The Farm (band)

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = The Farm


Img_capt = The Farm
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Liverpool, England
Instruments =
Genre = Alternative rock Madchester
Years_active = 1984-1996
Label =
Associated_acts = Soul of Socialism
URL =
Current_members = Peter Hooton Steve Grimes Keith Mullin Carl Hunter Roy Boulter Ben Leach
Past_members = Andy McVann George Maher

The Farm is a band from Liverpool, England. They were popular through the early 1990s. Their album "Spartacus" stormed to number one in the UK albums chart when it was released in April 1991. The band are seen to be influenced by the Madchester movement.

History

The Farm was unofficially called Soul of Socialism in the early 1980s. This band comprised Peter Hooton, Steve Grimes, John Melvin and Andy McVann, who was killed in a car chase on October 1, 1986, running away from the police, and to whose parents the band's subsequent album, "Spartacus", would be dedicated. The band evolved out of an earlier group called The Excitements, initially including Phil (Stinker) on bass, Neil (Cad) Campbell on drums, as well as Steve Grimes on guitar. They became The Farm after Martin Dunbar (vocals) left and Peter Hooton joined. The name came from a friend's farm where they used to practise. In the 1980s they released a single, "Hearts and Minds", produced by Graham "Suggs" McPherson, lead vocalist with Madness. In 1986, after McVann's death, Melvin left the band, to pursue a varied career as the director of his own construction firm, but he eventually returned to music in 1990 under the guise of Mr Smith, a two-piece band that would tour frequently, but not release anything of note. After the departure of Melvin and the death of McVann, Hooton promptly brought in a new line-up. They released four Indie singles but failed to earn themselves a big break until 1990.

In 1989, the band had been given a cameo role in the movie "The Final Frame", starring Graham McPherson. They were signed up on the back of this and hired McPherson as their producer. Their first single under new management was "Stepping Stone", a dance re-make of Paul Revere & The Raiders & The Monkees' single "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone", a 1966 single which in its day reached #20 in the U.S. Billboard charts for The Monkees.

They were soon featured in "The Face", an influential pop culture magazine in the UK, and their promotion of "No alla violenza" anti-hooligan t-shirts during the Italia 90 helped raise their profile further.

The Farm's first song to reach the upper end of the UK singles chart was "Groovy Train", which reached the Top Ten in September 1990. Later that year, they released their most famous song, "All Together Now", which was a huge hit.

It was on the crest of this wave that their album "Spartacus" reached #1 in the UK. However, this success was short-lived, and their first single for a major label (Sony Records), "Love See No Colour" (1992), did not perform well, which led to a split from producers Pete Heller and Terry Farley. The band joined up with Mark Saunders, the man who had produced Erasure and The Cure. They released a cover of Human League's "Don't You Want Me", which reached the Top Twenty.

In 1994, they released the album "Hullabaloo" on the Sire label, followed by their last major single. Despite being a group largely supporting Liverpool F.C., they released a single to accompany the presence of their cross-city rivals, Everton, in the 1995 FA Cup Final.

Their most recent release was "All Together Now (Strike Three)", as the official anthem of the England National Football Team at Euro 2004. It was issued on 31 May 2004, having been remixed with the help of DJ Spoony.

Line-up

*Peter Hooton - vocals
*Steve Grimes - Rhythm guitar, keyboards
*Keith Mullin - Lead guitar
*Carl Hunter - Bass guitar
*Roy Boulter - drums
*Ben Leach - Keyboards and programmingOthers
*Kev Sampson - Manager 1989 onwards

Discography

tudio albums

*1991 - "Spartacus", #1 UK
*1992 - "Love See No Colour"
*1994 - "Hullabaloo"

Compilation albums

*1998 - "The Best of The Farm"
*2004 - "The Very Best of The Farm"

ingles

*1990 - "Stepping Stone / Family of Man" - #58 UK
*1990 - "Groovy Train" - #6 UK, #15 US Modern Rock
*1990 - "All Together Now" - #4 UK, #7 US Modern Rock
*1991 - "Sinful!" (Pete Wylie with The Farm) - #28 UK
*1991 - "Don't Let Me Down" - #36 UK
*1991 - "Mind" - #31 UK
*1992 - "Love See No Colour" - #58 UK
*1992 - "Rising Sun" - #48 UK
*1992 - "Don't You Want Me" - #18 UK
*1992 - "Love See No Colour (re-mix)" - #35 UK
*1994 - "Messiah"
*1994 - "Comfort"
*1995 - "All Together Now" (Everton FA Cup Final version) - #24 UK
*2004 - "All Together Now" (England Euro 2004 version, The Farm featuring SFX Boys Choir) - #5 UK

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/thefarmlive MySpace Page]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/music/unsigned/famous.shtml#farm Something from the BBC] (BBC)
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:oso20roac48z~T0 AllMusic Profile]