Ocean Colour Scene

Ocean Colour Scene
Ocean Colour Scene in Leeds, 2005
Background information
Origin	Moseley, Birmingham, England
Genres	Britpop
Years active	1989–present
Labels	Fontana, Island, Sanctuary, Moseley Shoals, Cooking Vinyl
Website	oceancolourscene.com
Members
Simon Fowler Steve Cradock Oscar Harrison Dan Sealey Andy Bennett
Past members
Damon Minchella

Ocean Colour Scene (often abbreviated to OCS) are an English Britpop band formed in Moseley, Birmingham in 1989.^[1] They have had five Top 10 albums and six Top 10 singles to date.

History

Early days (1990-1995)

Ocean Colour Scene were formed after two other local bands called The Boys and Fanatics disbanded. Fanatics released an EP titled Suburban Love Songs.^[1] OCS signed to Phfftt Records in 1990.^[2]

Their first single, "Sway", was released in September 1990 in the burgeoning UK indie era.^[1] However, when their record label was swallowed up by larger company Phonogram their eponymous début album was remixed, against the band's wishes, to fit in with the Madchester musical trend of the time. The album was largely deemed a failure, and the band fell into dispute with their label.^[2] Being in dispute with their label, the band were forced back onto the dole, with no real direction and being only able to write new music, but with no outlet for it.

In 1993, the start of the turnaround occurred. Paul Weller invited the band to support him on some dates of his tour. On the back of these performances, Weller invited Cradock to play on one of his singles, and Fowler to sing on his forthcoming album, Wild Wood.^[2] Cradock was asked to play live with Weller on his tour, and the money Cradock made kept the band afloat during this time^{[citation needed]}.

Britpop fame (1995-2000)

The band recorded a demo that was sent to various industry figures. After hearing this tape, Noel Gallagher invited the band to play with Oasis on their 1995 tour. This support slot brought OCS to the attention of more record labels, and eventually in late 1995, the band signed with MCA Records.^[2]

With the explosion of the Britpop scene, OCS's music became nationally and internationally known. Their second album Moseley Shoals was released to critical acclaim, containing four hit singles and reached #2 in the UK Albums Chart.^[1] They also played at one of the concerts at Knebworth House supporting Oasis in August 1996.

Marchin' Already, the follow-up to Moseley Shoals, went to #1 in the UK Albums Chart,^[1] displacing Oasis' Be Here Now at the top of the charts in 1997. In 1998 they headlined their own arena tour in support of Marchin' Already and played three sold out nights at Stirling Castle, Scotland.

One from the Modern was released in 1999, and peaked in the UK Albums Chart at #4. The record spawned three top 40 singles, "Profit in Peace", "So Low" and "July".^[1]

Post-britpop (2001-2006)

Having undergone line-up changes, the band continued to record and perform, though they struggled to recapture the success they enjoyed with Moseley Shoals. Releases in 2001 (Mechanical Wonder), 2003 (North Atlantic Drift), 2005 (A Hyperactive Workout For The Flying Squad) and 2007 (On the Leyline) continued the trend of releasing new material every two years.

2004 saw the band release their first live album, Live: One For The Road. The album was a compilation of nineteen live tracks taken from various concerts. In 2006 the band released a live acoustic album, Live At The Jam House, which consisted of fifteen live tracks and also contained four new songs in "Great Man In Waiting", "The Word", "Still Trying" and "Matilda's England".

The band also released a live album in December 2006, which was recorded at Birmingham Academy and spread over two discs. People attending the gig were able to purchase the recording straight afterwards.

Recent years (2007-present)

In 2009 the band went into the studio with producer Gavin Monaghan, known for his work with Editors, Scott Matthews and The Twang, to work on a new album, Saturday, with a release date of 1 February 2010 to mark the 21st anniversary of the band. The album had a working title of 'Rockfield', named after the studios where it was recorded, but it was released as Saturday - both "Rockfield" and "Saturday" being tracks thereon.

