Gomez

Gomez are a UK indie rock band from Southport, England, formed in 1996. The group consists of Ben Ottewell, Tom Gray, Paul Blackburn, Olly Peacock and Ian Ball. Their sound is rooted in alternative rock, blues rock, folk rock, indie rock, neo-psychedelia and post-britpop, with blues influences standing out in comparison with many other British bands of their period.

Early releases and critical recognition

The band’s debut album, Bring It On, is released on Virgin Records and wins the 1998 Mercury Music Prize for Album of the Year. It receives praise from critics in the UK and the US, and is described by Spin as “a damn beautiful album”. Gomez also completes an early US tour opening for Eagle-Eye Cherry.

Albums and compilations

Liquid Skin follows in 1999 and goes platinum in England. The band then releases the rarities and B-sides collection Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline in 2000, followed by the studio album In Our Gun in 2002. After a further period of work split between locations and a new studio in Portslade, England, Split the Difference appears in 2004. By this point the group’s original label, Hut, has closed, and Gomez remains with Virgin before the two sides part company later that year.

ATO Records period

In 2005 Gomez signs with ATO Records and releases Out West, its first live album. How We Operate follows in 2006, and the band ends that year with the retrospective Five Men in a Hut: Singles 1998-2004, which collects singles, rarities and unreleased tracks. Another studio album, A New Tide, is assembled partly from individual recordings made by members in different locations and combined online. The band later releases Whatever's on Your Mind, with Sam Farrar of Phantom Planet sharing production duties with the group.

Band members and solo work

Ben Ottewell sings and plays guitar; Tom Gray sings and plays guitar and keyboards; Paul Blackburn plays bass and guitar; Olly Peacock plays drums; and Ian Ball sings and plays guitar and harmonica. Ball relocates to Los Angeles during one of the band’s breaks while continuing to work with the group, and Ottewell later begins a solo career, with Shapes & Shadows as his first major solo release.