The Hoosiers
(formerly known as The Hoosier Complex
) are a band from the UK and Sweden.
The band consists of Irwin Sparkes (vocals, guitar), Martin Skarendahl (bass guitar, acoustic guitar), and Alphonso "Alan" Sharland (drums, percussion).
Their first single "Worried About Ray" reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart in July 2007. They released their debut album, The Trick to Life
, in October 2007 reaching number 1 in the album charts.
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THE HOOSIERS TICKETS
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Biography
Hailing from Exeter (Alphonso), Reading (Irwin) and Stockholm (Martin), the band claim to create a sound that they call "Odd pop", combining a number of musical genres. The band members cite their influences as
The Cure,
Jeff Buckley,
The Flaming Lips and
XTC.
According to their band biography, Alphonso Raymond Sharland and Irwin Sparkes the lead singer spent some time in the
United States, encouraged by their chemistry teacher (
Grant Serpell [1] who was part of the band
Sailor during their fame in the 1970s), in an attempt to broaden their horizons. The pair won themselves a football
scholarship at the
University of Indianapolis despite a reputed claim to be "allergic to running". Their time spent in Indiana inspired the band's name: a citizen of
Indiana is colloquially called a
Hoosier. Having gathered enough material to compile an album, Alphonso and Irwin returned to London where they met Swiss keyboard player and sound engineer Duri Darms, and Martin Skarendahl, a Swedish ex-fireman who was then working with Darms as a recording studio engineer and studying at The London Music School. The band moved into a squat in London's East End and began to refine their sound. Sparkes said in an NME interview- " We'd rehearse all night long, the neighbours thought we were addicts so, they never complained".
The trio of Sparkes, Skarendahl and Sharland subsequently signed to
RCA and released their first album
The Trick to Life
on
22 October,
2007. The band have spoken of their desire to write songs that are about more than just "boy and girl.. finding love on a Friday night on the lash with your mates",
[2]
They are produced and managed by ex-member of
Jamiroquai,
Toby Grafty-Smith.
The band's second single, "
Goodbye Mr A", appeared in the game
FIFA 08, and
FIFA 08 can be seen in The Hoosiers music video for "Goodbye Mr A" in which
Irwin Sparkes (vocals, guitar), who is from
Reading, Berkshire is playing on the game as
Reading FC against
Manchester United. It also appears in a trailer for the 2007 film, 'Juno'. Following the release of "
Worst Case Scenario", the next release from
The Trick to Life
was "
Cops and Robbers", as confirmed in a live webchat with The Hoosiers on GMTV. The video was broadcast on Channel 4 at 12:10pm on 22 March,2008.
Before the game was released this information was released on this website: "
Cops and Robbers will feature in the game
Grand Theft Auto IV ". However now the game has been released, the song is not found on the
GTA IV game. This said it may feature in the upcoming
Grand Theft Auto IV episodic packs, released later this year.
The title track "The Trick to Life" is featured as the end credits music on the upcoming thriller
From Within
to be released in 2009 which is ironically about a series of unexplained deaths in a small town.
They recently completed a tour with support from
The Script along with I Am Finn,
Envy & Other Sins,
Absent Elk, Will and the people and JP Jones.
Members
| Name
| Instrument [3]
|
| Irwin Sparkes
| Vocals, guitar
|
| Martin Skarendahl
| Bass and Guitar
|
| Alfonso "Alan" Sharland
| Drums
|
| Year
| Name
| Charts
| Sales and
certifications
|
UK
|
IRE
|
FRA
|
SUI
|
BEL
|
| 2007
| The Trick to Life
- First studio album
- Released: 22 Oct 2007
- Label:RCA
- Formats: CD, Digital download
| 1
| 47
| 82
| 65
| 76
|
- BPI: 2 × Platinum [4]
- UK Sales: 600,000+
|
| Year
| Single
| Chart positions [5]
| Album
|
| UK
| IRE
| SUI
| GER
|
| 2007
| "Worried About Ray" [6]
| 5
| 38
| 85
| 94
| The Trick To Life
|
| "Goodbye Mr A" [7]
| 4
| 23
| —
| —
|
| 2008
| "Worst Case Scenario"
| 76
| —
| —
| —
|
| "Cops and Robbers" [8]
| 24
| —
| —
| —
|
| "—" indicates that the single was not released in the specified location
, or it did not chart
.
|
| Year
| B-Side name
| Appearing Single
|
| 2007
| "Worried About Ray" (acoustic) [9]
| "Worried About Ray"
|
"We Didn't Start the Fire" (live on The Dermot O'Leary Show
) |
| "Worried About Ray" (Live on Virgin Radio) [10]
| "Goodbye Mr A"
|
| 2008
| "Ruby Blue" [11]
| "Worst Case Scenario"
|
| "Cops and Robbers" (Live from Shepherds Bush Empire) [12]
| "Cops and Robbers"
|
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