Ooberman

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Ooberman
OriginLiverpool, England[1]
GenresIndie,[citation needed] pop,[1] prog
Years active1996, 1997–2001, 2001-2003, 2006–2010
LabelsRotodisc
Independiente
Rough Trade Records
Tugboat
Past membersDanny Popplewell
Andy Flett
Steve Flett
Sophia Churney
Alan Kelly
Paul Walsham
Jaymie Ireland

Ooberman are an English band with strong indie, folk and progressive influences first formed in 1997. They split up in 2003, shortly after the release of their second album Hey Petrunko, but announced their reformation in April 2006 and began releasing music again soon thereafter.[citation needed] Six of their singles have charted on the UK singles chart, with "Blossoms Falling" (1999) charting at #39.[2]

History[edit]

Early years[edit]

In 1988, Ooberman founders Danny Popplewell and Andy Flett met in Bradford, and, together with Flett's younger brother Steve, formed the Forestry Commission. The band's life soon ended when Popplewell moved to Liverpool, but the three friends kept in touch.[3]

Subsequently, the Flett brothers moved to Liverpool. Ooberman was founded nearly a decade after the previous band, with the addition of Alan Kelly (drums) and Sophia Churney (keyboards and vocals).[3] The first Ooberman gig was in June 1997, and their eccentric live shows and quirky demos won them the 1997 BT Merseyside Arts Award for Best Newcomers.[citation needed]

Their first release was the "Sugar Bum" 7" inch single on Graham Coxon's Transcopic record label, followed by the critically acclaimed[citation needed] "Shorley Wall" EP which sold 10,000 copies.[4] The band then secured up a major recording contract with Independiente, on which they released their first proper single:[citation needed] the Top 40 hit "Blossoms Falling" at #39.[2]

The Magic Treehouse[edit]

Ooberman recorded two Peel sessions in 1999, on 31 January and on 25 October.[5] Ooberman performed at the Glastonbury Festival in 1999.[6] The band released their debut album The Magic Treehouse on Independiente on 25 October 1999. The album got a 4/5 review in NME.[4] Afterwards, the record label Independiente and Ooberman parted ways.[7][8] 2001's Running Girl was released on Danny Popplewell's own label, Rotodisc.[7][8]

Hey Petrunko[edit]

After more than a year working on new material, the band announced that they would release their second album – Hey Petrunko – at the start of 2002. The band got a new drummer – Jaymie Ireland.[citation needed]

A five track EP – "Bluebell Morning" – and a single – "Beany Bean" – followed, but Hey Petrunko was delayed. After nearly three years working on the album, it was released on 3 March 2003.[citation needed]

The group became disillusioned and broke up in 2003.[8]

Reformation[edit]

The band reformed in 2006.[8][9] Their third album Carried Away was released in 2006 by Rotodisc.[8]

In September 2007 the band released The Lost Tapes – Rare Recordings 1991–2007, a collection of rare and unreleased recordings covering the period in the title.[8]

Related projects[edit]

In December 2006, Rotodisc released an album by Symphonika entitled The Snow Queen. Symphonika is an orchestral side-project by Danny Popplewell, and the album featured the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and vocals by Sophia Churney.[10]

On 26 February 2007, Andy and Steve Flett released an album of material recorded during Ooberman's time apart under the name Ooberon. It was entitled Waiting for the Sonic Boom.[11]

The Magic Theatre[edit]

On 7 June 2010, a new album London Town featuring Ooberman members Sophia Churney and Danny Popplewell as "The Magic Theatre" was released accompanied by eleven free HD videos.[12] The album's orchestral sound was achieved on a low budget by Popplewell writing library music, designed to be used as background for films and television, that fitted his songs,[13] and re-using the recordings with new vocals by him and Sophia Churney.

In 2012 the band contributed a song to "A Christmas Gift For You From Elefant Records", entitled "Christmas Lights".[14] To promote a new album "The Long Way Home",[15] an EP entitled "I Got the Answer" [16] was released on the 8th of July 2013 by Elefant Records (Spain). The EP, released on dark chocolate brown coloured vinyl, was a numbered, limited edition of 500 copies. The album followed on 25th November 2013, similarly limited to 500 copies and pressed on clear blue vinyl. It was accompanied by a CD edition. The group performed live at the Indietracks Festival on the 27th of July 2013, playing songs from their repertoire and a couple of old favourites from Ooberman. They also appeared at the Sala Siroco in Madrid on the 8th of November 2013.[citation needed]

Discography[edit]

Many of the band's releases have been issued on their own label, Rotodisc.

Albums[edit]

EPs[edit]

Singles[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Graham Coxon's Transcopic label" (PDF). Music Week. 29 August 1998. p. 10. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "OOBERMAN". Official Charts. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Ooberman". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b "The Magic Treehouse". NME. 12 September 2005. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  5. ^ "BBC - Radio 1 - Keeping It Peel - Ooberman". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  6. ^ "BBC News | Glastonbury 1999 | Arrests up at Glastonbury". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  7. ^ a b c "Album reviews" (PDF). Music Week. 3 November 2001. p. 25. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Album Review: Ooberman - The Lost Tapes: Rare Recordings 1991-2007". DrownedInSound. 3 September 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  9. ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 4 September 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  10. ^ [1] Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Intropage". Archived from the original on 30 June 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2007.
  12. ^ [2] Archived 1 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "That's magic". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  14. ^ "Elefant Records - A Christmas Gift For You From Elefant Records". Elefant Records. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Elefant Records - The Magic Theatre - The Long Way Home". Elefant Records. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  16. ^ "Elefant Records - The Magic Theatre - I Got the Answer EP". Elefant Records. Retrieved 1 September 2023.

External links[edit]

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