Northern Uproar

Northern Uproar are a rock band from Stockport, United Kingdom. Formed in 1995, the group is active from 1993 to the present and currently features Jeff Fletcher, Paul Kelly and Leon Meya.

Career

Northern Uproar first attract attention while still in their teens and without a recording contract, after a series of energetic shows at the Roadhouse in Manchester. The band receives praise from the British music press, including NME and Melody Maker, and is often described as a cross between Oasis, The Clash and the Manic Street Preachers. They also face ridicule for their sometimes loutish appearance and behaviour.

After a bidding war, the group signs to Heavenly Records and records at Monnow Valley Studio in Monmouth with James Dean Bradfield of the Manic Street Preachers as producer and Dave Eringa as co-producer. Their debut single, “Rollercoaster”, reaches number 41 on the UK Singles Chart, and follow-up “From a Window” peaks at number 17. During this early period, the band appears on the cover of Melody Maker and on BBC television’s Top of the Pops.

Albums and later activity

The band’s self-titled debut album appears in April 1996, followed by touring in England and Japan. Work on a second album, Yesterday Tomorrow Today, begins in 1997 and includes songs co-written with the band’s guitar technician, Nigel Banks. Although it is promoted as a more commercial release and has radio support, it does not sell well, and the band’s change in style is unpopular with many of its fans as Britpop loses momentum.

Northern Uproar then release the final single “Goodbye” before splitting up. Leon Meya later moves to Barcelona, where he spends two years busking with Basque Gypsies before returning to England and working as a taxi driver. In 2004 Meya and Jeff Fletcher return to the live circuit under the Northern Uproar name for two shows in the Manchester area, playing both new and older material. The band reforms officially in 2006 with Meya, Fletcher and Noel, Meya’s cousin, on drums. The album Stand and Fight follows on Tiny Rebel in 2007, with an album launch gig at Manchester Academy, a full UK tour and a support slot with The Coral at the Oxford Carling Academy after Meya meets James Skelly on Channel 4’s Transmission.