Alabama 3 are a British/English musical group founded in

Brixton, London Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th cent ...

in 1995. They are best known for their track "

Woke Up This Morning "Woke Up This Morning" is a song by British band Alabama 3 from their 1997 album ''Exile on Coldharbour Lane.'' The song is best known as the opening theme music for the American television series ''The Sopranos'', which used a shortened version ...

", which was used for the opening credits of the TV series ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

''. In the United States, the band is known as A3, to avoid legal conflict with the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

band

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

History

The band formed when Jake Black (born in Glasgow, Scotland; 27 April 1960 – 21 May 2019) met Rob Spragg (from Wales)at a

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mu ...

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vil ...

. They decided that a fusion of country music with

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthes ...

was a musical possibility. Other members of the band were added later:

Nick Reynolds Nicholas Wells Reynolds (July 27, 1933 – October 1, 2008) was an American folk musician and recording artist. Reynolds was one of the founding members of The Kingston Trio, whose folk and folk-style material captured international attention du ...

is the son of one of the Great Train Robbers; Rob Spragg was at university with Piers Marsh, the harmonica player and synthesiser programmer for the band; while Orlando Harrison, the group's keyboardist, used to live with Jake Black. Forming initially under the name the First Presleyterian Church of Elvis the Divine (UK), and after having been dismissed by the mainstream media as a novelty act, the group switched names to Alabama 3. As with their performances under the previous name, their sound fuses electronic pop with elements of country and blues styles. They signed with

One Little Indian Records One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In t ...

in 1997 for the release of their debut album, ''

Exile on Coldharbour Lane ''Exile on Coldharbour Lane'' is the debut album by Alabama 3, released on 11 November 1997 on One Little Indian and Geffen. The name and cover are references to '' Exile on Main St.'' by The Rolling Stones and Coldharbour Lane a major street ...

''. Every member of the group has an alias, the band's founding members adopting the personas Larry Love (Rob Spragg) and The Very Reverend Dr. D. Wayne Love (Jake Black). Their second album, ''La Peste'', featured bassist John "Segs" Jennings of the Ruts under the stage name Frank Zappatista. In August 2007, the group toured under the name of Alabama 3: Acoustic and Unplugged, with Harpo Strangelove and Devlin Love, to promote new album '' M.O.R.''. Bassist John "Segs" Jennings left the band, saying he was "busy elsewhere and

e doesn't E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plura ...

have the time". ''M.O.R.'' included a cover of

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", "U.S. Male", " A Thi ...

's 1970s hit "Amos Moses", and features

The Proclaimers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

on the track "Sweet Joy". Having recorded and toured with the band in the early days, Aurora Dawn rejoined the band in 2009. Between late 2010 and early 2011, programmer, harmonicist and founding member Piers Marsh left the band. Jake Black, a founding band member and songwriter died of

Addison's disease Addison's disease, also known as primary adrenal insufficiency, is a rare long-term endocrine disorder characterized by inadequate production of the steroid hormones cortisol and aldosterone by the two outer layers of the cells of the adrena ...

on 21 May 2019, several days after falling ill during a show at Highest Point Festival in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

. He was 59.

Mountain of Love

Mountain of Love is a

dubtronica Dubtronica is electronic music influenced by dub music.Doherty, Greg (2003)Strange Bedfellows: Brits like Groove Corporation refile dub under electronica, '' Miami New Times'', 14 August 2003, retrieved 8 November 2009 Early examples from the ...

group formed by two of the original three members of Alabama 3, Piers Marsh and Sir Eddie Real, in 2011 in

. The band's eponymous first album was released in 2013 on Cooked Griffin Records.

Style

Alabama 3's sound is a blend of

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

, and

. The band's songs have sampled

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide ...

in " Mao Tse Tung Said" and

Birmingham Six The Birmingham Six were six Irishmen who were each sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 following their false convictions for the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings. Their convictions were declared unsafe and unsatisfactory and quashed by the C ...

survivor Patrick Hill in "The Thrills Have Gone."

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

reviewer Jason Reeher wrote that A3's "debut is brilliant and shambolic...owing huge debts to both Hank Williams and Happy Mondays."

Members

Current

* Rob Spragg a.k.a. Larry Love - vocals * Orlando Harrison a.k.a. The Spirit - keyboards,

keyboard bass Keyboard bass (shortened to keybass and sometimes referred as a synth-bass) is the use of a smaller, low-pitched keyboard with fewer notes than a regular keyboard or pedal keyboard to substitute for the deep notes of a bass guitar or double bass ...

, backing vocals * Mark Sams a.k.a. Rock Freebase - guitar, bass guitar * Steve Finnerty a.k.a. LOVEPIPE - production, guitar and vocals * Jonny Delafons a.k.a. L. B. Dope - drums, percussion * Greg Fleming a.k.a. Wizard - sequencer and effects * Ese Okorodudu a.k.a. Sister Ese - guitar, vocals * Sheena Ross a.k.a. Sister Sheena - vocals * Be Atwell The Reverend Be Atwell - vocals *

a.k.a. Harpo Strangelove - harmonica, percussion, vocals Source:

Former

* Jake Black a.k.a. The Very Reverend D.Wayne Love - vocals (d. 2019) * Aurora Dawn - vocals * Brian O'Horain, "Paddy Love" - vocals * John Jennings a.k.a. Segs - backing vocals, bass guitar * Zoe Devlin a.k.a. Devlin Love - vocals * Simon (The Dude) Edwards a.k.a. Sir Eddie Real - percussion, vocals * Piers Marsh a.k.a. The Mountain of Love - synths, programming, harmonica * Marianna Little Eye Ty - dancer * Laura Lady Love dancer - dancer * Robert "Hacker" Jessett : a.k.a. El Comandante - harmonica, guitar, backing vocals * Rob Bailey - guitar

In popular culture

The band's music has been featured in numerous films, TV shows and video games, along with being

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of ...

d by other musicians, most famously through

Film

* "Peace in the Valley" is featured in the film ''

A Life Less Ordinary ''A Life Less Ordinary'' is a 1997 romantic black comedy film directed by Danny Boyle, written by John Hodge, and starring Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz, Holly Hunter, Delroy Lindo, Ian Holm and Dan Hedaya. The plot follows two angels (Hunte ...

