Echelon were a four-piece band hailing from Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

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Biography

Guitarist Mark Brandon and vocalist Paul Usher met at an early age and played together in various lineups, however became serious about a career as a band following the recruitment of drummer Andrew Grant. Following a series of local gigs, the band caught the ear of rock legend Alan McGee

Alan McGee

Alan McGee has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for The Guardian.McGee is best-known for co-forming and running the independent Creation Records label from 1983–1999, and then Poptones from 1999-2007...

 in early 2004 who would subsequently sign the band to his Poptones

Poptones

Poptones is a record label launched by Alan McGee after the demise of Creation Records in 1999. Named after a Public Image Limited song, it is seen as something of a return to the staunchly independent roots of Creation...

 label later that year.

The band gained momentum, supporting bands such as The Others

The Others (band)

The Others are an English rock band, signed to Poptones in July 2004 and their eponymous debut album was released on 31 January 2005.-Career:...

 and The Boxer Rebellion and doing their own headline tour surrounding the release of their first single Plus. The single received airplay from renowned DJs such as Steve Lamacq

Steve Lamacq

Steve Lamacq , sometimes known by his nicknames Lammo or "The Cat" is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio stations BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.-Early career:He was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire...

 and Tom Robinson

Tom Robinson

Tom Robinson is an English singer-songwriter, bassist and radio presenter, better known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson Band...

, who made it single of the week on his BBC 6 Music

BBC 6 Music

BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....

 evening show. The single also received airplay from XFM

Xfm

Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...

 where the band did a live session. The debut single Plus was released on the 8th November to positive reviews, and charted at Number 57 in the Official Charts, a great accomplishment for a relatively unknown band.

Cited as the 'kid brothers' of Radiohead

Radiohead

Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...

 Echelon moved into 2005 touring consistently and recording the follow-up to Plus and filming the corresponding video. After an appearance at Glastonbury

Glastonbury Festival

The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...

 the delayed follow up single Windows Shut/This Room (a double A-Side) was released on 17 October. Although appreciated by Radio One

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

 DJ Zane Lowe

Zane Lowe

Zane Lowe also known as 'Zipper', is a radio DJ and television presenter. He was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland, where he was a presenter on the local music station Max TV, before moving to England...

 the single failed to match the airplay of the debut, reaching number 12 in the UK Indie Chart

UK Indie Chart

The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...

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Echelon finished in 2006, briefly reforming as Mixed Business before becoming Magistrates. Members Usher, Grant, and Brandon formed a new band called Magistrates

Magistrates (band)

Magistrates are an indie-soul quartet hailing from Essex, England.-Members:-History:Paul and Mark played in various bands whilst growing up together, including performing under the name Echelon in 2006 and as Mixed Business with Andrew Grant....

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Discography

• "Plus" CD
  01) Plus 02) Humble 03) Tick Tock. 7-inch (signed) 01) Plus 02) Humble. Released 8 November 2004 #57-No.7 Indie Chart
• "Windows Shut/This Room CD
  01) Windows Shut 02) This Room 03) Harp Song. 7-inch 1 01) Windows Shut 02) The Swimmer. 7-inch 2 01) Windows Shut 02) I Can See You. Released 17 October 2005 No.12 Indie Chart

External links

• http://www.echelonmusic.co.uk
• http://www.myspace.com/echelongroove
• http://www.poptones.co.uk