The Candyskins were an English rock band formed in 1989 in
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, England. Though early members of the 'Oxford Scene', they enjoyed limited commercial success compared to their contemporaries
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
and
Supergrass
Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993 in Oxford. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey ( ...
. They were considered by the British
music press
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
as one of the seminal early bands of the
Britpop
Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...
era.
The band
recorded four studio albums over a period of eight years before breaking up in 1998 and reuniting in 2009.
History
The band owes its origins to Mark and
Nick Cope
Nick Cope (born 8 December) is an English musician running regular music sessions in Oxfordshire for young children and their families. Cope also performs at schools and theatres and music festivals in the UK and overseas.
Cope was previously t ...
, Nick Burton and John Halliday all living in the same village,
Islip, Oxfordshire
Islip is a village and civil parish on the River Ray, just above its confluence with the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England. It is about east of Kidlington and about north of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 65 ...
, and attending the same local secondary school (
Gosford Hill School
Gosford Hill School is a co-educational secondary school with academy status in the village of Kidlington in Oxfordshire, England.
History
The school, originally called the Kidlington Church of England Central School, was built to teach child ...
) between around 1974 and 1980. The four Islip members of the band had begun working together by the time they left school and various line-ups and name-changes followed during the 1980s, until "The Candyskins" were formed in 1989, with Richard (mini) Brown on bass and
banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
. After the successful release of the single "Submarine Song" in 1990, the band went into the studio to produce their first full-length album ''Space I'm In''. The album included three
singles
Singles are people not in a committed relationship.
Singles may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series
* ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe
* ''Singles'' ...
: "Submarine Song", "She Blew Me Away" and "You Are Here". Brown left the band before the album was released.
After a year of touring and the replacement of a stand-in bass player with Karl Shale, the band released their second album ''Fun?'' on
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint.
Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...
in 1993. Characteristically, the band attempted to build upon the US success of ''Space I'm In'' with an ironic album featuring songs about football and gardening. The poor selling
record began an elongated legal dispute between the record company and the band, reportedly due to disagreements over songwriting
royalties
A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...
.
The album ''Sunday Morning Fever'' was released on Ultimate in the UK in 1997, and saw the band enjoy their biggest chart success with the single "Monday Morning" making it into the
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
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 ...
. The record company went bankrupt and the band were left in limbo during the recording of their last album ''Death of a Minor TV Celebrity''. The album did not do as well as their previous efforts, despite featuring the single "Feed It" which was one of the central songs on the soundtrack to the movie ''
The Waterboy
''The Waterboy'' is a 1998 American sports comedy film directed by Frank Coraci. It was written by Adam Sandler as well as Tim Herlihy and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. Sandler also stars as the title character while Kathy Bates ...
'' starring
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...
.
Break-up
The band broke up in 1998 and members now primarily pursue other projects in 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, ...
. Mark Cope has a new band
Nine Stone Cowboy
9 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
9 or nine may also refer to:
Dates
* AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era
* 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era
* 9, numerical symbol for the month of September
Places
* Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...
, and has released several singles including "Jesus Doesn't Like Me". Nick Cope writes and records music for children. John Halliday has produced many bands in his studio in Oxford, Shonk Studios.
Reformation
The band have reunited on several occasions since their break-up, fuelling rumours that they may one day reform. Notable public performances included:
A farewell gig on New Year's Eve, 2001 at
The Zodiac.
The last night party of The Zodiac in Oxford on 17 May 2007. The event was filmed for a documentary about the history of the Oxford music scene, ''
Anyone Can Play Guitar
"Anyone Can Play Guitar" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released as the second single from their debut album, ''Pablo Honey'' (1993). It reached number 32 in the UK, and remained a staple of Radiohead's live sets throughout the ea ...
'' (in which The Candyskins featured). Over two thousand people attended the sold-out show. They also played at the Carling Academy, Oxford, in what was The Zodiac, on 8 August 2008.
![nick cope](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Nick_cope.jpg)
They performed at the Truck Festival on 26 July 2009, on a bill that included old Oxford friends
Supergrass
Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993 in Oxford. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey ( ...
, amongst others.
Line-up
* Nick Cope – vocals
* Nick Burton – guitar
* Mark Cope – guitar
* Brett Gordon – bass
* Karl Shale – bass
* John Halliday – drums
Discography
Albums
Singles
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Candyskins, The
Musical groups established in 1989
1989 establishments in the United Kingdom
English rock music groups
Britpop groups
Geffen Records artists
Musical groups disestablished in 1998
Musical groups reestablished in 2009
Musical groups from Oxford
Sibling musical groups