The Listening Pool was an English

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...

 band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

, founded by three former members of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...

 (OMD), after the original-lineup split in 1989. The group was composed of Paul Humphreys

Paul Humphreys

Paul Humphreys is a British musician.-Life and career:He is best known as a member of synth pop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark , which he founded with Andy McCluskey in 1978.He grew up on the Wirral Peninsula in North West England, during which time he developed his interest in German...

, Malcolm Holmes and Martin Cooper

Martin Cooper (artist)

Martin Cooper is a painter and a musician.-Musical career:From 1980 until 1989 Cooper was a member of the rock group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Prior to joining OMD, Cooper played the saxophone at some of their concerts, or they used his pre-recorded work. He also played with Dalek I Love...

.

Name

Martin Cooper on how they came up with the band's name from an interview in the Telegraph fanzine:
Paul Humphreys:

Contractual difficulties

The Listening Pool had to overcome a few obstacles before they could release their CD

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

. The Listening Pool could not release any music since Paul and Andy McCluskey

Andy McCluskey

George Andrew "Andy" McCluskey is the lead singer, bass guitarist, and primary songwriter for the band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark ....

 signed an agreement releasing Paul from his contract with Virgin Records

Virgin Records

Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...

 while allowing Andy to continue using the name OMD. Until new OMD material was issued, nothing could be done on Paul’s end.

Martin states in the Telegraph interview:

The Listening Pool originally signed with a record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 called Inevitable, which as luck would have it, inevitably folded. The Listening Pool then formed their own independent label, Telegraph Records. OMD used the fictitious "Telegraph" label for Dazzle Ships

Dazzle Ships (album)

The "Manor Version" of "Telegraph" was recorded at the same time as Architecture & Morality. "Swiss Radio International" was dropped from the album at the last minute...

(1983), in order to maintain the image of being signed to an "indie" label.

Debut Album

The Listening Pool released its debut album titled Still Life in 1994 and was met with rave reviews from the British press. The style of Still Life is quite a change from the electronic sound of the OMD of old utilizing the individual talents of the members with more acoustic drums, saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

 and keyboards

Keyboard instrument

A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

.

Split

In 1996, after recording some songs intended for a follow-up album, one of which was titled "Satellite" the band split. Paul Humphreys went on to form the band Onetwo

Onetwo (band)

Onetwo is a synth pop group formed in 2000 by singer Claudia Brücken and keyboardist/singer Paul Humphreys . Their collaboration had no name until 2004....

 with Claudia Brucken, Martin Cooper resumed his painting career and Mal Holmes continues to work in the music industry. The Listening Pool album and single are available thru Mal Holmes' web based music company at http://www.thelisteningpool.finmusic.co.uk.

In 2006 the classic OMD line-up (McCluskey, Humphreys, Cooper, and Holmes) reunited, and continues to tour and record.

Albums

Still Life (1994)

1. "Meant To Be" – 4:15
2. "Oil for the Lamps of China" – 3:34
3. "Follow Where You Go" – 3:54
4. "Breathless" – 4:17
5. "Somebody Somewhere" (with Paul Roberts
   Paul Roberts
   Paul Roberts is an English singer who was the lead singer of The Stranglers between 1990 and 2006.-The Stranglers:...
   
   ) – 4:03
6. "Photograph of You" (with Simon Dutton
   Simon Dutton
   Simon Dutton is a British actor, best known for playing the title role of Simon Templar in a series of Australian-produced television films in 1989. In 2007, he joined the cast of British sitcom Not Going Out as recurring character Guy, but was written out at the end of season 2.Dutton was...
   
   ) – 4:17
7. "Promised the World" – 4:28
8. "Blue Africa" – 4:33
9. "Still Life" – 4:34
10. "Where Do We Go from Here" – 3:33
11. "Wild Strawberries" (with Thomas Lang
    Thomas Lang (singer)
    Thomas Lang is a Liverpool based singer-songwriter, best known for the jazz-tinged song The Happy Man, which spent 3 weeks in the UK top 100 singles chart in 1988 . Thomas released...
    
    ) – 3:55
12. "Hand Me That Universe" – 2:11

Singles

Oil for the Lamps of China (1993)

• CD single

1. "Oil for the Lamps of China" – 3:34
2. "Where Do We Go From Here" – 3:34
3. "Oil for the Lamps of China (Extended Version)" – 6:02
4. "Oil for the Lamps of China (Instrumental)" – 3:30
   • 12" single
5. "Oil for the Lamps of China (Extended Version)" – 6:00
6. "Oil for the Lamps of China (Single Mix)" – 3:30
7. "Where Do We Go From Here" – 3:34
   • Cassette single
8. "Oil for the Lamps of China" – 3:34
9. "Where Do We Go From Here" – 3:34
10. "Oil for the Lamps of China (Extended Version)" – 6:02
11. "Oil for the Lamps of China (Instrumental)" – 3:30

Meant To Be (1995)

• CD Single

1. "Meant To Be" – 4:15
2. "Meant To Be (Extended Version)" – 6:42
3. "Meant To Be (Instrumental)" – 4:18

Telegraph Records

The Listening Pool formed their own independent label, Telegraph Records. Besides releasing their own work, they also signed artists like Peter Coyle (both as a solo artist and as part of Pure Journey) and China Crisis

China Crisis

China Crisis is an English pop/rock band. They were formed in 1979 in Kirkby, near Liverpool, Merseyside with a core of vocalist/keyboardist Gary Daly and guitarist Eddie Lundon...

. The label didn't last long, so its catalogue is rather small.

Releases

Release date	Catalogue	Format	Artist	Title	Producer	Notes
	TLGCD006	5" CD single	China Crisis	Black Man Ray	Mark Phythian	Live at the Neptune Theatre Neptune Theatre The Neptune Theatre, built in 1913, is one of many theatres in Liverpool, England. It has been threatened with closure several times, and is currently not in use. The theatre seats 445 on its two levels.-History:...  in Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
	TLGCD005	CD	China Crisis	Acoustically Yours	Mark Phythian	Live at the Neptune Theatre in Liverpool
	TLGMC005	Cassette
	TLGCD007	CD	Thomas Lang	Versions	Andrew Redhead, David A Hughes, John Murphy, Paul Humphreys, The Listening Pool
	TLGT001	12" single	The Listening Pool	Oil For The Lamps Of China	The Listening Pool, Ronnie Stone
	TLGMC001	Cassette single
	TLGCD001	5" CD single
	TLGCD002	CD	The Listening Pool	Still Life	The Listening Pool, Ronnie Stone
	TLGCD003	5" CD single	The Listening Pool	Meant To Be	The Listening Pool
	TLGCD004	CD	Nicola And Alexandra Bibby	Debussy & Fauré	Martin Cooper	Classical music, songs composed by Claude Debussy Claude Debussy Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...  and Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers... .