Octopus (Scottish band)


Octopus were a Britpop band from Shotts, Lanarkshire, Scotland formed in 1993. They had three hit singles before splitting up in 1997.

History

The band was formed in Shotts, Lanarkshire, Scotland by schoolfriends Marc Shearer, Alan McSeveney, Steven McSeveney and Bob Holmes. The group relocated to London and recruited drummer Oliver Grasset.
After playing several times in London Octopus were spotted by Levitation drummer David Francolini. He passed their demo to Food Records boss Andy Ross, who signed the band, releasing their debut single, "Magazine" in March 1996. While retaining the four-piece creative core, the band onstage had by now expanded to an octet with the addition of trumpeters James Donaldson and Andrew Blick, pianist Mike Servent and harmonica player Nick Reynolds.
Octopus toured with Sleeper and second single "Your Smile" gave them their first hit, peaking at number 42 on the UK Singles Chart. "Your Smile" was followed by "Saved", which saw them break into the top 40. Octopus' first album, From a to b, was released in September 1996 and featured all three of the singles released to date. Cameron Miller joined the group after the recording of the album. A fourth single, "Jealousy", reached number 59, and proved to be Octopus' final release, the band splitting up in 1997.
Miller would later join Andrew Blick in Blowpipe, and play with both Ben Christophers and Adem. Shearer also played with Adem and recorded solo material, with "Magma on My Mind" included on the 2009 compilation A Psychedelic Guide To Monsterism Island on Lo Recordings, later recording as Marc Meon. Original bass player Steven McSeveney went on to play with The Secret Goldfish.

Discography

Albums