrow and the Workshop Musical groups from Glasgow Scottish indie rock groups Musical groups established in 2008 Musical groups disestablished in 2014