Symposium (band)
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| Symposium | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Kensington, London, England |
| Genre(s) | punk pop |
| Years active | 1995–2000 |
| Label(s) | Infectious Records |
| Associated acts | Hell Is for Heroes Paper Cuts Letter G |
| Members | |
| Ross Cummins Joe Birch William McGonagle Hagop Tchaparian Wojtek Godzisz |
|
Symposium were a punk pop band from England. They were active in the mid to late 1990s.
Contents |
[edit] History
The band formed while still in school in Shepherds Bush, London, in 1995. The line up was: Ross Cummins (vocalist), Hagop Tchaparian (guitarist), Joe Birch (drummer), William McGonagle (guitarist), and Wojtek Godzisz (bassist). The band had a selection of up tempo and cheerful, yet mosh pit friendly songs which, together with their young average age of eighteen, bought them attention within London and landed a record deal with the Infectious Records label. Some writers suggested that they sounded like youthful exuberance.
Debut single "Drink the Sunshine" in 1996 was followed by support from NME who placed them on the "Bratbus Tour" - an annual tour of four hotly-tipped bands which would visit Universities in the UK. In March 1996 The band's energy-filled stage shows had been noted by Everett True who put them on the cover of Melody Maker proclaiming them to be the "best live band in Britain". The band released a mini album One Day At a Time and a #25 hit single, "Farewell to Twilight". This was followed by a well-received headlining tour which generated good reviews. Many fans went to multiple dates on the tour, and they enjoyed the stagediving antics of singer Cummins, and the rest of the band. These anarchic shows added to the band's increasing reputation. Another single "Fairweather Friend" was a ska punk number which led to a Top of the Pops appearance in which Cummins managed to stagedive and the audience invaded the stage.
In 1997 the band supported a number of popular American bands, including The Red Hot Chili Peppers at Wembley Arena, The Foo Fighters,The Deftones and No Doubt at Brixton Academy, where Cummins stage antics caused him to dislocate his leg. They also toured America on the Warp Tour with Bad Religion, NOFX and Rancid.
Their debut full-length album, On The Outside was released in 1998. Some writers found it to be a disappointing effort which was not as impressive as their earlier mini album. Nevertheless the album contained the next single "The Answer to Why I Hate You" and the anthemic "The End", ditching the ska element of their music and centering on heavy rock riffs.
By the end of 1999 the band left Infectious Records in protest of its new primary investor, Rupert Murdoch.
After Supporting Metallica at the Milton Keynes Bowl in 1999 Symposium released their final single, the pop-metal "Killing Position" EP. By early 2000 the band had developed personal and musical differences and broke up. McGonagle and Birch formed the post-hardcore outfit Hell Is for Heroes, whilst Cummins eventually resurfaced in 2004 with Paper Cuts. The band's primary songwriter Wojtek Godzisz went solo and signed to Tigertrap Records in 2006. Hagop Tchaparian is now working under the moniker of The Letter G.
[edit] Discography
| Info | Track listing |
|---|---|
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One Day At A Time
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On The Outside
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On The BBC
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[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | UK Singles Chart | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "Drink the Sunshine" | 113 | One Day At A Time |
| 1997 | "Farewell to Twilight" | 25 | |
| "The Answer to Why I Hate You" | 32 | On The Outside | |
| "Fairweather Friend" | 25 | One Day At A Time | |
| "Drink the Sunshine" / "Fizzy" (Limited) | 101 | ||
| 1998 | "Average Man" | 45 | - |
| "Bury You" | 41 | On The Outside | |
| "Blue" | 48 | ||
| 1999 | "Killing Position" | 176 | - |
