Ooberman were an English band first formed in 1997 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England. The band released their debut album '' The Magic Treehouse'' in 1999. They split up in 2003, shortly after the release of their second album ''

Hey Petrunko ''Hey Petrunko'' is the second album by Ooberman, released in March 2003 on the band's own Rotodisc label. It was recorded and produced by the band. Three singles were released in support of the album – "Running Girl", "Beany Bean" (not fe ...

'', but reformed in 2006 and released their third album ''Carried Away'' the same year. Six of their singles have charted on the UK singles chart, with " Blossoms Falling" (1999) peaking at #39.

History

Early years

In 1988, Ooberman founders Danny Popplewell and Andy Flett met in

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, and, together with Flett's younger brother Steve, formed the Forestry Commission. The band's life soon ended when Popplewell moved to

, but the three friends kept in touch. Subsequently, the Flett brothers moved to Liverpool. Ooberman was founded nearly a decade after the previous band, with the addition of Sophia Churney (keyboards and vocals) and Alan Kelly (drums). The first Ooberman gig was in June 1997. Blur guitarist

Graham Coxon Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Coxon is featured on all of Blur' ...

heard a demo by Ooberman which he enjoyed; it was released as their first single "Sugar Bum" on his

Transcopic Transcopic was a British record label created in 1998 by Blur guitarist Graham Coxon for his solo releases, as well as those of other left field artists. Along with Coxon's music, the label issued records by acts such as Ooberman, The Buff Me ...

record label. This was followed by the "seven-track

mini-album A mini-LP or mini-album is a short record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A mini- ...

" '' Shorley Wall'' EP on Tugboat Records which peaked at #13 on the

UK Independent Albums Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the r ...

and sold 10,000 copies. The band then secured up a major recording contract with Independiente, on which they released the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

hit " Blossoms Falling" in May 1999, which peaked at #39.

''The Magic Treehouse''

Ooberman recorded two

Peel sessions 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 ...

in 1999, on 31 January and on 25 October. Ooberman performed at the

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

in 1999. In October 1999, the band released their critically acclaimed

Stephen Street Stephen Brian Street (born 29 March 1960 in Hackney, London) is an English record producer best known for his work with the Smiths, the Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album '' Viva Hate'' following the ...

-produced debut album '' The Magic Treehouse'' on Independiente. The album peaked at #79 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and received a 4/5 review in ''

NME ''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 music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

''. The band won the ''NME'' Premier Award for Best Live Performance in February 2000. According to '' Drowned in Sound'', "the band didn't maintain their early sales despite continuing critical acclaim". Afterwards, Independiente dropped Ooberman from the label in June 2000. Ooberman signed to

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

, releasing the single "Dolphin Blue" on the label in December 2000. The band left Rough Trade, and subsequent releases like 2001's ''

Running Girl ''Running Girl'' is a mini-album by Ooberman Ooberman were an English band first formed in 1997 in Liverpool, England. The band released their debut album '' The Magic Treehouse'' in 1999. They split up in 2003, shortly after the release ...

'' were released on Danny Popplewell's own label, Rotodisc. According to Popplewell, "In the end we approached a distribution company ..Basically they gave us enough money to fund our own label". The limited edition "Running Girl" single sold out in three days. The original drummer Alan Kelly was replaced by Paul Walsham.

''Hey Petrunko''

After two years of working on new material, the band announced that they would release their second album ''

'' in October 2002. It was named after a Bulgarian folk song, as Popplewell had been listening to

Bulgarian folk music The music of Bulgaria refers to all forms of music associated with the country of Bulgaria, including classical, folk, popular music, and other forms. Classical music, opera, and ballet are represented by composers Emanuil Manolov, Pancho Vla ...

. The band also picked up a new drummer – Jaymie Ireland. A five-track EP – ''

Bluebell Morning ''Bluebell Morning'' is an EP by Ooberman, released in May 2002 on the band's own Rotodisc label. The title track and "SnakeDance" were reworked and featured on the band's 2003 album ''Hey Petrunko ''Hey Petrunko'' is the second album b ...

'' – and a single – "Beany Bean" – were released in 2002, but ''Hey Petrunko'' was delayed. The band performed at the 2002

. ''

'' was released on 3 March 2003 by Rotodisc, and peaked at #41 on the

. ''Hey Petrunko'' "failed to sell enough copies to pay the band's wages". The group became disillusioned and broke up in 2003.

Reformation

The band reformed in 2006. Their third album ''Carried Away'' was released in 2006 by Rotodisc. In September 2007 the band released ''The Lost Tapes – Rare Recordings 1991–2007'', a collection of rare and unreleased recordings covering the period in the title.

Related projects

The Magic Theatre

The album ''London Town'' featuring Ooberman members Sophia Churney and Danny Popplewell as "The Magic Theatre" was released on 7 June 2010. The album's orchestral sound was achieved on a low budget by Popplewell writing library music, designed to be used as background for films and television, that fitted his songs, and re-using the recordings with new vocals by him and Sophia Churney. They released their second album ''The Long Way Home'' in 2013.

Discography

Many of the band's releases have been issued on their own label, Rotodisc. Peak charting positions are given in the list below.

Albums

*1999 '' The Magic Treehouse'' UK #79 *2003 ''

'' UK Indie #41 *2006 ''Carried Away'' *2007 ''The Lost Tapes – Rare Recordings 1991–2007''

EPs and mini-albums

*1998 '' Shorley Wall'' UK Indie #13 *2001 ''

'' (mini-album) *2002 ''

Singles

*1998 "Sugar Bum" *1999 " Blossoms Falling" UK #39 *1999 "Million Suns" UK #43 *1999 "

Tears from a Willow Tears are a clear liquid secreted by the lacrimal glands (tear gland) found in the eyes of all land mammals. Tears are made up of water, electrolytes, proteins, lipids, and mucins that form layers on the surface of eyes. The different types of ...

" UK #63 *2000 " Shorley Wall" UK #47 *2000 "Dolphin Blue" UK #83, UK Indie #17 *2001 "

" *2002 "Beany Bean" UK #79, UK Indie #16 *2003 "First Day of the Holidays" UK Indie #38 *2006 "

The Beauty of Your Soul Ooberman were an English band first formed in 1997 in Liverpool, England. The band released their debut album ''The Magic Treehouse'' in 1999. They split up in 2003, shortly after the release of their second album ''Hey Petrunko'', but reformed ...

" UK Indie #34