The Hoosiers are an English pop rock band from Bracknell, Berkshire. The band
consists of members Irwin Sparkes, Sam Swallow, and Alfonso Sharland.
Their first single "Worried About Ray" reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart
in July 2007. In October 2007, they released their debut album The Trick to
Life, which reached number 1 in the album charts. The band released their
second top ten album The Illusion of Safety on 16 August 2010 and was
preceded by the lead single "Choices" which was released on 1 August 2010, it
reached the UK Top 20. In October 2013, they unveiled a preview
of their forthcoming new single "Somewhere in the Distance" exclusively
on entertainment news website Digital Spy. It began receiving airplay on the
radio shortly afterwards including on 106.9FM WHCR. The song serves as the
lead single to their third studio album The News from Nowhere, which followed on
14 April 2014. Fans who pre-ordered the LP from their official website were
promised the record a week ahead of its official release.
In July 2015, bassist Martin Skarendah left the band in what was described by
the remaining members as "one of the most amicable decisions in music
history". Biography
According to the band's self-penned biographies, "Alphonso" Raymond Sharland
and Irwin Nathaniel Sparkes spent some time in the United States, encouraged by
their chemistry teacher, in an attempt to broaden their horizons. The pair won
themselves a football scholarship at the University of Indianapolis, despite a
reputed claim to be "allergic to running".
Their time spent in Indiana inspired the band's name, as a citizen of Indiana is
colloquially called a Hoosier. Having gathered enough material to compile an
album, Al and Irwin returned to London, where they met Swiss keyboard player and
sound engineer Duri Darms and Martin Skarendahl, a Swedish ex-fireman who was
then working with Darms as a recording studio engineer and studying at The
London Music School. The original group included two band members who had left
by this point, leaving Sparkes and Sharland to replace them with
Skarendahl. This newly revamped trio of Sparkes,
Skarendahl, and Sharland subsequently signed to RCA and released their first
album The Trick to Life on 22 October 2007. The band have spoken of their
desire to write songs that are about more than just "boy and girl... finding
love on a Friday night on the lash with your mates". In February 2008, they were
named as Worst Band at the annual NME awards. They are produced by ex-member
of Jamiroquai, Toby Smith, and managed by Steve Morton.
The band's second single, "Goodbye Mr A", appeared in the football video game
FIFA 08, and the game can also be seen in the "Goodbye Mr A" music video. Lead
singer Irwin Sparkes, who is from Reading, is playing on the game as
Reading against Manchester United. The song also appears in a trailer for the
2007 film Juno. Following the release of "Worst Case Scenario", the next release
from The Trick to Life was "Cops and Robbers", as confirmed in a live webchat
with The Hoosiers on GMTV. The video was broadcast on Channel 4 at 12:10pm on 22
March 2008. The title track "The Trick to Life" is
featured as the end credits music on the thriller From Within released in 2009
which is ironically about a series of unexplained deaths in a small town.
For their second album, The Illusion of Safety, several changes were made
including a new, more synthesised sound and the drummer 'Alphonso' returning to
his given name Alan. The Illusion of Safety gave the first single "Choices"
and includes the song "Unlikely Hero", for which a video was filmed in a quarry
in Derbyshire. The latter was due to be a single until it was announced that
this was not the case on 14 October 2010.
In February 2011, the band announced via their official website that "Bumpy Ride"
was to be their new single and would be released at the end of March. Their new
deluxe album, also titled Bumpy Ride, was out in the April of the same year.
The music video for 'Bumpy Ride' tells a story of how The Hoosiers travelled
around the United States of America by various means of transport, and was
possibly inspired by their earlier travels.
= Departure from record label= It was announced on 1 April 2011, that
the band had departed from their record label Sony after a dispute over the
promotion of their latest album The Illusion of Safety. Sparkes told Daily
Record, "I don't think many people knew that the second album had been released,
so we're having to reissue it to bring it to people's awareness."
At an intimate gig for Real Radio in Sheffield, the band announced that they
were repackaging and re-releasing the album with a new title, Bumpy Ride, on
11 April 2011. The rerelease comes with 4 new album tracks, and a deluxe version
comes with a DVD of live performances. One of their latest appearances involved
turning on the Winchester Christmas Lights in 2012. On 24 May 2013, they
appeared at Bradford University's 'Party on the Amp" to perform a few songs
Including "Goodbye Mr A". On 25 May 2013, they appeared at Roehampton
University's summerball to perform a few songs. On 18 July 2013 they performed at
Bishop Grosseteste University. On 19 July 2013 they appeared at Bugjam, Santa
pod raceway, as one of the headline acts.
It was announced by the band on Twitter that long term keyboard player Sam
Swallow would be joining the band as a full member.
= The News From Nowhere= On 17 September 2013 The Hoosiers sent
an email out to their fans announcing the planned release of their new album
The News From Nowhere. The news was accompanied by the release of the first
single from this album, "Somewhere in the Distance", a few weeks later. The
band said in the email: Because of this the band is asking fans
to order the album before its release. In return the band are offering fans the
chance to appear in their videos, visit the studio and much more. The album was
released on 14 April 2014. Band members
Discography 2007: The Trick to Life
2010: The Illusion of Safety 2011: Bumpy Ride
2014: The News from Nowhere 2015: Live And Let Live
2015: The Secret Service References
External links Official website
The Hoosiers on Twitter The Hoosiers video interview with
stv/music, October 2007 The Hoosiers Exclusive Interview
The Hoosiers Interview