Enormous is an
indie,
power pop
Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...
band
Band or BAND may refer to:
Places
*Bánd, a village in Hungary
* Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania
* Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...
from
Derby
Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
, England.
Background
Enormous was formed out of the band Slaughterhouse 5 from
Mansfield
Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in 1992 by Davy Lawrence (vocals, guitar), Graham Boffey (drums, vocals), David Graham (vocals, bass) and Steve O'Toole
(guitar, vocals), later joined in 1996 by Paul Varga (tenor saxophone) and Ashley Morgan (trumpet).
Enormous cite their influences as
Ray Davies
Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the Rock music, rock band the Kinks, which he led, with his younger brother Dave Davies, Dave pro ...
,
Difford & Tilbrook,
Burt Bacharach
Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...
,
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 ...
,
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave,[Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...]
. Their classic pop songs are reminiscent of
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band that singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto formed in Manchester in 1976. During their career, the band combined elements of punk rock, power pop, and pop punk. The ...
,
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...
,
Squeeze,
Madness,
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...
,
The Wonder Stuff
The Wonder Stuff are a British alternative rock musical ensemble, band. Originally based in Stourbridge in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England, the band's first lineup released four albums and nearly 20 singles and EPs, enjoying ...
,
Blur,
The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
,
The Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest wor ...
,
The Teardrop Explodes, and
The Clash
The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
.
During 1996, David Graham (bass, vocals) left the band to join the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
and was replaced by Craig Denholm (bass, vocals). Steve Foster, of Bandwagon Studios, Mansfield, England, brought together four music groups, under one banner named The Red Collective, featuring: Enormous; Ease; The Swells; and The Kerrys. Enormous formed the backbone and were signed to Beatific Records in 1997, recording a various artists compilation album ''Cigarette Machine From God'' (1997) at Mansfield's Bandwagon Studios. Their songs were critically acclaimed, receiving music reviews by ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' and
''Mojo''.
After 2003, Steve O'Toole and Craig Denholm departed and the remaining band members took a three-year break to follow their own projects. By 2006, the band had reformed and was signed by the
independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...
, Big Arena Records, for the purpose of re-releasing their entire back catalogue. In 2008, two temporary band members, Steve Giles (bass, vocals) and Stephen Capes (keyboards) were recruited, and the band played a sold-out homecoming gig in Mansfield at the Town Mill venue,
on 20 November 2008. New bassist Mike Ridley-Dash joined in December 2009, and Travis Peters (keyboards) joined the band in 2010.
Discography
Compilation albums
*''Cigarette Machine From God'' - The Red Collective (Beatific Records, 1997) B-TIFIC001. ASIN: B000024VW8
#It's Gonna Happen
#Something In My Heart
#When You Do
#Happy Birthday, Asshole
Studio albums
*''Electric Baby Grand'' (Big Arena Records, 1999 & 2006)
#It's All Coming True
#Being Very Fair
#Believe Her
#Things I Can't Forget
#Never Coming Back
#You Do Too Much
#Finders Keepers
#Sharon, You're A Shit
#I Tried Everything
#When You Get To Know Me
#Everything Hangs On You
*''Situation: Comedy'' (Big Arena Records, 2000 & 2006)
#Let's Run Away Together
#When You Do
#Kill Me, I Love You
#Everything's All Right
#Used
#Sooner Or Later
#Give The Boy A Chance
#Your Weird Stuff
#Happy Birthday, Asshole
#Stand Up
#I Gave Up On Love
*''Almost Everything'' (Big Arena Records, 2006)
#Been Around
#The Way That It Should Be
#Something In My Heart
#Fingers And Thumbs
#Right Behind You
#It Would Be Good
#Still Believe
#The Two Of Us
#My Type
#I'm Your Biggest Fan
#It's Gonna Happen
Singles and EPs
*''My Type'' (EP UK, Beatific Records, 1998) B-TIFIC002
#My Type
#Something In My Heart
#Your Weird Stuff
#I Gave Up On Love
*''Let's Run Away Together'' (EP UK, Big Arena Records, 2000 & 2006)
#Let's Run Away Together
#When You Get To Know Me
#Sharon, You're A Shit
*''Been Around'' (EP UK, Big Arena Records, 2006)
#Been Around
#Me And My Big Mouth
*''It Would Be Good'' (EP UK, Big Arena Records, 2006)
#It Would Be Good
#My Type (Thrash Mix)
*''Something In My Heart'' (EP UK, Big Arena Records, 2006)
#Something In My Heart
#Things She Did
#Poor Me
*''The Way That It Should Be'' (EP UK, Big Arena Records, 2006)
#The Way That It Should Be
#Come Back Baby
Live coverage
*''The Old Bell Hotel, Derby, UK'' (8 October 2010)
*''The Vaults, Derby, UK'' (23 September 2010)
*''Bar One, Derby, UK'' (30 July 2010)
*''The Friary Hotel, Derby, UK'' (27 July 2010)
*''Town Mill, Mansfield, UK'' (20 November 2008)
References
External links
*
Enormous Reloaded
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enormous (band)
English indie rock groups
English power pop groups
Musical groups established in 1992