Ooberman biography
Ooberman are a 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.
History
Early years
Ooberman founders Dan Popplewell and Andy Flett met over a piano at their school in Bradford, 1988. The first band they set up was The Forestry Commission, with Flett's younger brother, Steve on bass guitar. The band's life soon ended when Popplewell moved to Liverpool, but the three friends kept in touch.
Steve Flett moved to Liverpool in 1992, and Andy Flett later joined him in 1996/7, after commuting back and forth from Birmingham where he was studying. Ooberman was then born, complete with Alan Kelly (Drums) and last member Sophia Churney (keyboards and vocals). 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.
Their first release was the "Sugar Bum" single, a 7" inch vinyl on Graham Coxon's Transcopic record label, followed by the critically acclaimed "Shorley Wall" EP on Tugboat Records. The band then secured up a major recording contract with Independiente, on which they released their first proper single: the Top 40 hit "Blossoms Falling".
The Magic Treehouse
By Spring 1999, the band had finished work on their debut album,
The Magic Treehouse. The album got generally positive reviews, including an 8/10 in
NME. The reviews, however, did not translate into sales and after a handful of singles missed the Top 40, Independiente and Ooberman parted company, as did their publishing and management companies further down the line.
The band (or rather Danny and Sophie) had reportedly had enough with the music industry by this time, but in mid-2000, they (or Rather Danny) started work on their second album. During this time, tension within band members caused the original drummer (Alan) to leave the band, but later was replaced by Paul Walsham.
Hey Petrunko
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. A mini-album,
Running Girl, preceded it in October 2001. As well as getting another new drummer - Jaymie Ireland, Popplewell also set up his own record label, Rotodisc.
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 finally released on the 3 March 2003, to some critical acclaim.
A tour and another single followed, but the pressure of making Hey Petrunko strained the band, and in May, Popplewell announced that he and Churney were leaving the band. Rotodisc was shut down, and planned releases and tour dates (including festivals and foreign gigs) were scrapped.
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