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Lead Balloons

About Me


PIERRE HALL AND THE LEAD BALLOONS
BIOGRAPHY
Tired of having to carry all his own equipment around, PIERRE HALL put the LEAD BALLOONS together in the dying days of 2005, after playing solo across the city for quite a while.
He recruited CRAIG MARCHINGTON in on bass.
He then got DAN STUBBS in on guitar.
SCOTT JACKSON came in and made a racket on the drums.
Bonding over a diverse range of influences they brought their lovestruck jangly-indie pop together in a rickety old rehearsal room in Salford, with bands like Felt, Belle & Sebastian, The Libs, Orange Juice, Televison, I Am Kloot, Blur and Dion & The Belmonts in mind.
They played gigs solidly for two years, and got to do some cool stuff on the way.
They took Glastonbury by storm.
They played loads of great gigs with loadsa great bands like The Courteeners, Viva Voce, Tokyo Police Club, and at some great nights like akoustik Anarkhy and Another Music=Another Kitchen.
They released the much sought-after limited edition seven inch ‘Somethin’ You Say/Don’t Let That Go To Waste’. Steve Lamacq and John Kennedy XFM played it.
They had some crazy house parties inviting every man and his dog to come and watch.
Then Scott told us he had to go.
Sorely needed on some kind of mission from God (a la Blues Brothers) in his nativeland, Australia, we wiped our tears- and said our good-byes…
The Lead Balloons are now on permanent hiatus until further notice. Keep the dream alive. Never give up.
X
Praise for Lead Balloons…
“EXUBERANT POP HEAVEN” -TIME OUT
“IMMEDIATELY LOVEABLE... MUSIC TO SOUNDTRACK A GREAT NIGHT OF PARTYING” - MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS
“A RAUCOUSLY TUNEFUL INDIE-POP QUARTET” - METRO
“THIS IS MUSIC TO FLOP YOUR FRINGE TO, OR TO ASK THAT GIRL/BOY OUT YOU'VE BEEN THINKIN ABOUT FOR AGES.” - MANCHESTERMUSIC.CO.UK
“PIERRE HALL IS THE CITY’S MOST NOTORIOUS CROWD-SURFING SCENESTER” –NME
“THIS ENSEMBLE HAVE PRODUCED A PLETHORA OF SUMMERY, DELICATE, LOVE-FILLED SONGS” – BOB MAGAZINE
'MADE ME DANCE AROUND THE HOUSE AND PUT ME IN A GOOD MOOD!'-ADAM GREEN (MOLDY PEACHES)
'The Lead Balloons are certainly more sponsorship-friendly, although whilst their upbeat, exuberant indie pop radiates sunshine and the sort of warm evenings where a few cold beers would go down a treat, any product endorsements are quite definitely tongue-in-cheek. A "scenester" he may well be by his own admission, but as a singer and songwriter Pierre Hall is about as unpretentious as it's possible to be, a sweet boy with a heart full of tunes and a scruffy bunch of mates to help him play them. With reference points such as early shambling Pastels, The Coral's jangle-shanties and bittersweet Buzzcocks romantic punk-pop it's time to forget all the crap going on in the world for a few minutes, smile and sing along to the infectiously wonderful likes of "Don't Bother With Him", a summer festival hit in waiting if ever there was one. And if the last track - a new one called "Something You Say" which fizzes like a packet of Refreshers into a great big headrush fuzz-pop frenzy - is anything to go by, they've got no shortage of those.' -Manchester Music, April 07
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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 12/04/2006
Band Website: this one
Band Members:
Pierre-Louis Emmanuel Alphonso Simion Clarke-Wills Hall - vocals/guitar
Craig Marchington - bass/vox
Dan Stubbs - guitar/vox
Scott Jackson - drums

Pierre Hall / Lead Balloons in NME Indie Map of Britain 2008:

