Prime Circle
Encyclopedia
Prime Circle is a rock band formed in December 2000 in Witbank
, Mpumalanga
, South Africa
. They are currently based in Johannesburg
. Originally signed to The David Gresham Record Company, they have been signed to EMI
Music South Africa since the early part of 2008.
Their first album, Hello Crazy World, released in July 2002 quickly reached platinum status and remains the highest selling rock album in South Africa. Their second album "Live this Life" (October 2005 release) reached gold in the first 12 months cementing their position as the biggest selling South African rock act of 2003/2004/2005/2006. In July 2006, a DVD entitled Living in a Crazy World was released, which featured hits from both albums performed live at The Function Room in Johannesburg.
In 2007 David Gresham Records released a CD / DVD Best of box set which followed the success of previous albums. The CD featured 17 tracks including some acoustic, live and remixed versions of previously released tracks and a new track, Moments which reached no.1 on many local radio charts. Following this release, Prime Circle signed to main label EMI and in 2008 released All or Nothing CD and a live DVD of the same name in early 2009. Footage for the DVD was shot during the launch of the CD. The DVD coincided with an international release of the All or Nothing
CD.
At present Prime Circle are finalising their 4th album, produced by the legendary Kevin Shirley
, due for release in South Africa in early September. The first single from the album named Breathing rocketed straight to no.1 on 2 regional stations in the first week of play with many fans claiming it to be their best work to date.
They are best known for the songs "Hello", "Same Goes For You", "Let Me Go", and "Live This Life", "Maybe Wrong", "My Inspiration", "As Long as I'm Here" and "Miracle" all of which have topped local charts. Some of their hits can also be found on several local compilations including 5FM
’s Playlisted 2 and 94.7 Highveld Stereo
’s HomeBrew
.
Prime Circle has played at most major local concerts and have opened for the US based band Live
on the South Africa leg of their Birds Of Pray world tour. In 2005, the band performed at the Nelson Mandela
's 46664 concert. In Early 2006, they played alongside Metallica
and other bands such as Collective Soul
, Simple Plan
and Seether
at the Coca-Cola Colab events in Pretoria
, Durban
and Cape Town
.
Witbank
Witbank , also known as eMalahleni is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the eMalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for White Ridge and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where wagon transport drivers rested...
, Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga , is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally "the place where the sun rises" in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, north of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6.5% of South Africa's land area...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. They are currently based in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
. Originally signed to The David Gresham Record Company, they have been signed to EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
Music South Africa since the early part of 2008.
Their first album, Hello Crazy World, released in July 2002 quickly reached platinum status and remains the highest selling rock album in South Africa. Their second album "Live this Life" (October 2005 release) reached gold in the first 12 months cementing their position as the biggest selling South African rock act of 2003/2004/2005/2006. In July 2006, a DVD entitled Living in a Crazy World was released, which featured hits from both albums performed live at The Function Room in Johannesburg.
In 2007 David Gresham Records released a CD / DVD Best of box set which followed the success of previous albums. The CD featured 17 tracks including some acoustic, live and remixed versions of previously released tracks and a new track, Moments which reached no.1 on many local radio charts. Following this release, Prime Circle signed to main label EMI and in 2008 released All or Nothing CD and a live DVD of the same name in early 2009. Footage for the DVD was shot during the launch of the CD. The DVD coincided with an international release of the All or Nothing
All or Nothing (Prime Circle album)
- Personnel :*Ross Learmoth - vocals, rhythm guitar*Dale Schnettler - drums, backing vocals*Marco Gomes - bass*Dirk Bisschoff - lead guitar*Neil Breytenbach - keyboards...
CD.
At present Prime Circle are finalising their 4th album, produced by the legendary Kevin Shirley
Kevin Shirley
Kevin Shirley is a music producer and mixer for many artists, such as the bands Journey, Iron Maiden, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Joe Bonamassa, Marya Roxx, Dream Theater, Tyler Bryant, Mr. Big, and Europe.-Biography:...
, due for release in South Africa in early September. The first single from the album named Breathing rocketed straight to no.1 on 2 regional stations in the first week of play with many fans claiming it to be their best work to date.
They are best known for the songs "Hello", "Same Goes For You", "Let Me Go", and "Live This Life", "Maybe Wrong", "My Inspiration", "As Long as I'm Here" and "Miracle" all of which have topped local charts. Some of their hits can also be found on several local compilations including 5FM
5FM
5FM is a South African FM radio station that follows a Top 40 music format and is owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation , South Africa's public broadcaster...
’s Playlisted 2 and 94.7 Highveld Stereo
94.7 Highveld Stereo
94.7 Highveld Stereo is a radio station that broadcasts on the 94.7FM frequency from Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.- History :The station first went on the air on September 1, 1964, as the first SABC regional FM service, Radio Highveld. At that time the station broadcast hourly news bulletins...
’s HomeBrew
Homebrew
Homebrew may refer to:* Homebrewing of alcoholic beverages and other drinks* Homebrew * Homebrew - A package manager for Mac OS X* Homebrew ** Wii homebrew...
.
Prime Circle has played at most major local concerts and have opened for the US based band Live
Live (band)
Live is an American rock band from York, Pennsylvania, composed of Chad Taylor , Patrick Dahlheimer , and Chad Gracey . Lead singer and principal songwriter Ed Kowalczyk left the band in November 2009....
on the South Africa leg of their Birds Of Pray world tour. In 2005, the band performed at the Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
's 46664 concert. In Early 2006, they played alongside Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
and other bands such as Collective Soul
Collective Soul
Collective Soul is an American rock band originally formed in Stockbridge, Georgia. Collective Soul broke into mainstream popularity with their first hit single, "Shine", which came from their debut album Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid, released in 1993...
, Simple Plan
Simple Plan
Simple Plan is a Canadian pop punk band from Montréal, Québec. The band has had no line up changes since its inception in 1999. Members are Pierre Bouvier , Jeff Stinco , Sébastien Lefebvre , David Desrosiers and Chuck Comeau...
and Seether
Seether
Seether is a post-grunge/alternative metal band from Pretoria, South Africa, formed in 1999. The band is currently signed to Wind-up Records...
at the Coca-Cola Colab events in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
and Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
.
Band members
- Ross Learmoth - vocals, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, primary songwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer... - Dale Schnettler - drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, backing vocals - Marco Gomes - bassBass (instrument)Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
, supporting songwriter - Dirk Bisschoff - lead guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, supporting songwriter - Neil Breytenbach - keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA 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...
, supporting songwriter
Discography
- Hello Crazy WorldHello Crazy WorldHello Crazy World 2003 is a 2003 album by South African rock band Prime Circle.-Track listing:# "Same Goes For You" –4:15# "Hello" –3:40# "As Long As I Am Here" –3:29# "Crazy World" –3:44# "Inside Out" –3:56# "Standing" –2:48# "Father" –3:09...
- Live This Life
- Living in a Crazy World (DVD)
- The Best of Prime Circle (CD and DVD boxset)
- All or NothingAll or Nothing (Prime Circle album)- Personnel :*Ross Learmoth - vocals, rhythm guitar*Dale Schnettler - drums, backing vocals*Marco Gomes - bass*Dirk Bisschoff - lead guitar*Neil Breytenbach - keyboards...
- All or Nothing (LIVE DVD)
- All or Nothing (international release)
- Jekyll & Hyde