Monaco (band)

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Monaco

Origin	Greater Manchester
Country	England
Years active	1996-2000
Genres	Rock Alternative Post-punk
Labels	Polydor (1996-1999) Papillon (2000)
Members	Peter Hook (1996-) David Potts (1996-)

Monaco was a side project of New Order bassist Peter Hook. Together with David Potts, the only remaining member of Revenge, the band was formed in 1995. The group found success with the 1997 single "What Do You Want From Me?" and the album it was pulled from, Music for Pleasure, sold over half a million copies; success largely attributed to the band's similar sound to New Order, and that group's absence in the mid 1990's.

In 1999, Polydor Records rejected Monaco's follow up album, the self-titled Monaco, due to the radically changing trends in music at the time. Papillon Records agreed to pick up the album, though the planned single release of "I've Got A Feeling" was recalled in the UK due to sample clearance issues. Despite favorable reviews, the album was released with almost no promotion at all; it is now sought after as a collector's item and fetches fairly high prices on sites like Amazon.com and eBay. Tensions were mounting, and in 2000, following a "disastrous gig at the Eclipse Festival", Potts and Hook parted ways. Potts would go on to form RAM, and Hook would join a reunited New Order.

Around this time, Oasis rhythm guitarist Paul Arthurs and bassist Paul McGuigan had departed from the band, and Potts was found on the shortlist of possible replacements for McGuigan due to his connection with one of the band's roadies. Briefly contacted by Noel Gallagher, Potts rehearsed with the band on bass. Andy Bell was eventually selected as McGuigan's replacement. Potts later said that although the band was "a charming bunch of lads", he wanted to be his own boss, and did not pursue the position.

After the success of the Revenge reissues in 2005, Hook announced that himself and Potts were working on similar Monaco reissues for release sometime in 2007.