Ricky (band)
Encyclopedia
Ricky was an English
indie rock
band
, led by the harmonising singer-songwriter
trio of Jim Lines, Guy Gyngell and Darren Richardson. The other constant member of the band was their guitarist, Gary Rex.
, England
in the autumn of 2000. The band's first release was a self-funded mini-album, released in January 2002, titled You Set The Scene, named after the last track on Forever Changes
, an album by Love
. The record
gained strong reviews, leading to Ricky being made one of the 'Tips for 2002' (alongside The Coral
), by many prominent UK
publications including the Evening Standard
, Channel 4
s Planet Sound
and The Times
. Other publications to heap praise on the record included OK!
, Front
, The Independent
and the website, Drowned in Sound
.
The critical success of You Set The Scene led to Ricky signing to Superior Quality Recordings, a London
based independent record label
funded by the world's biggest record company Universal Music. Superior Quality Recordings was known for its success with The Bluetones
. Ricky spent much of 2002's summer touring with The Bluetones. However, later that summer Universal severed their relationship with Superior Quality Recordings, leaving Ricky effectively without a record label
.
Ricky returned in March 2004 with another critically acclaimed, self-funded record, their debut album
The Summer Sun Still Echoes. The album received even greater praise than You Set The Scene. Its most notable review was a four star rating in Q
magazine. In September 2004, the band issued a self-released single, "That Extra Mile", which reached #50 in the UK Singles Chart
.
The success of "That Extra Mile" led to Ricky signing to the London indie label, Beat Crazy Records. Their first release for them was a split double a-side single with label mates Amsterdam
. Ricky's side of the single was titled "Stop Knocking The Walls Down" and the track was mastered at the Abbey Road Studios
. The single debuted at #32 in the UK Singles Chart.
Ricky went on to record 'High Speed Silence', an album which featured guest musicians including Pete Baker from Mohair
, and was produced
by the namesake son of Gordon Mills
.
In June 2006, Ricky released an NSPCC fundraising 2006 FIFA World Cup
single titled "We Are England". The track featured the vocals of 54,000 English
school children after the band embarked upon a 180-school tour of the nation, recording hundreds of pupils' vocal contributions at each school. "We Are England" generated a great deal of media interest, including a daily campaign of support from The Daily Mirror
; a live interview on BBC Radio 1
's Jo Whiley
show; two interviews on BBC Radio 5 Live
; and a show of support from British regional media, who were keen to promote the involvement of schools from their respective regions.
In the weeks building up to the single's release, the media regularly reported that "We Are England" was outselling the rival World Cup singles on HMV
's pre-order chart. However, Beat Crazy Records failed to synchronise the release of the single's four formats (CD, 7" vinyl, DVD and digital download) and after initial promise - the single featured at #17 in the first midweek chart update - "We Are England" finished the week at #54 in the UK Singles Chart. The track peaked at #3 in the UK Indie Chart
.
With Beat Crazy Records having lost several members of staff and with the label's finances in dire straits, Ricky decided to disband, announcing the news to their fan-base on June 25, 2006.
Ricky were occasionally joined on-stage by Craig Leworthy, son of former Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
footballer, David Leworthy. In 2011, Jim Lines and Craig Leworthy launched the alternative rock
inspired clothing range, Cooper Noire.
, Brian Wilson
, Love
, The Zombies
, The Byrds
and Crosby, Stills & Nash. The band were also influenced by The Bluetones
, Oasis
, Dodgy
and Supergrass
. Singer Jim Lines named his daughter after Nico, who collaborated with the Velvet Underground on their 1967 debut album.
at a gig in Blackpool. In the summer of 2003 he went on tour with the band as they supported The Bluetones
on the first leg of their mammouth tour of the UK, as their documentary/road-movie capturer. This footage of Ricky later got used for the 2004 promo for "That Extra Mile". The entire footage is said to be well over 50 hours in length! Matt filmed Jim and Gary at a one-off "comeback" show, supporting Mark Morriss
in Portsmouth
in 2010, which he has promised will be the finale of the yet-to-be-released road movie of the band on tour and in rehearsal with a working title of "A Year In The Life". Watch this space...
A more professional video was made for "We Are England" and was very tongue-in-cheek.
All the music videos and some live/rehearsal footage can be found on youtube.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, led by the harmonising singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
trio of Jim Lines, Guy Gyngell and Darren Richardson. The other constant member of the band was their guitarist, Gary Rex.
