The Farm (British band)
| The Farm | |
|---|---|
 Promotional photograph of The Farm in 1992 L to R: Ben Leach, Carl Hunter, Roy Boulter, Keith Mullin (back row), Steve Grimes and Peter Hooton (front row) | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Liverpool, England |
| Genres | Alternative rock, alternative dance, baggy |
| Years active | 1983–1996, 2004–present |
| Labels | Produce, Sire, Currently Unsigned/Indie |
| Members |
Peter Hooton Steve Grimes Carl Hunter Roy Boulter Keith Mullin Ben Leach |
| Past members |
Phil Strongman Andy McVann Anthony Evans Steve Levy George Maher John Melvin |
The Farm are a British band from Liverpool. Their first album, Spartacus, reached the top position in the UK Albums Chart when it was released in March 1991;[1] it includes two songs which had been top 10 singles the year before.[2][3] In 2012, they toured with their Spartacus Live shows and formed part of The Justice Tonight Band, supporting The Stone Roses at Heaton Park, Phoenix Park, Lyon and Milan. The Justice Collective had the 2012 Christmas number one with their recording of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother".[4] The Farm have continued to perform at festivals in 2015 and have acoustic performances planned throughout the year, and will appear at the Shiiine Music Festival in November, 2015.[5]
History
The band was formed in early 1983[3] and initially comprised Peter Hooton, Steve Grimes, John Melvin and Andrew John "Andy" McVann,[6] who was killed in a police chase on 1 October 1986 at the age of 21,[7] and to whose parents the band's subsequent album, Spartacus, is dedicated.
The band evolved from an earlier group called The Excitements,[8] initially including Phil Stephenson on bass guitar, Neil (Cad) Campbell on drums, Grimes on guitarand Thomas (the band's dancer). They became The Farm after Martin Dunbar (vocals) left and Peter Hooton joined, although they did play several gigs as The Excitements with Hooton on vocals. In 1984, they released the single, "Hearts and Minds", produced by Graham "Suggs" McPherson,[9] lead vocalist with Madness.[3] 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 toured frequently, but did not release anything of note. In 1987, the band supported The Housemartins on their UK tour.
After the departure of Melvin and the death of McVann, Hooton brought in a new line-up. They released four independent singles, but did not have a big break until 1990.[10] In 1989, the band had been given a cameo role in the movie The Final Frame starring Suggs. They were signed after this and hired Suggs as their producer. Their first single under new management was "Stepping Stone", a dance remake of Paul Revere & the Raiders and The Monkees' single "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone",[10] a 1966 single that in its day reached No. 20 in the U.S. Billboard charts for The Monkees.[3] They appeared in The Face, an influential popular culture magazine in the UK, and their promotion of "No alla violenza" anti-hooligan T-shirts during Italia 90 helped to raise their profile further.
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The Farm's first song to reach the top part of the UK Singles Chart was "Groovy Train", which reached the Top 10 in September 1990.[10] During the summer that year they'd played in Ibiza and were a key feature in the film A Short Film About Chilling.[11] In late November that year, they released their most famous song, "All Together Now", which instantly became a hit and peaked at number three in the charts in December 1990.[3] It was on the crest of this wave that their album Spartacus reached No. 1 in the UK the following year. This success was short-lived, and their first single for a major label (Sony Records), "Love See No Colour" (1992), did not perform well,[10] which led to a split from producers Pete Heller and Terry Farley. The band joined up with Mark Saunders, who had produced Erasure and The Cure. They released a cover version of The Human League's "Don't You Want Me", which reached the Top 20 in 1992.[10]
In 1994, they released the album Hullabaloo on the Sire label, followed by their last major single.[3] 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, in which Everton beat Manchester United 1-0.
