Symposium are an English

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 ...

pop band. They were active from 1994 to 2000 and were known for their live shows. The name 'Symposium' originally referred to a drinking party (the Greek verb sympotein means "to drink together"), and was taken from the philosophical dialogue by

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

History

The band formed whilst still at school in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

, London, in 1994. The line up was: Ross Cummins (vocalist), Hagop Tchaparian (guitarist/backing vocalist), Joe Birch (drummer), William McGonagle (guitarist), and Wojtek Godzisz (vocalist/songwriter). The band had a selection of uptempo

punk pop Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti- suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other p ...

songs which, together with their young average age of eighteen, bought them to the attention of Korda Marshall who signed them to

Infectious Records An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable di ...

in 1996. Debut single "Drink the Sunshine" in 1996 was followed by support from ''

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 ...

'', who placed them on the "Bratbus Tour" (an annual tour of four hotly tipped bands) which would visit universities in the UK. In March 1997, the band's concerts had been noted by

Everett True Everett True (born Jeremy Andrew Thackray on 21 April 1961) is an English music journalist and musician. He became interested in rock music after hearing The Residents, and formed a band with school friends. He has written and recorded as The ...

, who put them on the cover of the 29 March 1997 ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'', proclaiming them to be the "best live band in Britain". The band released a No. 25 UK

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

, "Farewell to Twilight" in March 1997. They also performed the song on ''

TFI Friday ''TFI Friday'' is an entertainment show that was broadcast on Channel 4 television in the United Kingdom. It was produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker, and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first five series. The sixth series ...

''. This was followed by a headlining tour. They released a mini album, ''One Day at a Time'', in October 1997, stating in ''

'' that they "just wanted to get them

he songs He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

out there". The release alluded to the fact that their actual (full-length) debut album would be released at a later date. This was illustrated by the fact that one of the four singles they had released up until this point, "The Answer To Why I Hate You", was absent from the mini-album, but did appear on their first album ''On The Outside''. Having signed a recording contract with

. "Farewell to Twilight" achieved a

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 ...

peak of No. 25, a position that they would never surpass. "Fairweather Friend" was the band's best known song, having support from a music video, and this led to a ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' performance. In 1997 the band supported a number of popular American bands, including

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

at Wembley Arena,

The Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the Foo Fighters (album), epony ...

Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first five ...

and

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, they ...

at Brixton Academy, where Cummins' stage antics caused him to dislocate his leg. The following year the band toured the United States on the

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

with

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...

NOFX NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...

and Rancid. Their debut album ''On The Outside'' was released in May 1998. By the end of 1999 the band had left Infectious Records. After supporting

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

at the

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 1999, Symposium released the "Killing Position" EP. By early 2000 the band had developed musical differences and broke up. McGonagle and Birch formed the post-hardcore band Hell Is for Heroes, whilst Cummins eventually resurfaced in 2004 with Paper Cuts. The band's primary songwriter Wojtek Godzisz went solo and signed to

Tigertrap Records Tigertrap Records is a London-based record label, which was set up in late 2005 in music, 2005 by Drowned In Sound writers Tom Edwards and Adie Nunn. The label released a series of singles through 2006, concentrating on unbroken talent. During ...

in 2006. His eponymous debut album was released in 2009. Hagop Tchaparian went on to work with the band

Hot Chip Hot Chip are an English synthpop band formed in London in 1995. The group consists of multi-instrumentalists Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard, Al Doyle, Owen Clarke, and Felix Martin. They are occasionally joined by former member Rob Smoughton for ...

. He is a consultant to 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, ...

. Tchaparian released his debut album ''Bolts'' in October 2022.

2022-onwards

On 22 April, 2022, an update was made via the Symposium facebook page, the band announced that their albums (''One Day At A Time'', and ''On The Outside'') are now available on all streaming websites. With the added bonus of a compilation album "Do You Remember How It Was?" due out for 11 November, 2022. Ross, Wojtek, Will and Joe will be participating in a Q&A at Signature Brew in Haggerston on 19 May, 2022, hosted by Kerrangs!'s Phil Alexander. There was also a promise of a live show announcement coming soon. It has since been announced that they will play for “one night only” at Islington Assembly Hall in November 2022.

Members

*Ross Cummins – vocals *Wojtek Godzisz – vocals, bass *Hagop Tchaparian – guitar, occasional backing vocals *William McGonagle – guitar *Joe Birch – drums

Discography

Albums and EPs

Singles

References

External links

Paper CutsWojtek GodziszThe Letter G
{{DEFAULTSORT:Symposium Britpop groups Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups disestablished in 2000 Infectious Music artists Musical groups reestablished in 2022