Mohair (band)

Mohair
Origin Watford, England
Genres Rock
Years active 1998–2007
Labels UK: Ear Candy
US: Grunion
Past members
  • Pete Baker
  • Tom Billington
  • Alex Richards
  • Tim Slade

Mohair were a British rock band from Watford, England, that formed in 1998.

Early years

Mohair featured Pete Baker (drums, brass), Tom Billington (guitar, vocals), Alex Richards (keyboards, vocals), and Tim Slade (bass, vocals).[1] The members of the band had played in various bands since their early teens, including in a Commitments cover band.[1]

After signing with M1 Records in October 2001, Mohair spent much of the next 3 years touring throughout the UK. In March 2002 the band made their USA debut with performances at The Cat Club and The Roxy in Los Angeles – and by summer 2004 the band had played over 300 gigs and appeared at many major UK festivals.[1]

Popularity

Mohair went on to form their own Ear Candy imprint in 2005, and released singles "End of the Line" and "Stranded (in the Middle of Nowhere)" that year.[1] In spring 2006, Mohair performed several shows at the annual South By Southwest Convention in Austin, Texas,[1] followed by shows in Chicago and New York.

Their debut album, Small Talk (produced by Mark Wallis and Dave Ruffy) was released in the UK on 24 April 2006 on the Ear Candy label,[2] promoted by an appearance on The Album Chart Show on Channel 4 in the UK. The album was received favourably by Allmusic, with Jason MacNeil giving it four stars and calling it "an album that should have a lot of people talking", while Michael Deacon of the Daily Telegraph called the songs "simple and predictable" with "almost teeth-grinding tunefulness".[2][3] The US version of the album was released on Grunion Records on 19 September 2006 (supported by a 9-week tour of the East coast of America). Upon returning to the UK, Mohair toured as the support act for Boy Kill Boy on their December 2006 UK tour.

In 2007 they supported Razorlight on their February - April 2007 US and UK tours.[4] They also co-headlined with The Holloways in Germany in May of that year.

The band announced they were splitting in September 2007 and played a final show in St Albans on September 28th 2007.[5]

Post split

Frontman Tom Billington went on to form the band Tommy T and The Belletones and currently works with schools on music projects as well as performing for Young Voices, which are the largest school choir concerts in the world.[6]

Pete Baker went on to play with Emmy The Great and fellow Watford band The Staves. Baker now plays drums for several acts including Younghusband.[7] Since 2009, Richards has been the touring keyboard player on several tours for The Bluetones

Discography

Studio albums

Year Title Tracks
April 2006 Small Talk (UK Release)

Ear Candy Records

1. Talk of the Town
2. Life
3. End of the Line
4. Disarray
5. Stranded
6. Little Voice
7. Everything I Want
8. Thin Air
9. Keep It Together
10. L.A. Song

August 2006 Small Talk Remastered (Digital Release)

Available through iTunes UK

1. Talk of the Town
2. Life
3. End of the Line
4. Disarray
5. Stranded
6. Little Voice
7. Everything I Want
8. Thin Air
9. Keep It Together
10. L.A. Song

September 2006 Small Talk (US Release)

Grunion Records

1. Talk of the Town
2. Stranded
3. End of the Line
4. Little Voice
5. Thin Air
6. Keep It Together
7. Disarray
8. L.A. Song
9. Ella May
10. Life

November 2006 Small Talk Remastered (CD Version)

Ear Candy Records

1. Talk of the Town
2. Life
3. End of the Line
4. Disarray
5. Stranded
6. Little Voice
7. Everything I Want
8. Thin Air
9. Keep It Together
10. L.A. Song

Singles

Year Title Notes UK Chart
2002 Octopus Chunks (Beautiful in Alcohol) Released on M1 Records.

CD Tracks
1. Octopus Chunks (Beautiful in Alcohol)
2. Kansas City $1.09
3. Bombshell
4. Thin Air

 -
2003 Superstar Released on M1 Records.

CD Tracks
1. Superstar
2. True Light Colours
3. Kansas City $1.09 (Demo)

 #156
2004 Brown Eyes Blue Released on M1 Records.

Also available on 7" vinyl.

CD Tracks
1. Brown Eyes Blue
2. Something to Remember
3. Getaway Car

Vinyl Tracks
1. Brown Eyes Blue
2. Something to Remember

 #79[8]
2005 Keep It Together Released on TBA Records.

CD Tracks
1. Keep It Together
2. Time Goes So Fast

 #143
2005 Stranded (in the Middle of Nowhere) Released on Ear Candy Records.

CD Tracks
1. Stranded (in the Middle of Nowhere)
2. Everything I Want

 -
2005 End of the Line Released on Ear Candy Records.

Available in 2 CD formats and on 7" vinyl.

CD 1 / Vinyl Tracks
1. End of the Line
2. Ella May

CD 2 Tracks
1. End of the Line
2. Talk of the Town

 #52[8]
2006 Life Released on Ear Candy Records.

Also available on 7" vinyl.

CD / Vinyl Tracks
1. Life
2. Broken Pieces

 #113
2006 Everything I Want / Little Voice Released on Ear Candy Records.

Only available on 7" vinyl.

Vinyl Tracks
1. Everything I Want
2. Little Voice

 -
2006 Stranded (in the Middle of Nowhere) US release via iTunes.

Used in commercial for Beck's beer.

 -
2007 Talk of the Town Released on Ear Candy Records.

Only available on 7" vinyl.

Vinyl Tracks
1. Talk of the Town
2. No One Gets the Better of Me

 -

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Wilson, MacKenzie "Mohair Biography", Allmusic. Retrieved 6 March 2016
  2. 1 2 MacNeil, Jason "Small Talk Review", Allmusic. Retrieved 6 March 2016
  3. ↑ Deacon, Michael (2006) "Pop CDs of the week: Gnarls Barkley, Jamie Foxx and more", Daily Telegraph, 22 April 2006. Retrieved 6 March 2016
  4. ↑ Wood, Mikael (2007) "Rock Picks: Razorlight, Mohair at El Rey Theatre", LA Weekly, 7 March 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2016
  5. ↑ Mohair band split announcement in Hemel Today
  6. ↑ Tom Billington profile on Young Voices
  7. ↑ Welch, Andy (2013) "Radar Band of the Week: Younghusband", NME, 9 September 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2016
  8. 1 2 "Mohair", Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 March 2016
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