Biography
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Founded In
Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
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Members
- David 'Taffy' Hughes
- David Porthouse
- Paul Handyside
Originally known as the Green-Eyed Children, Hurrah! consisted of Paul Handyside (b. 28 September 1960, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne And Wear, England; guitar/vocals), David 'Taffy' Hughes (b. 16 March 1961, Southmoor, Northumberland, England; guitar/vocals), David Porthouse (b. 17 August 1961, Gateshead, Tyne And Wear, England; bass) and Mark Sim (drums).
Switching to the moniker of Hurrah!, the quartet signed to the new Kitchenware Records label in 1982. Mark Sim soon departed to be replaced by Damien Mahoney, whereupon a series of acclaimed singles such as 'The Sun Shines Here' and 'Hip Hip' earned the band great respect from the British Independent sector. Based upon the pivotal force of the singing/guitar-playing/songwriting partnership of Paul Handyside and David Hughes, Hurrah! mastered a jittery, urgent style rich in melodic content.
By 1986, however, the band had pushed their sound towards a rockier terrain, replacing the initial charm with power and passion. Damien Mahoney left to join the police force in the spring of that year, allowing Steve Price to fill the vacant drum stool. Their debut, 'Tell God I'm Here', saw the light of day in 1987, swiftly followed by a support date with U2 at London's Wembley stadium and, on a more bizarre note, live shows in Iraq, Egypt and Jordan after accepting an invitation from the British Council. In spite of the band's determination, commercial success remained elusive.
When 'The Beautiful' failed to have a significant impact on the marketplace Hurrah! parted company with the 'misunderstanding' Arista Records label and returned to the independent sector. Adrian Evans (b. 6 March 1963, County Durham, England) became the band's fourth drummer when Steve Price emigrated to America, but by then the band were in their death throes.
(Source : The Guinness Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave Music )
They recorded '3rd' album in 1991 after 'The Beautiful' but it is not released yet. The songs on it might be - Kiss The Starlight / What I Need / Sugar Head / Book Of Love / That Dream's Over Now / I've Never Found Truth / Keep This Thing Alive / Get It On / Bring The Curtain Down / Book Of Love (acoustic) .
Since Hurrah! 'split'(actually, they didn't split), David 'Taffy' Hughes formed 'punkier sounding' three-piece Star Witness and managed by a company in London called UBIK. Star Witness consisted of David Hughes (songs, guitar, vocals), Mick Shearman (bass, teddy boy threads) and Adrian Evans (loud silver ludwig drum kit). They released a cassette of rough demos called 'Welcome to Razor Town' ('96) . They are now going under the name of Candy Coloured Clowns and have been active on the local live circuit, playing lots of melodic, powerful songs as well as Hurrah!'s.
David Hughes also plays guitar with a female singer called Sylvia, his wife, known as 'The Girl With The Replaceable Head'. They co-write songs, make demos and play gigs in Newcastle. CCC and GWTRH have released debut singles called "Glory" and "Ride My Star" on a small American legendary indie label Bus Stop Label.
(http://www.busstoplabel.com/bus_stop_label2.htm)
Paul Handyside goes under the name of Bronze. Bronze have released their 1st single "Presence of Greatness" which includes two brilliant anthemic guitar-pop tunes, on Bus Stop Label, too. They also had another single "Let It Rain", and two albums "The Statue In The Stone" and "A Common Prayer".
Paul will soon release his solo album "Future's Dream" on 5the November.
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