New Young Pony Club are a five piece rock band from London, England, containing members from London, Hereford, Cambridge, Bromley and Kiev in Ukraine. Taking influences from post-punk and New Wave. [1] New Young Pony Club own take on their music is "We marry the dance ethic with the pop ethic, and make something that you can dance to and sing along to". [2]

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Career

Forming and signing

Mutual friends introduced now London-based vocalist Tahita Bulmer and producer Andy Spence, who shared a love of punk rock and dance music. The founding pair began writing together, originally only for Bulmer to perform. Spence later assumed a larger role when they decided to form a proper band, so the duo recruited the single-monikered Lou (keyboards), Igor Volk (bass), and Sarah Jones (drums). ^[3] The band formed in 2005 ^[4], and released two limited edition 7" singles ("The Get Go" and "Ice Cream") on indie label Tirk Recordings ^[5] before being discovered by more established Australian label Modular Recordings, and signing a worldwide deal.

The band's name came from lead singer Bulmer's desire to be part of a club or team at school. Her original idea for the band name was the more concise "Pony Club", which she describes as "quirky and kinky and fun". A pre-existing Irish band had already claimed the name, and the prefix "New Young" was added to reflect that the band are "a newer, younger and kinkier Pony Club". ^[6]

Breakthrough

The band has enjoyed success in their early years. Their highest chart placing for a first release was number 47 for second official single "The Bomb", though a re-release of "Ice Cream" reached number 40. They put their lack of chart success down to not having the "desire to make really radio friendly singles", but also claim that they "don't want to be the biggest band in the world". ^[7] New Young Pony Club have been successful in Australia, the home of their label, where they have received airplay on radio station Triple J.

The band's song "Ice Cream" got very wide play in 2009 as a 30 second soundtrack for the TV and Internet advertisement for the Cube Mobile Device from the Nissan car company.

Fantastic Playroom

The band's debut album, Fantastic Playroom , was released on Modular Recordings on 9 July 2007 ^[8] in the UK and 28 August in the U.S. Although the band had an album's worth of material, they decided to create an entirely new album.

Since its release, Fantastic Playroom has received generally positive reviews from the music press in Britain. Mixmag awarded it Album of the Month in its July issue. On 17 July Fantastic Playroom was shortlisted for the 2007 Mercury Prize.

Follow-up to Fantastic Playroom

According to a MySpace blog post on New Young Pony Club's profile, the band are working on a new album.

Live shows

The band toured extensively in 2006 and 2007. A support tour with Lily Allen was followed by a place on the 2007 "NME Indie Rave Tour” along with CSS, The Sunshine Underground and Klaxons. The band went on to their first headline tour to promote their debut album, Fantastic Playroom . The sold-out tour launched on May 30 at The ####### in Leeds, and concluded at Winter Gardens in Eastbourne on June 9, 2007. ^[9] The band continued to play festivals throughout 2007. The band brought in the 2008 New Year at the Rhythm & Vines festive in Gisborne, New Zealand.

In 2009 Sarah Jones joined Bat for Lashes touring band and appeared with them on Later...with Jools Holland.

Band members

• Tahita Bulmer - Vocals
• Andy Spence - Guitar and production
• Lou Hayter- Keyboard
• Igor Volk - Bass
• Sarah Jones - Drums

Discography

Albums

• Fantastic Playroom (9 July 2007) UK #54, AUS #79

Singles

• "Get Lucky" (20 March 2006)
• "Ice Cream" (18 September 2006)
• "The Bomb" (19 March 2007) UK #47
• "Ice Cream" (2 July 2007) (re-release) UK no. 40
• "Get Lucky" (29 October 2007) (re-release)

Remixes (by NYPC)

• "Tears Dry On Their Own" - Amy Winehouse (August 2007) (on 7" Clear Vinyl - Limited Edition)
• "Jealous Girls" - Gossip (New Young Pony Club 7" Vinyl Remix)
• "Leave It Alone" - Operator Please (New Young Pony Club Remix)
• "Marlon JD" - Manic Street Preachers (NYPC's The Wire Up Mix)

References

1. Play Louder Interview
2. Wessex Scene Interview
3. Spin Article
4. Band of the Day profile
5. Tirk Recordings Discography
6. Peta2.com/uk interview
7. I Like Music Interview
8. Play.com Predorder Information
9. New Young Pony Club website