Mighty Mighty
Encyclopedia
Mighty Mighty were an indie band formed in Birmingham
, England
in the mid 1980s. Showing influences from Postcard Records
bands such as Orange Juice
, they came to prominence when featured on the NME
's C86
compilation, at around the same time that they released their debut single "Everybody Knows The Monkey". This was soon followed by a 12" single - "Is There Anyone Out There?" before the band signed to Chapter 22 Records, releasing a string of well-received singles and the album Sharks in 1988. With their brand of indie pop giving way to American influenced rock and shoegazing
, they split in 1988.
Band members:
Russell Burton - Bass and vocals, Mick Geoghegan - Guitar, Pete Geoghegan - Vox organ and guitar, D J Hennessy - Drums, Hugh McGuinness - Vocals and harmonica
Singer Hugh once said during an interview that the difference between Mighty Mighty and The Smiths
was that "they write two-minute pop songs and we write three-minute pop songs".
Continuing interest in the band saw the reissue of Sharks in 2000, the release of a compilation album
of BBC
session tracks in 2001, and two compilations of singles and unreleased tracks in 2000 and 2001.
They reformed for the Indietracks music festival
in 2009.
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, 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...
in the mid 1980s. Showing influences from Postcard Records
Postcard Records
Postcard Records is a Glasgow-based independent record label founded by Alan Horne in 1979, as a vehicle for Orange Juice and Josef K releases. The label's motto was "The Sound of Young Scotland", a parody/tribute to the Motown motto; its logo featured a cartoon cat beating a drum...
bands such as Orange Juice
Orange Juice
Orange Juice was a Scottish post-punk band founded in the middle class Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins formed the Nu-Sonics with his school-mate Alan Duncan and was subsequently joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, who left a band called The Machetes. The band...
, they came to prominence when featured on the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
's C86
C86 (music)
C86 is a cassette compilation released by the British music magazine NME in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from independent labels of the time. As a phrase, C86 quickly evolved into shorthand for a guitar-based musical genre characterised by "jangly" guitars and fey melodies, although other...
compilation, at around the same time that they released their debut single "Everybody Knows The Monkey". This was soon followed by a 12" single - "Is There Anyone Out There?" before the band signed to Chapter 22 Records, releasing a string of well-received singles and the album Sharks in 1988. With their brand of indie pop giving way to American influenced rock and shoegazing
Shoegazing
Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted there until the mid 1990s, with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991...
, they split in 1988.
Band members:
Russell Burton - Bass and vocals, Mick Geoghegan - Guitar, Pete Geoghegan - Vox organ and guitar, D J Hennessy - Drums, Hugh McGuinness - Vocals and harmonica
Singer Hugh once said during an interview that the difference between Mighty Mighty and The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
was that "they write two-minute pop songs and we write three-minute pop songs".
Continuing interest in the band saw the reissue of Sharks in 2000, the release of a compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
session tracks in 2001, and two compilations of singles and unreleased tracks in 2000 and 2001.
They reformed for the Indietracks music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
in 2009.
Singles
- Everybody Knows The Monkey (7", 1986, Girlie Records, GAY001) #34
- Is There Anyone Out There? (12", 1986, Girlie Records, XGAY2) #14
- Throwaway (7"/12", 1986, Chapter 22, CHAP10/12CHAP10) #7
- Built Like A Car (7"/12", 1987, Chapter 22, CHAP12/12CHAP12) #6
- One Way (7"/12", 1987, Chapter 22, CHAP19/12CHAP19) #10
- Maisonette (7"/12", 1988, Chapter 22, CHAP21/12CHAP21) #8
Albums
- Sharks (1988, Chapter 22, CHAPLP24) reissued (2000, Vinyl Japan)
- A Band From Birmingham (2000) Vinyl Japan
- The Girlie Years (2001) Vinyl Japan
- At The BBC (2001) Vinyl Japan