JJ72 were an
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band from
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, Ireland. After forming in 1996, they signed to Lakota Records in 1999 and released two albums before splitting in 2006.
History
Formation and early years
The band was formed in 1996 by lead singer and songwriter
Mark Greaney and drummer Fergal Matthews, while studying at
Belvedere College
Belvedere College Society of Jesus, S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a fee-paying voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland.
Formally established in 1832 at Hardwicke Street in north inner city Dublin, the school was ...
.
[Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 814] Greaney grew up in Dublin, where for a time he lived next door to
Phil Lynott
Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, bassist, and primary songwriter for the hard rock band Thin Lizzy. He was known for his distinctive ...
.
[Jones, Tim (2001) "JJ72: Gasping for Air", '']Record Collector
''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...
'', No, 265, September 2001, p. 40-44 Matthews originated from
County Meath
County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
.
The name 'JJ72' derives from a window at Belvedere College made from 72
jam jars.
They cited
Nirvana
Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
,
Mudhoney
Mudhoney is an American rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, on January 1, 1988, following the demise of Green River (band), Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner (guitari ...
and
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...
as influences.
After auditioning several bassists they recruited their schoolmate Garvin Smith on bass in 1996.
After a few early gigs, Smith left, and Greaney and Matthews once again set about auditions for a new bassist.
Two bassists had short stints with the band, but in 1997 Greaney and Matthews entered the studio as a duo to record their first demo.
They sent it to local record companies and media but with little response. In 1998 they started university courses, but shortly after starting they decided to concentrate on the band; They played a concert at Behan's pub in Dublin, backed by a
string quartet
The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...
, and were asked to appear on local television.
They then recruited
Hilary Woods, who Greaney had known for several years.
Despite having only picked up bass recently, Woods became a member in January 1999.
They recorded a second demo and targeted the UK, playing several gigs there and getting a write-up in ''
Select''.
This led to interest from the Dublin-based
Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
sub-label Lakota Records, who signed the band in mid-1999.
Commercial success
Début single "October Swimmer" was released in November that year, and was named 'Single of the Week' by
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 ...
DJ
Mark Radcliffe.
They were given support slots with
The Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols are an American psychedelic rock, psychedelic/ band, formed in Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon, in 1994 by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström. They were later joined by keyboardist Zia Mc ...
and
My Vitriol.
The band had their first hit with "Long Way South" in May 2000, which peaked at number 68 in the UK and they played at festivals including
Glastonbury
Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...
,
Reading and Leeds later that year.
The band released their
eponymously titled debut album in Summer 2000.
Produced by
Ian Caple, the album was a critical and commercial success and has sold in excess of 500,000 copies in the band's native Ireland and in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 16 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 ...
.
In Germany, a special 'tour edition' was released, including a second CD-ROM disc.
The album spawned the singles "Snow", "October Swimmer", "Long Way South", and "Oxygen", and saw the band perform promotional tours in Europe and the US. "Oxygen" gave the band their first top 30 single in the UK, leading the band to perform on ''
Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
''.
After touring with
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...
and
Embrace, they set out on their own headline tour in 2001.
They supported
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
on a tour of Europe, headlined the ''NME Brats'' tour and played in Japan.
Several performances had been cancelled after Greaney lost his voice and there were further cancellations in 2001 after Matthews was knocked off his motorbike, with
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...
's drummer Bob Knight standing in for a few gigs.
Matthews recovered in time for the festival season and support slots with
U2.
The band received an
Irish Music Award for 'Best New Band' later that year.
The band continued touring into February 2002.
The band's second album ''
I To Sky'' followed in October 2002. It contained the singles "Formulae" and "Always and Forever" and reached the Top 5 of the Irish album charts and the Top 20 of the UK Albums Chart.
The album was backed by a UK and Europe headlining tour, either side of eight shows supporting
Suede
Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, Textile, fabrics, Handbag, purses, furniture, and other items.
Suede is made from the underside of the animal skin, which is softer and m ...
in November 2002.
Return and split
In February 2003, bassist Hilary Woods left the band.
Greaney and Matthews recruited Canadian-born bassist Sarah Fox as her replacement.
The band played sporadic shows through 2003 and began recording new material with producer
Ken Thomas in August that year, for a release expected in January 2004. In December 2004, it was reported that recording for the band's third album had been completed at Parkgate Studios,
Catsfield, with producer Ian Caple.
A Spring 2005 release was tentatively announced.
In May 2005, the band played its first shows since November 2003 and released the download and
7"-only single "She's Gone", which reached 136 in the
UK Singles Chart.
A second single, "Coming Home" followed in August 2005 and peaked at number 52 in the UK Singles Chart.
A tour followed in September 2005, with Greaney expressing from the stage his frustrations regarding the release of the third album, pending an ongoing dispute with their record labels Lakota Records/Sony. An October 2005 release date for the album failed to materialise.
Songs rumoured to have been included on the new album: "Take From Me", "Radio", "Everything", "Rainfalls", "Underground", "Maria", "Nothing In This World", "Some Day" (this song, as Demo version, appear as B-side on the "coming Home" 7" vinyl). A promotional CD containing "Coming Home", "Take From Me", "Radio" and "Everything" was circulated in 2005.
However, on 22 June 2006, JJ72 issued a press release announcing they were to split up after 10 years together.
They cited a struggle with their record label as their main reason for the split.
This press release began by borrowing
John Donne
John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...
's epitaph and read:
Post-JJ72 activities
Mark Greaney embarked upon his first tour as a solo artist in May 2007. He subsequently formed a new band called
Concerto For Constantine, featuring himself (guitar and vocals), Gavin Fox (ex-
Idlewild/Turn/Vega4 on bass) and Binzer (ex-BellX1/Frames/Halite on drums). The band performed live throughout Ireland as part of the "2fm 2moro 2our" in November 2007 and supported
Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. ...
in Belfast and Dublin in Spring 2008. Concerto for Constantine then went on to sell out headline shows in Dublin and London, and also played at the
Oxegen Festival in Ireland and at
T in the Park in Scotland in July 2008. Post activity with Concerto for Constantine, Greaney returned to academia and is now head of education at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM). New musical work includes the project, Vishion Factum, focusing on
transhumanism
Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement that advocates the human enhancement, enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available new and future technologies that can greatly enhance longevity, cogni ...
and the aesthetics of succulent plants.
Sarah Fox played bass for a band called
Lluther, but has since left the band and is now a London-based graphic designer. Fergal Matthews lives in Norway and plays drums for Blodhevn. Woods returned to visual arts and started a solo project called ''The River Cry'', with a debut self-titled album released on 14 February 2013. She is now recording under her own name on the
Sacred Bones label,
and recorded two LPs in 2018 and 2020.
Band members
*
Mark Greaney (born 23 June 1980) – vocals, guitar, piano
* Fergal Matthews (born 29 January 1980, in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
) – drums
*
Hilary Woods (born 30 May 1980) – bass, backing vocals
* Sarah Fox – bass (from 2003 onwards)
* Garvin Smith – bass (early line-up)
Discography
Albums
Singles
References
External links
JJ72 at the Carling Brixton Academy Thursday June 9th 2005*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20050811232859/http://www.jj72.org.uk/ www.jj72.org.uk- Includes Mark Greaney solo detailsbr>
The band's online blog*
*
{{Authority control
Irish alternative rock groups
Irish indie rock groups
Musical groups from Dublin (city)
Musical groups established in 1996
Musical groups disestablished in 2006
1990s in Irish music
2000s in Irish music