Octopus, anyone>

The lead singer had the most annoying hair of the 90s.

bar Toploader.

I used to fancy him, but then I was very young.

They were always on the Chart Show over that summer, it seemed, yet never really had a hit...

Octopus - From A to B - Class album, I seem to remember it came with a fold out board game of some sort? Must have a dig around for it tonight - I've not heard it for years.

Were they on Food???

I've got a copy of the album on CD.

The scored their only top 40 smash at #40 the same week that Sarah Cracknell scored her only solo top 40 smash at #39. 'Your Smile' was not a top 40 smash but it was close, and quite nice, parpy-ba-ba.

Sadly my copy is buried within my parents' house. I remember going over to Rooster Records in Preston to track down a vinyl copy as no shop where I grew up sold non-Top 40 records.

I have a 7" of it that I don't remember buying. It might have originally belonged to my sister. That would also account for all the Marion vinyl I own.

Ah, Marion....

I saw them support Space at Cambridge Junction. They cover Neon Lights by Kraftwerk.

Stop covering Kraftwerk plz.

I ain't covered no Kraftwerk!

They were on Food and there was a version of the CD with the fold out board game. I liked them back in the day.

I met their singer at the Fence Homegame in Anstruther a few months back as he's a friend of a friend of a friend. He now plays in Adem's band and has a new band of his own, the name of which escapes me. Nice guy.

don't they own/run a studio in stoke newington? not long after i moved to london (when i still had TEH FEAR of anywhere without a tube) a mate and i went to a quickspace gig there. we found it ok but they sort of weren't open. we wandered off to the pub and came back a few hours later and they were sort of open. quickspace were great, they finished at about 1 or 2 and we were stranded cos the n73 wasn't running cos someone had been stabbed on it or something, we got a minicab to town and the driver tried to take me back to his house saying "it's ok, i haven't got a family! i have lots of champagne though..." AAAARGH SCARY. i didn't go back to stoke newington for about 2 years after that. anyway, ahem, OCTOPUS - yeah, someone told me they weren't a "real" band but a band made of people that ran a studio together and played in other people's bands (how this makes them not "real" i'm not sure). damn i wish i could remember where it was. it was really close to stoke newington overground. just spent 5 mins poring over a-z but i think i have spent so long in the intervening years poring over the a-z that nothing would jump out at me any more. the singer was called marc shearer. some of the band had dreadlocks. a really annoying guy at uni adored them, but that didn't stop them being great. i still play that album a few times a year.

Ahh, the Octopad, just off Belfast Rd? I played there a few times and saw a few great gigs there too, good memories.

marc shearer plays in the band MEON
he`s playing today (4 sept 05 )in london somwhere
and a yes , the octopad , good fun place

Rognvald alerted me to this board. Yep...I live in Stoke Newington where I have a studio. I also put on gigs here and have had The Libertines, BRMC, Adem, 4-Tet, Manitoba/Caribou, Circulus, They Came from the Stars,I Saw Them etc etc etc.
I am currently playing with Adem (Domino Records) and am producing and playing with Jim Reid of Jesus and Marychain. A single on RPM will be out in October...it's rather good!
My main thing now though is Marc Meon which I'm getting up and running. I've just played In The Pines which is a lovely little club and I play Soft Focus this weekend 10thSept in the 3Kings, Clerkenwell with Andy Votel and Pete Fowler etc.
I have fond, if hazy,memories of Octopus...we didn't quite get it right and had a lot of bad luck...did ye know the album is tarted up demos? Anyway...thanks for the comments. Marc

I have loads of Octopus goodies and stories should anyone wnat to hear!