Blab Happy were a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

band from Leicester formed in 1987,Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa, , p. 133 comprising Mick McCarthy, Jon Dennis, Tony Owen and Jeremy Clay. After two EPs released on their own Wisdom label won airplay on

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

show, and enthusiastic reviews in ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music journalism, music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine tha ...

'', '' Sounds'' and ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'', they were signed by

Demon Records Demon Music Group (DMG) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-issuing recordings as compilations on physical media (CDs and vinyl) via supermarkets and specialist stores. History DM ...

offshoot

F-Beat F-Beat Records was a record label set up by Jake Riviera in 1979. Its first release, "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" by Elvis Costello & the Attractions, reached number 4 in the UK charts, the highest singles chart position the label attained. ...

, for whom they released 2 albums, 1991's ''Boat'' and 1993's ''Smothered''. The ''NME''s Gina Morris, wrote of the band: "Blab Happy are a cheerful Leicester four piece, smirking between

That Petrol Emotion That Petrol Emotion were a London-based Northern Ireland-originating band with an American vocalist, Steve Mack. It featured the O'Neill brothers from celebrated Derry pop-punk band The Undertones plus ex-members of fellow Derry bands Bam Bam and ...

, Blur, and

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

".Morris, Gina (1991) Blab Happy article, ''NME'', June 1991 Blab Happy toured in their own right and as support to bands such as Radiohead,

Kingmaker A kingmaker is a person or group that has great influence on a royal or political succession, without themselves being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious and military means to influence the succession. Origina ...

, and Squeeze. The band split up in 1993, with singer Mick McCarthy and bassist Tony Owen forming

Perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. ...

, who enjoyed the patronage of

DJs

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music. Early life He attended The Ramsey Acade ...

and

Jo Whiley Johanne Whiley-Morton (born 4 July 1965), better known by her professional name Jo Whiley, is an English radio DJ and television presenter. She was the host of the long-running weekday later weekend '' Jo Whiley Show'' on BBC Radio 1. She curre ...

, having a minor hit in 1996 with "Haven't Seen You". Jon Dennis meanwhile formed

Slinky The Slinky is a helical spring toy invented by Richard James in the early 1940s. It can perform a number of tricks, including travelling down a flight of steps end-over-end as it stretches and re-forms itself with the aid of gravity and its own ...

, who also won airplay from Lamacq and Whiley with two singles produced by John Robb and were finalists in the 1995 In the City contest. Dennis and Clay both went on to work as journalists - Dennis writing and presenting podcasts for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'',Radio days , , Guardian Unlimited Arts
/ref> and Clay for the ''

Leicester Mercury The ''Leicester Mercury'' is a British regional newspaper for the city of Leicester and the neighbouring counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. The paper began in the 19th century as the ''Leicester Daily Mercury'' and later changed to its p ...

''. Clay has also written books, including "Blokes With Balls" and "The Burglar Caught By A Skeleton" Dennis currently records as part of Loaded Knife, whose 2 singles have won support from

Rob Da Bank Robert John Gorham (born 24 June 1973 in Portsmouth, Hampshire), known by the pseudonym Rob da Bank, is an English DJ and co-founder of music festivals Bestival, originally on the Isle of Wight and now moved to Lulworth, Dorset and Camp Besti ...

and Lamacq, and the late John Peel.

Videos

Valentine

Discography

Singles

*"Turned Out Nice Again" (1987), Wisdom *''Fruits Of Our Labour EP'' (1988), Wisdom *''Mad Surge EP'' (1991), F-Beat *"Never No More" (1991), F-Beat *"Down" (1991), F-Beat *"Inside Out" (1992), F-Beat *''Blinding EP'' (1993), F-Beat

Albums

*''Boat'' (1991), F-Beat (a limited edition LP version came with a bonus 12" EP and a poster) # Down # You Need Light # The Silent People # Inside Out # Fountain # Wisecrack Me Up # Valentine # Monkey Puzzle # Whose Driving Freefall # Someday Soon # Wisecrack Me Up (Reprise) # Valentia # Prospect Hill # Grief Bonus 12" EP # Valentia # Prospect Hill # Grief *''Smothered'' (1993), F-Beat # Sean # Blinding # Seven Years # Bernadette # Soul Morning # Butcher # I Know It's Not Worth Listening # That's All # Smothered # The Hope Song #1 # Tender Hooks # O Mary Love # The Hope Song #2 # Fortune's Famous Fool

References

External links

Official MySpace page
Musicians from Leicester Musical groups from Leicester {{UK-band-stub