Career
Ricky formed in PortsmouthPortsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the autumn of 2000. The band's first release was a self-funded mini-album, released in January 2002, titled You Set The Scene, named after the last track on Forever Changes
Forever Changes
Forever Changes is the third album by American rock band Love, released by Elektra Records in November 1967. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Forever Changes 40th in its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time...
, an album by Love
Love (band)
Love was an American rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were led by singer/songwriter Arthur Lee and lead guitarist Johnny Echols...
. The record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
gained strong reviews, leading to Ricky being made one of the 'Tips for 2002' (alongside The Coral
The Coral
The Coral are an English band formed in 1996 in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula in England. The band first emerged during the early 2000s and found success with their debut album The Coral and follow up Magic and Medicine...
), by many prominent UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
publications including the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
s Planet Sound
Planet Sound
Planet Sound was a Teletext music page on ITV and Channel 4 in the UK. It was broadcast on analogue Teletext from page 340, and on digital Teletext from page 820. From May 24, 2007, Planet Sound was also available to read online via the Teletext website...
and The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. Other publications to heap praise on the record included OK!
OK!
OK! is a British weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news. Originally launched as a monthly, its first issue was published in April 1993. In September 2004, OK! publishers Northern and Shell launched in Australia as a monthly title – the magazine went weekly in October 2006...
, Front
Front (magazine)
Front was first published by Cabal Communications in 1998, it was created to rival IPC's publication Loaded, catering to a demographic of 16- to 25-year-old males. It began as part of the British "lads' mag" genre of magazines though the covers rejects this description with the statement "Front is...
, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
and the website, Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
.
The critical success of You Set The Scene led to Ricky signing to Superior Quality Recordings, a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
based independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
funded by the world's biggest record company Universal Music. Superior Quality Recordings was known for its success with The Bluetones
The Bluetones
The Bluetones were an English indie rock band, formed in Hounslow, Greater London, in 1993. The band's members were Mark Morriss on vocals, Adam Devlin on guitar, Scott Morriss on bass guitar, and Eds Chesters on drums. A fifth member, Richard Payne, came on board between 1998 and 2002...
. Ricky spent much of 2002's summer touring with The Bluetones. However, later that summer Universal severed their relationship with Superior Quality Recordings, leaving Ricky effectively without a record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
.
Ricky returned in March 2004 with another critically acclaimed, self-funded record, their debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
The Summer Sun Still Echoes. The album received even greater praise than You Set The Scene. Its most notable review was a four star rating in Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
magazine. In September 2004, the band issued a self-released single, "That Extra Mile", which reached #50 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
The success of "That Extra Mile" led to Ricky signing to the London indie label, Beat Crazy Records. Their first release for them was a split double a-side single with label mates Amsterdam
Amsterdam (band)
Amsterdam are a pop/rock group from Liverpool, England. Formed in 1999, they had their first UK Top 40 single with "The Journey" in February 2005...
. Ricky's side of the single was titled "Stop Knocking The Walls Down" and the track was mastered at the Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
. The single debuted at #32 in the UK Singles Chart.
Ricky went on to record 'High Speed Silence', an album which featured guest musicians including Pete Baker from Mohair
Mohair (band)
Mohair was a British rock band from Watford, England, that formed in 2001 and split after a final gig at The Horn in St Albans on 28 September 2007.-History:...
, and was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by the namesake son of Gordon Mills
Gordon Mills
Gordon William Mills , was a successful London-based music industry manager and songwriter who was born in Madras, India and grew up in Trealaw in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales...
.
In June 2006, Ricky released an NSPCC fundraising 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
single titled "We Are England". The track featured the vocals of 54,000 English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
school children after the band embarked upon a 180-school tour of the nation, recording hundreds of pupils' vocal contributions at each school. "We Are England" generated a great deal of media interest, including a daily campaign of support from The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
; a live interview on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
's Jo Whiley
Jo Whiley
Johanne "Jo" Whiley is a British radio disc jockey and television presenter. She was the host of the long running weekday Jo Whiley Show on Radio 1.-Early life and education:...
show; two interviews on BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
; and a show of support from British regional media, who were keen to promote the involvement of schools from their respective regions.