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Influences: Michael Jackson, Nina Simone, Donovan, Radiohead, The Beatles, Syd Barrett, The Cure, Pulp, Television, The Velvet Underground, Nico, Felt, Luna, Denim, Orange Juice, 80s indie-pop, Postcard Records, Pavement, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Strokes, Hefner, Silver Jews, Charles Bukowski, John Fante, F Scott Fitzgerald, The Wave Pictures, The Libertines, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, David Bowie, Blur, My Bloody Valentine, The Bishops, Bloc Party, Polytechnic, Vivian Stanshall, Marvin Gaye, William Burroughs, Louis-Ferdinand Celine, The Zombies, The Spinto Band, REM, Johnny Cash, Love, Elvis, Postcard Records, Frank Sinatra, Kurt Elling, Kula Shaker, Adam Green, The Moldy Peaches, Thomas Truax, The Loungs, Richard Pryor, John Keats, John Candy, Bill Murray, Bill Hicks, Graham Nash, Eva Cassidy, Jonathan Richman, The Modern Lovers, James Brown, Morrissey, Jim Noir, Magnetic Fields, Nouvelle Vague, The GO! Team, Harrisons, Dionne Warwick, BB King, John Lee Hooker, Alfie, Jackson 5, Quincy Jones, The Shirelles, The Ronettes, Merge Records, Rough Trade, Phil Spector, Motown, Dion & The Belmonts, New Wave, The Longcut, Nine Black Alps, Pete Doherty, Pink Floyd, Broken Social Scene, The Blues, Belle & Sebastian, Loose Canon, Elliot Smith, The Stone Roses, Scott Walker, Neil Young, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Coral, Sam & Me, Joy Division,The Smiths, I Am Kloot, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, New Order, Stevie Wonder, The Postal Service, Lauryn Hill, Sufjan Stevens, ..bored now (to be continued)
Sounds Like: A balloon of solid lead(Pb).
Type of Label: Major

My Blog

New Songs Up

Hey, There's new songs up on the myspace player thingy... check em out. 'In The Trees' & 'I'm In Control' Enjoy!
Posted by on Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:21:00 GMT

’Lead Balloons make the world a happier place’ - ITC 2008 Review

'Fresh from guiding the new students around the musical highlights of our fair city in NME's Student Guide, "promoter, DJ, musician" Pierre Hall's wearing at least two of those hats tonight. Along wit...
Posted by on Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:29:00 GMT

Pierre Hall & Lead Balloons in NMEs ’Indie Map of Britain 2008’

Check out the supplement you get with this weeks NME. Me and the band get a little mention. Chilled.
Posted by on Sat, 27 Sep 2008 23:29:00 GMT

itc this sat

this week we are in the practice room getting ready for the next bunch of shows, trying to work out a great set to play. as you have prob seen from the page we are playing this sat its going to be ...
Posted by on Fri, 26 Sep 2008 23:13:00 GMT

Gig tonight! & New drummer

Hi, just a quick blog to introduce myself. I am rick the new drummer (used to play in Fear of Music). I have been playing with the band for a couple of weeks and really getting into the swing of thing...
Posted by on Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:04:00 GMT

NEW POEM ’Once Upon’...

NEW POEM: 'Once Upon' Once UponA long, long, long, long time ago, since many years have passed,A little girl with golden hair crept slowly up a path,With sparkling eyes of emerald green and skin a fa...
Posted by on Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:35:00 GMT

It’s not you, it’s me...

Hiatus People, As some or some of you may or may not be aware our drummer Scott Jackson has left this hemisphere. After making more than a significant impact on the Manchester Music Community (pl...
Posted by on Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:58:00 GMT

AIR CAV Single Launch-this Fri 22nd Feb

To celebrate the launch of Air Cav's debut single 'Alliance', backed up by the mighty 'Branches' on Surbia records on February 4th, the band will be playing alongside fellow local heroes The Lead Ball...
Posted by on Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:42:00 GMT

Crack Mag, Newcastle

Lead BalloonsDon't Let That Go To Waste/Somethin' You Say (Friends Of Mine) Manchester is returning to form of late with some exciting new talent breaking through the ranks, and Lead Balloon are the j...
Posted by on Wed, 19 Dec 2007 10:19:00 GMT

How to find the Gardens Hotel

Wanna come to the Lead Balloons single launch tonight?Course you do.Don't know how to find the Gardens Hotel?Map here! http://www.gardenshotelmanchester.com/location.htmlWe'll be round the back. It's ...
Posted by on Sat, 01 Dec 2007 06:22:00 GMT