''. * "Too Sick to Pray" plays on the radio in the film '' Gone in 60 Seconds''. * A snippet of "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" appears in '' Some Voices''. * "Mansion on the Hill" featured in ''

3000 Miles to Graceland ''3000 Miles to Graceland'' is a 2001 American heist black action comedy film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Demian Lichtenstein. Lichtenstein co-wrote the script with Richard Recco. The film stars Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, Courte ...

''. * A part of "M.I.A" played in '' The Football Factory''. * The song "Sister Rosetta" from ''Exile on Coldharbour Lane'' can be heard in ''

Barnyard A barnyard or farmyard is an enclosed or open yard adjoining a barn,Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press 2009. Barn. n. and, typically, related farm buildings, including a farmhouse. Enclosed ...

''. * A snippet of "Bulletproof" appears in ''A Very British Gangster'' (2007),

Donal MacIntyre Donal MacIntyre (born 25 January 1966) is an Irish investigative journalist, specialising in investigations, undercover operations and television exposés. He has also worked as a presenter of both television news and documentaries on various U ...

's documentary film about Manchester crime boss

Dominic Noonan Domenyk Lattlay-Fottfoy (born Dominic James Noonan, 13 June 1964) is an English gangster and sex offender. With his brother Desmond "Dessie" Noonan, he headed a criminal organisation or "crime firm" in Manchester, England during the 1980s and 1 ...

. * The song "Ain't Goin' to Goa" is featured in '' Definitely, Maybe''. * The band is featured in the documentary '' We Dreamed America''. The film, which explores the influence of American country music on British artists, features three songs by the band. *"Mansion on the Hill" is used in the opening credits of mockumentary ''Good Arrows'', written by

Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short fil ...

and

Dean Cavanagh Dean Cavanagh is a screenwriter, novelist and Playwright born in Bradford, West Yorkshire. In 1990, at the height of the acid house scene, he founded the club culture magazine ''Herb Garden'' and a band with Enzo Annecchini. His electronic m ...

. It also appears in '' The House''.

Television

*Lillyhammer- visit to NYC * Episode four of the BBC Three series '' Being Human'' features "Too Sick to Pray" at its opening and "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlife" at its end. The songs were omitted from the DVD release of the episode due to copyright issues. * "Mansion on the Hill" features in the sixth episode of the ABC television series ''

Carpoolers ''Carpoolers'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from October 2, 2007, to March 4, 2008. The show was created by Bruce McCulloch, who also executive produced alongside Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, David Miner, Marsh McCall, Jo ...

''. * A remixed version of "

" plays during the opening credits of the HBO television series ''

''. * A shortened, alternate version of "Woke Up This Morning" appears in ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

'' episode " Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge", in a parody of the opening sequence of ''The Sopranos''. It also appears in the later episode "

The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer" is the first episode of the eighteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 10, 2006. In the episode, ...

", which guest-starred ''Sopranos'' regulars

Michael Imperioli Michael Imperioli (born March 26, 1966) is an American actor, writer, and musician. He is best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in the HBO crime drama ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Ou ...

and

Joe Pantoliano Joseph Peter Pantoliano (born September 12, 1951) is an American character actor who has appeared in over 150 films, television and stage productions. After his early roles in the television series '' M*A*S*H'' and the 1983 comedy '' Risky Bu ...

. *On the Region 4 DVD release of season one of ''The Sopranos'', the music video to "Woke Up This Morning" is included as a special feature; it is incorrectly credited as being performed by "Alabama 5". * A snippet of "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlife" can be heard at the beginning of ''The Sopranos'': " Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood" (episode 3.1) as Tony Soprano walks down the driveway to get his morning newspaper. *"Woke Up This Morning" was also used in an episode of BBC series ''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...

'', in which the team were driving through

. *The closing scene to first season ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...

'' episode titled "Won't Get Fooled Again" (10/05/05) plays "The Night We Nearly Got Busted". * "Mao Tse Tung Said" features in the first episode of the second season of ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growin ...

'':. * Rob Spragg (as Rob Love) wrote and recorded the theme to Welsh TV series '' Y Pris''. He and John Hardy won the Best Original Music Soundtrack award at

BAFTA Cymru BAFTA Cymru (or BAFTA in Wales or WAFTA) is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and was founded in 1987.

2008.

Games

* "The Night We Nearly Got Busted" is featured on the soundtrack of the

MMO game A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent world, persistent open world, alt ...

, ''

All Points Bulletin An all-points bulletin (APB) is an electronic information broadcast sent from one sender to a group of recipients, to rapidly communicate an important message.Reiter, E. (1970). Police strive to provide protection machines lend valuable assista ...

''.

Samples by other artists

* Rapper

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ...

sampled "Woke Up This Morning" for his 2001 hit " Got Ur Self A...".

Discography

References

External links

*
London gig review November 2006
{{Authority control English electronic music groups Musical groups from the London Borough of Lambeth Acid house groups Geffen Records artists Columbia Records artists English house music groups One Little Independent Records artists Bands with fictional stage personas Musical groups established in 1995 People from Brixton