Saloon (band)
Encyclopedia
Saloon were an English
indie musical group from Reading
, who formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2004.
) as well as Amanda Gomez (lead vocal) and Matt Ashton (guitars).
With their line-up complete the group played their first gig at The Fox and Hounds in Caversham, a pub made famous by an early performance by Lennon
and McCartney
.
band Lazer Guided) in 1999, Saloon came to the attention of DJ John Peel
, who championed the band and their subsequent single releases. The band recorded three Peel sessions; aired 4 July 2001, 7 August 2002 and 19 April 2003.
The band then released songs through various independent labels including "Shopping" (Amberley Records), "Electron" (Bearos Records), "Snow" (Fortuna Pop), and "Impact" (Glamour Puss), a split with the Sonic Catering Band. The band eventually settled on the Darla Records for the US
releases and the Track and Field Organisation in the UK
, on which they were to release their last singles "Free Fall", "Have You Seen The Light" (a split with Dressy Bessy
) and "Girls Are The New Boys".
, Billy Mahonie
, Of Montreal
, Herman Dune
and, the band they were most commonly compared to, Stereolab
. Saloon also curated their own club night and Festival at the Rising Sun Arts Centre in Reading called ‘Happy Robots’ which brought the likes of Pram, Electrelane and Manitoba to the town.
in his New York studio, who also designed the sleeve. The album was released in April 2002 to mostly favourable reviews, including the Sunday Times
in the UK who listed it amongst their top 10 of the year.
who awarded it 8/10.
of the early Saloon singles Lo-Fi Sounds, Hi-Fi Heart was released in 2006. Gomez and Cresswell also provided production duties on the 2004 album, Let's Get Static, by another Track and Field band, The Projects. Gomez briefly also covered keyboard duties in the band. At the turn of the decade, Ashton, Cotton and Cresswell are still writing and recording respectively in The Leaf Library, The Left Outsides and Arthur and Martha.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
indie musical group from Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, who formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2004.
Formation
Saloon was formed originally formed in late 1997 by Adam Cresswell (bass/synthesizers) and Michael Smoughton (drums), with the final line-up of five people completed in early 1998, which added Alison Cotton (viola) (who was poached from another Reading band, British Air Powers, who went on to become British Sea PowerBritish Sea Power
British Sea Power are an indie rock band based in Brighton, England, although three of the band members originally come from Kendal in Cumbria. Critics have likened their sound to a variety of groups, from The Cure and Joy Division to the Pixies and Arcade Fire. The band are famed for their live...
) as well as Amanda Gomez (lead vocal) and Matt Ashton (guitars).
With their line-up complete the group played their first gig at The Fox and Hounds in Caversham, a pub made famous by an early performance by Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
.
Style
Saloon drew on a range of influences of electronic and more guitar-based acts, Saloon developed a futuristic pop sound that incorporated Cotton's viola playing, Cresswell's interest in Moog synthesizers, and Ashton's feedback-tinged guitar style, along with samples and more exotic instrumentation, such as stylophone and glockenspiel.Early recordings
A home-recorded, four-track demo (The Blue Demo) containing four songs garnered fanzine acclaim and, by the end of 1998, Lisa Millennium / Conquistador was released on their own Belmondo label. Upon issuing Futurismo (a split 7" with DerbyDerby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
band Lazer Guided) in 1999, Saloon came to the attention of DJ John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
, who championed the band and their subsequent single releases. The band recorded three Peel sessions; aired 4 July 2001, 7 August 2002 and 19 April 2003.
The band then released songs through various independent labels including "Shopping" (Amberley Records), "Electron" (Bearos Records), "Snow" (Fortuna Pop), and "Impact" (Glamour Puss), a split with the Sonic Catering Band. The band eventually settled on the Darla Records for the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
releases and the Track and Field Organisation in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, on which they were to release their last singles "Free Fall", "Have You Seen The Light" (a split with Dressy Bessy
Dressy Bessy
Dressy Bessy is an indie rock band from Denver, Colorado, associated with the Elephant Six Collective. Guitarist John Hill also plays with The Apples in Stereo. Lead vocalist/guitarist Tammy Ealom formed the band with drummer Darren Albert and guitarist turned bassist Rob Greene in 1996. The name...
