The Novellos are an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, four-piece

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 ...

group formed in

Stoke on Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

taking large influences from

1960s music This article includes an overview of the events and trends in popular music in the 1960s. In North America and Europe the decade was particularly revolutionary in terms of popular music, as it saw the evolution of rock music, rock and the begi ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and

post punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

. The group has earned a reputation for their frantic live performances and their sporadic

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

releases. They first rose to prominence in March 2008 with their first single, "The Lady Is Not For Turning" written by Mike Thomas, arranged and produced by founder of

SONS Ltd SONS Records is an independent record label based in Stoke-on-Trent, a trading name for SONS Records Ltd. The original company SONS Ltd was formed in 2004 by Seb Clarke, who was shortly after joined by: Neil Graham, Al Padmore, James Wakefie ...

Seb Clarke This Is Seb Clarke (TISC) are an English 12-piece Soul music, soul-punk rock, punk ensemble from Stoke-On-Trent, North Staffordshire. Their line-up plays Hammond organ, piano, Bass guitar, bass, Drum kit, drums, lead guitar, rhythm guitar and ...

of This Is Seb Clarke. The song cited the ever present echoes of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

in their hometown of

, and was nationally championed across

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

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. ...

BBC 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

and

XFM Radio X is a British National commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. Radio X launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station, a licensed London-wide station in 1997 and nationally in 2015 ...

Formation and SONS Ltd

The original incarnation of The Novellos first met at

Newcastle-under-Lyme School Newcastle-under-Lyme School is a mixed Independent day school in the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It came about by a merger of the old Newcastle High School (founded in 1874) with the Orme Girls' School (founded in 187 ...

, the line-up saw Mike Thomas on

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

and vocal duties, Adam Steele on

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, Richard Dodd on

and

keys Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

and Daniel Ellwood on

Drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

. The band practiced on weekends and at school, trying to find time between exams, revision and course work for their musical musings. In early 2007 the band performed their first gig in

The Sugarmill The Sugarmill is a nightclub and music venue in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, that opened in 1994. Events The Sugarmill hosts Electric Friday club nights weekly, the longest running alternative club night in Staffordshire. The last Friday of each m ...

, Hanley, Staffordshire - their performance earning them a warm reception and in turn catching the attention of Sebastian Clarke. After a number of meetings and conversations between Clarke and the band, as well as some convincing on the behalf of Mike Thomas, The Novellos agreed to a one release deal with Clarke's label

. After moving their equipment into the SONS studio in Hanley, Stoke on Trent the band began work on their first release, "The Lady Is Not For Turning". Ellwood was replaced by Eddy Gillespie from the

Leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...

based band, Silent Call. The track "The Lady Is Not For Turning" has two drum takes on the mix, both Gillespie's and Ellwood's. The Novellos also parted company with Dodd, replacing them with Phil Gillespie. Sam Walker, also of Silent Call, joined to play

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

and the

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

The Gillespie brothers & SONS showcases

In 2008 the band undertook a live session on

BBC Radio Stoke BBC Radio Stoke is the BBC's local radio station serving Staffordshire and South Cheshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, Freeview and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Hanley area of Stoke-on-Trent. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekl ...

,"BBC Radio Stoke"
''Subculture Show'' to promote "The Lady Is Not For Turning", which reached No. 3 in the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

. Successive performances across the UK and at three Showcase events followed. During this time both the musical and professional partnership with Seb Clarke grew; Clarke's band - This Is Seb Clarke and The Novellos enjoyed chart success. The year culminated in a

session at Maida Vale Studios,"BBC Radio 1"
'' Steve Lamacq In New Music We Trust'' backed by the support of Steve Lamacq on his ''In New Music We Trust'' show, and the extension of their contract with SONS Ltd. Around this time, a split took place between Phil Gillespie and Thomas about the direction of the band’s career.

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

promoter Anthony Price, then owner of the Sugarmill venue, had secretly approached the band, asking them to leave SONS Ltd to sign to his promotions company, under the management of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

based Karen Johnson. Phil Gillespie wanted to leave SONS Ltd, Thomas and Steele both vowed to stay. Phil Gillespie subsequently left The Novellos on 20 April, the day after their second Showcase. Walker and Eddy Gillespie remained in the ranks of the band. The following year saw the reformation of Phil Gillespie's band Silent Call, which included his brother Eddy Gillespie on drums and Sam Walker on keyboards, whilst both still remained in the Novellos.

Writing and recording

Their second release, "Not So Sure", was intended for release in late 2009, although it was not issued until February 2010, reaching No. 12 in the UK Indie Chart. Their third single, "All You Need" was intended for release in April 2010, however the release was delayed. During this time the band where offered a

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 ...

slot, but struggling to find the time to complete the

recordings A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

, SONS Ltd were forced to cancel the performance. "All You Need" was released on 23 August 2010.

Singles

References

External links

The Novellos - Official WebsiteThe Novellos - MyspaceThe Novellos - Last.fm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Novellos, The English indie rock groups English pop music groups