Witness were a British

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 formed in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

in 1997. The band released two albums via

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

between 1999 and 2001, before splitting up in 2004.

History

Formation

Singer-songwriter Gerard Starkie and guitarist Ray Chan first met at Wigan & Leigh College and spent their early years in and out of various local bands which didn't quite match the sound that they were both hoping for; most notably Gerard in ''Embryonic'' and Ray in ''Easter''. As a result, they eventually set about writing and recording a number of 4-track demos together, which were mixed by their friend Nick McCabe of

The Verve The Verve were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Wigan in 1990 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones (musician), Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Sim ...

. Bassist Dylan Keeton became the next member to join the band which would eventually go on to become Witness, as a result of an advert he had placed in the local Loot newspaper. After securing a record deal with

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

, they went on to add both drummer John Langley and guitarist Julian Pransky-Poole – initially to enhance their live sound during gigs, but later as a full-time member – to the line-up.

Breakthrough

Before settling on the name ''Witness'', the band initially played a handful of gigs in nearby

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

under the names Siren and High Mountain Jag in mid-1997. Witness' big break came in the same year, as they ventured down to London to watch

support

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentEarl's Court in September 1997. Ray, a long-time friend of Nick McCabe's, met someone backstage at the gig who did press for

(Tim Vigon). He passed on a recently recorded demo tape – produced by former Tansads songwriter and guitarist John Kettle – and just a week later they had signed a three-album deal with

. At this stage, Witness had not yet settled on a band name or played a gig under the name, and as such, their record contract simply referred to them as the ''"Wigan Band"''. The initial press attention enjoyed by the band came as a result of Ray's friendship with Nick, and so, comparisons with

were rife. The

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 ...

even went on to refer to the band as ''Nick McCabe's Mates Band'', during the period in which they were still nameless. Moreover, Witness were co-managed by

's press officer, Tim Vigon, along with Rob Partridge, Chairman of Coalition PR, who, together, comprised Witness-based 'Valiant Management'. In 1998, Witness managed to secure support slots on tour with Whiskeytown, The Seahorses and

Gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

, before going on to self-release their debut single, "Quarantine", through Valiant Recordings on 23 November. The single was released on 7" limited edition vinyl, with only 1000 copies available. The following year, after performing further support slots for both Mansun and

Deus ''Deus'' (, ) is the Latin word for 'God (word), god' or 'deity'. Latin ''deus'' and ''dīvus'' ('divine') are in turn descended from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European *''deiwos'', 'celestial' or 'shining', from the same root ( ...

, the band's first release for Island came with their second single, "Scars", released on 1 March 1999. It entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 71 and remained there for a sole week, as did their third single, "Audition", which followed in June of the same year. Their debut album, '' Before The Calm'', was produced by Phil Vinall, recorded at Rockfield Studios, near Monmouth in Wales, and was released on 12 July to critical acclaim, including a glowing review in the

; Yet, despite the magazine's high regard for the LP, it failed to gain a place on their annual "Top 50 Albums of the Year" list.

Under A Sun

After the release of their debut LP, the band had hoped to put out a follow-up shortly after, but the songs they chose to submit to Island for inclusion on the album were rejected outright by the label's bosses, "who questioned the quality of the new songs". Following Universal's takeover of Island Records, Witness recorded and released a one-off song in April 2000 to be included on the soundtrack to the UK TV show, Randall and Hopkirk. The song, titled "Zero Zero", signified somewhat of a departure for the band from the understated, downbeat sound they had delivered on '' Before The Calm'', as they chose to opt for a much more driving and energetic approach. They went on to perform a number of gigs previewing their new batch of songs throughout 2000, most notably at the famous Tower Ballroom in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, as a support act for Embrace on 4 May, whilst 16 May saw the US release of Before The Calm, with the inclusion of 2 bonus tracks. The band continued to pursue a new, Americana-tinged direction on their second album, ''Under A Sun'', released on 23 July 2001, as their record label's new parent company proved to be more accepting of the band's new material. Just 5 days after its physical release, all of the album's tracks were made available to listen to in their entirety via their then-official website. Despite Pransky-Poole's involvement in the recording of the previous album, his addition to the band's official line-up coincided with the release of their follow-up, leading to assumptions that Witness' new sound was a direct result of his input. Like its predecessor, ''Under A Sun'' garnered a notable amount of critical attention, though not on the same, universal scale as that of their debut. The well-respecte
Americana UK
website went on to crown the LP their 'Album of the Year' for 2001: Elsewhere, comparisons with The Verve continued, along with likenings to the country rock stylings of both

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

and

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

. 'Under A Sun' spawned a further two singles for the band in the form of "You Are All My Own Invention", which preceded the album's release, issued on 9 July, and "Here's One For You" which followed on 5 November. Though both releases received some solid reviews, they failed to feature in the Top 75 of the UK Singles Chart. In an effort to broaden the band's meagre fanbase,

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

secured a slot for the latter of the two songs in the soundtrack to the 2001 feature film, American Pie 2, made by their sister company,

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

The beginning of the end

In December 2001, Julian was asked to leave the band, for reasons unknown, and by March 2002, in the midst of demoing what would have been their third album, it had been announced that Witness had been dropped by their record label. Despite this setback, they went on to perform a well-received headline set at the 'Americana One' festival in August 2002, and also returned to the studio to record an EP's worth of new material, slated for release in early 2003. In January 2003, a hometown gig was announced at Wigan's 'Mill at the Pier' for 5 April, set to promote the independent release of the planned EP. Yet, despite the gig being a sold-out success, the EP was never issued.

Post-split

The band 'split up' in February 2004, but continued as 'Gerard Starkie' with the same personnel. The following year the band split properly when Ray left, moving to Hong Kong to teach English. Throughout 2005, Gerard continued to perform solo gigs, whilst August 2006 saw the self-release of his debut solo album, ''Drawbridge''. The album release was exclusive to his official MySpace site and was made solely available in download form. In November 2006, Gerard embarked on his first proper solo tour, to coincide with a new one-off track titled "The Whispering", released on the limited edition 10" vinyl compilation ''Tales From The Lux'' via

-based Lupine Records. Alongside his solo appearances, Gerard has performed on stage with The Blue Aeroplanes, who have also featured John Langley on drums. In August 2008, it was announced that Gerard and Ray would reunite to play a one-off gig of Witness material in Hong Kong. Throughout 2010, Gerard undertook a string of fully backed solo performances to promote his forthcoming solo album, featuring Joe Allen, John Langley and Loki Lillistone of The Blue Aeroplanes.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

Official Website (formerly a fansite)

MySpace Page
{{Authority control English alternative rock groups Music in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan Alternative rock groups from Greater Manchester Musical groups established in 1997 Musical groups disestablished in 2004