tompaulin

If you thought of all the ideal elements of a band, tompaulin would come pretty close. But you probably wouldn’t imagine the chip on their shoulder beneath their windsome charm. Betty Clarke, The Guardian.................................................... ............................................................ ...Tompaulin formed in a bedroom in Blackburn in 2000. We loved records and wanted to make our own. Our first single was self financed and released on a local label (Action records.) We had never even played live when Ballad of the Boot boys sold out in a week . We borrowed some money and recorded another two singles with our friend Vinny Peculiar in Liverpool. Slender and It’s a girl’s world also sold out very quickly. We were in the NME and all the music papers and everyone contacted us wanting to sign us, represent, remix and re-define us. We didn’t have a clue what was going on. Simon didn’t even have an amp. Vinny used to lend us all his stuff. We signed to Uglyman records in a pub in Blackburn, Guy Lovelady was the only person who came to Blackburn to see us and we were fed up with going to London every week. So we signed and made an LP with him. It got good press and radio play for the single and we did two peel sessions and played at Glastonbury. More people came to see us live and we continued to great press and reviews but we were surrounded by people who talked about units and strategies, features and angles and while all this was going on the world went strokes and white stripes mad. Our manager told us we were finished. We didn’t feel finished. We contacted Jim Reid from our beloved Jesus and Mary Chain records and went in the studio and recorded a new e.p. Give me a riot in the summertime did very well for us, the Guardian guide said we were on to something and we thought so to. We released all the singles together on a cd we called “everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.” Chris Osborne writing for Uncut called it a revelation. With the money we made from that we bought a small studio of our own and recorded “Into The Black.” We asked Jim Reid back, but this time to sing on Seams. The Clientele, Ben Lurie ( JAMC ) and loads of other people came in to hang out and help and we had a good time recording it, despite the downbeat tone of the record. Mojo and Uncut gave it four stars and all the usual press loved it, except the NME who ignored it. The record label said “can’t hear a single.”We are fiercely proud of Into The Black and decided to start playing live after two years off. We toured Germany and Scandinavia to sold out shows and came home to headline a sold out the POW! For Track and Field at the Barfly in London. Then we split up. Simon is the brains and brawn behind soup studios. His last recording was the wave pictures single. Everyone seems to love it. Amos is the drummer in Fanfarlo. Katie plays bass in the silver springs. Jamie writes songs and sings in the fischers Stacey is making plans.