Their most recent release was "Alltogethernow 2004", featuring the S.F.X. Boys Choir of Liverpool, as the official anthem of the England National Football Team at Euro 2004.[12] It was issued on 31 May 2004 and, as the name suggests, in a slightly remixed format, with radio commentary from the Euro 2004 qualifiers added to the track, whilst a bonus remix was included on the single with the help of DJ Spoony. The Farm were also central to the track released to commemorate the Hillsborough disaster, "The Fields of Anfield Road", the proceeds going to the families of those killed in the disaster.[13]
In 2011, The Farm joined forces with others to create the Don't Buy The Sun Gig, at the Olympia in Liverpool, which was part of the continuing protest on Merseyside against The Sun newspaper for its reporting of the Hillsborough disaster 22 years before.[14] This comprised Mick Jones from The Clash, Pete Wylie from The Mighty Wah, John Power and others. This then formed the core of The Justice Tonight Band which toured from 2011 to 2012, including four performances supporting The Stone Roses in their comeback tour in 2012.[15] The Justice Tonight Band headlined the Strummerville festival in 2012[16] and went on to form The Justice Collective who had the Christmas number 1 with their version of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", a charity single in aid of the families of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster.[4]
In 2013 and 2014 the band have continued to perform at festivals around the UK, including the Isle of Wight Festival in 2013.[17] In 2014 Alan McGee said that the band's acoustic gig at his new venue The Tabernacle, was in his Top Ten All Time Gigs.[18] The Farm have continued to perform at festivals in 2015 and have acoustic performances planned throughout the year, and appeared at the Shiiine On Weekender in November, 2015.[5]
Members
- Current members
- Peter Hooton – vocals (1983–1996, 2004–present)
- Steve Grimes – guitar, keyboards (1983–1996, 2004–present)
- Carl Hunter – bass guitar (1986–1996, 2004–present)
- Roy Boulter – drums (1986–1996, 2004–present)
- Keith Mullin – guitar (1986–1996, 2004–present)
- Ben Leach – keyboards (1988–1996, 2004–present)
- Former members
- Paula David – backing vocals (1989-1993)
- Phil Strongman – bass guitar (1983–1986)
- Andy McVann – drums (1983–1986)
- Anthony Evans – brass (1984–1986)
- Steve Levy – brass (1984–1986)
- George Maher – brass (1984–1986)
- John Melvin – brass (1984–1986)
Discography
Studio albums
- Spartacus (1991) No. 1 (UK), No. 45 (NED), No. 37 (SWI). Gold Certification (UK)[2][3]
- Love See No Colour (1992)[19]
- Hullabaloo (1994)[20]
Other albums
- Pastures Old and New (1986) [compilation]
- Spartacus Live (1991) [video]
- Groovy Times (1991) [video]
- Best of The Farm (1998) [compilation]
- The Very Best of The Farm (2001) [compilation]
- Back Together Now! Live (2006) [video]
- All Together with The Farm (2007) [live album]
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [2][3] | IRE | NED | BEL (FLA) | GER | SWI | US Mod | ||||||||
| 1984 | "Hearts and Minds" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Pastures Old and New | |||||
| 1985 | "Steps of Emotion" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||
| 1986 | "Some People" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||
| 1989 | "Body and Soul" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Non-album singles | |||||
| 1990 | "Stepping Stone" / "Family of Man" | 58 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||
| "Groovy Train" | 6 | – | 41 | – | – | – | 15 | Spartacus | ||||||
| "All Together Now" | 3 | – | 9 | 13 | 5 | 18 | 7 |
| ||||||
| 1991 | "Sinful! (Scary Jiggin' with Doctor Love)" (with Pete Wylie) | 28 | 25 | – | – | – | – | – | Non-album single | |||||
| "Don't Let Me Down" | 36 | 29 | – | – | 78 | – | – | Spartacus | ||||||
| "Mind" | 31 | 15 | – | – | – | – | – | Love See No Colour | ||||||
| 1992 | "Love See No Colour" | 58 | 30 | – | – | – | – | 30 | ||||||
| "Rising Sun" | 48 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| "Don't You Want Me" | 18 | 19 | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| "Love See No Colour" (re-mix) | 35 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| 1994 | "Messiah" | – | – | – | – | – | – | 30 | Hullabaloo | |||||
| "Comfort" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||
| 1995 | "All Together Now" (Everton FA Cup Final version) | 24 | – | – | – | – | – | – | Non-album singles | |||||
| 2004 | "All Together Now 2004" (feat. SFX Boys Choir) | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||
| "–" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||||||||
References
- ↑ "All The Official Albums Chart Number 1s". Retrieved 2015-07-08.
- 1 2 3 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 195. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. p. 341. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
- 1 2 "JUSTICE COLLECTIVE | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
- 1 2 "Shiiine On Weekender 2015 - eFestivals.co.uk". www.efestivals.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
- ↑ "Search birth, marriage and death records 1837-2006 | Overseas BMDs, parish records from 1538". Findmypast.co.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
- ↑ "Number One in Heaven". Penguin Books Ltd. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
- ↑ "The Farm - Liverpool Music". Retrieved 2015-07-08.
- ↑ "MR POP". Retrieved 2015-07-08.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Ankeny, Jason. "The Farm – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- ↑ A Short Film About Chilling ...., 31 Aug 1990, retrieved 2015-07-08
- ↑ "England's Euro 2004 song revealed". BBC. 2004-05-07. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
- ↑ Administrator, liverpoolecho. "Hillsborough Fields of Anfield Road single heads fo Ireland". Retrieved 2015-07-08.
- ↑ Administrator, liverpoolecho. "Liverpool Don't Buy The Sun concert remembers death of James McVey and honour Hillsborough victims". Retrieved 2015-07-08.
- ↑ "Justice Tonight @ Heaton Park : tour diary - Louder Than War". Retrieved 2015-07-09.
- ↑ "Mick Jones To Appear At Strummerville". Retrieved 2015-07-08.
- ↑ "Happy Mondays kick off the Isle of Wight Festival - eFestivals.co.uk". www.efestivals.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
- ↑ "Alan Mcgee says the Farm at his new venue in Wales is in his top 10 all time gigs- here is the full list - Louder Than War". Retrieved 2015-07-09.
- ↑ Thompson, Dave (3 November 1992). "Love See No Colour – The Farm : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
- ↑ Thompson, Dave (10 May 1994). "Hullabaloo – The Farm : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
External links
- The Farm Website
- The Farm Free Mobile App for iPhone/Android
- The Farm on Facebook
- The Farm's channel on YouTube
- The Farm on Twitter
- The Farm at AllMusic
- The Farm discography at Discogs
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