The Leeds Gig Guide

Band Biography for Ocean Colour Scene:

Ocean Colour Scene is an alternative rock band which formed in Birmingham, England in 1990. Currently, the band consists of Simon Fowler (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Steve Cradock (guitar, organ), Andy Bennett (guitar), Tony Boylan (guitar), Dan Sealey (bass) and Oscar Harrison (drums). Founding bassist Damon Minchella left the band amicably in 2003.

Falling between the energetic pop/rock of mod revival and the psychedelic experimentations of Traffic, Ocean Colour Scene came to be one of the leading bands of the traditionalist, post- Britpop of the mid-'90s. Although they had formed in Birmingham in 1990 and had several minor hits during the height of Madchester in the early '90s, the band didn't earn a large following until 1996, when their second album, Moseley Shoals, became a multi-platinum success story in the U.K. Their ascent was greatly aided by Paul Weller and Oasis' Noel Gallagher, both publicly praised Ocean Colour Scene for keeping the flame of real rock & roll burning during the '90s. And, according to one specific definition, they were right, since Ocean Colour Scene was nothing if not rock & roll traditionalists, drawing heavily from British Invasion pop, psychedelia, soul, R&B, and blues-rock to create a reverential homage to classic rock. Their devotion to trad rock may have earned them decidedly mixed reviews, but that was the very thing that earned them a sizable following.