In the weeks building up to the single's release, the media regularly reported that "We Are England" was outselling the rival World Cup singles on HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
's pre-order chart. However, Beat Crazy Records failed to synchronise the release of the single's four formats (CD, 7" vinyl, DVD and digital download) and after initial promise - the single featured at #17 in the first midweek chart update - "We Are England" finished the week at #54 in the UK Singles Chart. The track peaked at #3 in the UK Indie Chart
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...
.
With Beat Crazy Records having lost several members of staff and with the label's finances in dire straits, Ricky decided to disband, announcing the news to their fan-base on June 25, 2006.
Ricky were occasionally joined on-stage by Craig Leworthy, son of former Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
footballer, David Leworthy. In 2011, Jim Lines and Craig Leworthy launched the alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
inspired clothing range, Cooper Noire.
Music
The band's influences included The BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
, Love
Love (band)
Love was an American rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were led by singer/songwriter Arthur Lee and lead guitarist Johnny Echols...
, The Zombies
The Zombies
The Zombies are an English rock band, formed in 1961 in St Albans and led by Rod Argent, on piano and keyboards, and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group scored a UK and US hit in 1964 with "She's Not There"...
, The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
and Crosby, Stills & Nash. The band were also influenced by The Bluetones
The Bluetones
The Bluetones were an English indie rock band, formed in Hounslow, Greater London, in 1993. The band's members were Mark Morriss on vocals, Adam Devlin on guitar, Scott Morriss on bass guitar, and Eds Chesters on drums. A fifth member, Richard Payne, came on board between 1998 and 2002...
, Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
, Dodgy
Dodgy
Dodgy are an English power pop rock trio, that rose to prominence during the Britpop era of the 1990s, who are best known for their hits "Staying Out for the Summer", "If You're Thinking of Me", and "Good Enough"...
and Supergrass
Supergrass
Supergrass was an English alternative rock band from Oxford. The band consisted of brothers Gaz and Rob Coombes , Mick Quinn and Danny Goffey ....
. Singer Jim Lines named his daughter after Nico, who collaborated with the Velvet Underground on their 1967 debut album.
Music Videos & Documentary
In early 2003 a student film-maker, Matt Pugh, travelled down from the West Midlands to film a music video for the debut single "Sunset View", so impressed with what he'd seen and heard the previous Summer when they supported The BluetonesThe Bluetones
The Bluetones were an English indie rock band, formed in Hounslow, Greater London, in 1993. The band's members were Mark Morriss on vocals, Adam Devlin on guitar, Scott Morriss on bass guitar, and Eds Chesters on drums. A fifth member, Richard Payne, came on board between 1998 and 2002...
at a gig in Blackpool. In the summer of 2003 he went on tour with the band as they supported The Bluetones
The Bluetones
The Bluetones were an English indie rock band, formed in Hounslow, Greater London, in 1993. The band's members were Mark Morriss on vocals, Adam Devlin on guitar, Scott Morriss on bass guitar, and Eds Chesters on drums. A fifth member, Richard Payne, came on board between 1998 and 2002...
on the first leg of their mammouth tour of the UK, as their documentary/road-movie capturer. This footage of Ricky later got used for the 2004 promo for "That Extra Mile". The entire footage is said to be well over 50 hours in length! Matt filmed Jim and Gary at a one-off "comeback" show, supporting Mark Morriss
Mark Morriss
Mark James Morriss is an English singer-songwriter. He is the lead singer for The Bluetones, and is the older brother of bandmate Scott Morriss. He is also pursuing a solo career....
in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
in 2010, which he has promised will be the finale of the yet-to-be-released road movie of the band on tour and in rehearsal with a working title of "A Year In The Life". Watch this space...
A more professional video was made for "We Are England" and was very tongue-in-cheek.
All the music videos and some live/rehearsal footage can be found on youtube.
Albums
- You Set the Scene (January 2002)
- The Summer Sun Still Echoes (March 2004), re-released (October 2004)
- 'High Speed Silence' (recorded but unreleased - although promotional CD's do exist)
Singles
- "Sunset View" (March 2003)
- "That Extra Mile" / "Beat Out the Best In Me" (September 2004) - #50 UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
; #10 UK IndieUK Indie ChartThe UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered... - "Stop Knocking The Walls Down" (January 2005) - #32 UK; #8 UK Indie
- "We Are EnglandWe Are England"We Are England" is a single released by British indie band Ricky on 12 June 2006 on the iTunes music store, and on CD on 19 June 2006. A charity single, proceeds are donated to the NSPCC....
" (June 2006) - #54 UK; #3 UK Indie