) and "Girls Are The New Boys".
Gigging and touring
The band toured extensively (in a post van if their distributor Cargo Records website was to be believed); and, alongside tours in the UK, France, Sweden and Holland, Saloon played a number of support slots with their peers and influences, including shows with LaikaLaika
Laika was a Soviet space dog that became the first animal to orbit the Earth – as well as the first animal to die in orbit.As little was known about the impact of spaceflight on living creatures at the time of Laika's mission, and the technology to de-orbit had not yet been developed, there...
, Billy Mahonie
Billy Mahonie
- History :Formed in 1997, the original line-up consisted of Gavin Baker , Howard Monk , Hywell Dinsdale and Kevin Penney . Their first release was on the Fierce Panda record label, a split-single with Rothko, followed by a release on the Fierce Panda offshoot Livid Meercat...
, Of Montreal
Of Montreal
Of Montreal is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontman Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance with a woman "of Montreal." The band is one of the bands of the Elephant 6 collective...
, Herman Dune
Herman Düne
Herman Düne is a French duo, formed in 1999. Originally a trio, the band now consists of David-Ivar Herman Düne and Néman Herman Düne . Néman, who is from Switzerland, replaced former drummer Omé in early 2001...
and, the band they were most commonly compared to, Stereolab
Stereolab
Stereolab are an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting team Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes...
. Saloon also curated their own club night and Festival at the Rising Sun Arts Centre in Reading called ‘Happy Robots’ which brought the likes of Pram, Electrelane and Manitoba to the town.
First album
In 2001, Saloon recorded their debut album. (This Is) What We Call Progress, which was engineered by singer Amanda Gomez at the Reading College School of Art and Design (now part of Thames Valley University) and mixed by Andrew Prinz of MahoganyMahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
in his New York studio, who also designed the sleeve. The album was released in April 2002 to mostly favourable reviews, including the Sunday Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
in the UK who listed it amongst their top 10 of the year.
Festive fifty controversy
Saloon quickly got to work writing the follow-up. Between the release of the albums the band were hit with unexpected success when Girls Are The New Boys reached number one in Peel's annual Festive 50, This was one of four Saloon releases in the coveted chart, with two entries in 2001 and two entries in 2002. Following this success, Saloon came up against its first serious criticism with accusations of vote rigging. One fanzine Unpeeled went as far as printing an alternative Festive 48 which excluded both of the band’s 2003 entries. Although the fact that the band were invited back for a third Peel Session suggested that Peel and his production team felt there had been nothing irregular, the criticism clearly disturbed feeling within the band. In a 2006 interview Cresswell, while commenting on their 2002 festive 50 number 12, commented “despite only being released on a 500 copy limited split 7" … this song [Impact] reached Number 12 in John Peel's Festive 50. No one accused us of cheating that year though. Bitter, me?”Second album
The self-produced second album If We Meet in the Future was released in June 2003, again to mostly positive reviews including the NMENME
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...
who awarded it 8/10.
Split
Despite this, following its release the band completed their touring commitments and disappeared. In May 2004 it was announced that Smoughton, Ashton and Cotton had quit, and on 30 October 2004, five days after the death of Peel, Gomez and Cresswell announced the official split.Other projects
A compilation albumCompilation 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 the early Saloon singles Lo-Fi Sounds, Hi-Fi Heart was released in 2006. Gomez and Cresswell also provided production duties on the 2004 album, Let's Get Static, by another Track and Field band, The Projects. Gomez briefly also covered keyboard duties in the band. At the turn of the decade, Ashton, Cotton and Cresswell are still writing and recording respectively in The Leaf Library, The Left Outsides and Arthur and Martha.