Blab Happy were a British

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *Independent media, media free of influence by government or corporate interests *Indie art, fine arts made by artists independent of commer ...

band from

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

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), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

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 Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

show, and enthusiastic reviews in ''

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

'', '' 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. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'', they were signed by

Demon Records Demon Music Group Limited (DMG; formerly Object Enterprises Limited from 19821991 and Music Collection International Limited from 19912000) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-iss ...

offshoot

F-Beat F-Beat Records was a record label set up by Andrew Lauder and 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 positio ...

, 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 was a London-based rock band formed in 1984 by musicians from Northern Ireland with an American vocalist. They recorded five albums between 1986 and 1994, exploring an eclectic fusion of indie rock, post-punk, garage rock and ...

, Blur, and

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

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

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

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

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

Perfume Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...

, 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 BBC Radio 6 Music. Lamacq was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire ( ...

and

Jo Whiley Johanne Whiley-Morton (born 4 July 1965), better known professionally as Jo Whiley, is an English radio DJ and television presenter. She was the host of the long-running '' Jo Whiley Show'' on BBC Radio 1 and has since been presenting her weekd ...

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

Slinky The Slinky is a helical spring toy invented and developed by American naval engineer Richard T. James in 1943 and successfully demonstrated at Gimbels department store in Philadelphia on November 27, 1945. It can perform a number of tricks, ...

, 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. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'',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 pre ...

''. 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 Bes ...

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