| Ou Est Le Swimming Pool | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Camden, London, England |
| Genres | Synthpop, indietronica |
| Years active | 2009–2010 |
| Labels | Fire & Manouvre |
| Past members | |
| Joe Hutchinson Caan Capan Charles Haddon |
|
Ou Est Le Swimming Pool were an English synthpop[1] group from Camden, London, made up of Charles Haddon, Joe Hutchinson and Caan Capan. The band name is an amalgamation of French (Où Est Le: where is the) and English (Swimming Pool), and is inspired by a line from French teacher Mrs Crabbe (played by Pam Ferris) in the television series Hardwicke House. They released four singles.[2]
In 2009 the band released and re-released their debut single, "Dance the Way I Feel", before supporting La Roux on their UK tour. In 2010 the band released the singles "These New Knights", "Jackson's Last Stand" and "The Key" along with their debut album The Golden Year.[3]
The band played at Glastonbury Festival and Bestival in 2009,[4] and supported La Roux on their tour in early 2010.[5] In May they played at Evolution Festival and in July at Global Gathering, along with a series of festivals all over Europe throughout the summer of 2010.
On 20 August 2010, Charles Haddon, the lead singer of the band, died after a performance at Pukkelpop, Belgium. He committed suicide in the backstage artists' parking area.[6][7][8][9][10][11] Haddon was reported to have been distressed after he feared he had seriously injured a young girl earlier after a stagedive.[12][13]
On 3 October 2010 the remaining Ou Est Le Swimming Pool members arranged a festival, billed as Chazzstock, in honour of Haddon at Koko in Camden, London. The Kooks, Mr Hudson, Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet, Man Like Me, Daisy Dares You, Kissy Sell Out, Tribes, Ollie Wride and The Horrors performed at the event.[14] The event raised more than £8,000 for charities Mind and CALM. Faris Badwan of The Horrors also dedicated his side-project Cat's Eyes' debut album Cat's Eyes to Haddon's memory.
Contents |
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | UK IND |
AUS [17] |
BEL (FL) [18] |
NZ [19] |
|||
| 2009 | "Dance the Way I Feel" | 110 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 20 | The Golden Year |
| 2010 | "These New Knights" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Jackson's Last Stand" | — | — | 79 | — | — | ||
| "The Key" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart or has not been released | |||||||
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