On 2 November 2009, the band released a free downloadable version of "Mrs Maylie", taken from the forthcoming album. "Magic Carpet Days", the first single from Saturday, was released on 25 January, followed by the album a few days later. The album charted at #35 on the UK Albums Chart. A second single, "Saturday", was released in May 2010 but it failed to chart. On 24 July 2010 they performed at the Wickerman Festival.

On 11 October 2010 the band released a 4 CD box set, 21, to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the band. It included many previously unreleased tracks and a brand new song entitled "Twenty One".

In autumn 2010 the band's single, The Day We Caught The Train featured on Top Gear's [BBC] annual compilation album. The single was featured as the 15th track on Top Gear: Full Throttle.

In March 2011 the band released a 15th anniversary special edition of their 1996 hit album Moseley Shoals. It consisted of the full album, b-sides and live tracks. The band played a full UK tour in support of the re-release.

Collaborative work

Most band members have supported and collaborated with other artists during the group's existence. Simon Fowler was one of the musicians involved in the official anthem for England's World Cup campaign, for France 98. England United as they were named also included Echo & the Bunnymen, Space and The Spice Girls. "(How Does It Feel) To Be On Top Of The World" reached number 9 in the UK Singles Chart. Steve Cradock and former member Damon Minchella played regularly with Paul Weller,^[3][4] with Cradock also playing recently on Amy MacDonald's gigs.^[5]

During their peak (around the time of the Moseley Shoals release) OCS also regularly performed on stage with Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis with whom they were on tour at the time. One particular performance of note with the Gallaghers was a rendition of The Beatles' "Day Tripper", which was included as a live B-side to "The Circle". The song was also included on the B-side compilation album, B-sides, Seasides and Freerides. Noel Gallagher previewed an advance copy of the song during an interview on BBC Radio 1 with DJ Jo Whiley. The interview mainly focused on Oasis's then forthcoming gig in the grounds of Knebworth House, of which Ocean Colour Scene were one of the supporting acts. Over 2.6 million people applied for tickets for the shows, making it the biggest demand for concert tickets in UK history.^[6] There was a combined audience of over 250,000 people. At a 2011 gig at the University of East Anglia, Ocean Colour Scene were joined on stage by former footballer Dion Dublin, an amateur percussionist, who accompanied them on The Dube, an instrument he invented.^[7][8]

See also

• Concerts at Knebworth House

Discography

Main article: Ocean Colour Scene discography

• Ocean Colour Scene (1992)
• Moseley Shoals (1996)
• Marchin' Already (1997)
• One from the Modern (1999)
• Mechanical Wonder (2001)
• North Atlantic Drift (2003)
• A Hyperactive Workout for the Flying Squad (2005)
• On the Leyline (2007)
• Saturday (2010)^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 709–710. ISBN 1-84195-017-3. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Ocean Colour Scene Biography". http://www.oceancolourscene.com/band_biography/biog. Retrieved 6 August 2009. 
3. ^ "Weller plays intimate gig". NME. 13 February 2006. http://www.nme.com/news/paul-weller/22211. Retrieved 22 April 2008. 
4. ^ "Damon Minchella". Line6.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080311100329/http://line6.com/artists/286/. Retrieved 22 April 2008. 
5. ^ Dingwall, John (5 October 2007). "Amy Macdonald: I Heard Paul Weller Whistling My Song". Daily Record. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/music/music-news/2007/10/05/amy-macdonald-i-heard-paul-weller-whistling-my-song-86908-19901641/. 
6. ^ Knebworthhouse.com^{[dead link]}
7. ^ "Dublin reveals musical side". BBC News. 28 February 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9409982.stm. 
8. ^ "Ex-Manchester Utd footballer Dion Dublin launches new musical instrument". NME.com (IPC Media). 28 January 2010. http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/49469. Retrieved 29 January 2010. 

External links

• Official website
• Ocean Colour Scene on RollingStone.com