Ocean Colour Scene

Ocean Colour Scene, often shortened to OCS, is an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1989 and active since 1990. The group is from Moseley, United Kingdom. Its members are Steve Cradock, Simon Fowler, Oscar Harrison, Damon Minchella and Steve White.

Origins and early releases

The band forms after two earlier groups, The Boys and Fanatics, disband. Fanatics release an EP called Suburban Love Songs. Ocean Colour Scene sign to Phfftt Records in 1990, and their first single, “Sway”, appears in September of that year.

When their label is taken over by Phonogram, their debut album is remixed without the band’s approval to fit the Baggy and alternative-dance style then in fashion. The album is widely seen as a failure, and the group is left in dispute with the label and reliant on unemployment benefits while writing without a clear outlet.

Breakthrough and Britpop years

The turnaround begins in 1993 when Paul Weller invites the band to support him on tour dates. Weller later asks guitarist Steve Cradock to play on one of his singles and Simon Fowler to sing on his album Wild Wood. Cradock also joins Weller live on tour, and the money he earns helps keep the band going.

A demo sent to industry figures leads Noel Gallagher to invite the band to support Oasis on their 1995 tour. After that exposure, Ocean Colour Scene sign with MCA Records in late 1995. As Britpop grows, the band becomes widely known.

Albums, singles and chart success

Their second album, Moseley Shoals, reaches number 2 in the UK Albums Chart and includes four hit singles. The follow-up, Marchin' Already, goes to number 1 in the UK Albums Chart in 1997, overtaking Oasis’s Be Here Now. The band has five top 10 albums overall, along with seventeen top 40 singles and six top 10 singles.

In 1996, the band plays at Knebworth House in support of Oasis. In 1998, they headlinе an arena tour in support of Marchin' Already and play three sold-out nights at Stirling Castle in Scotland. One from the Modern follows in 1999 and peaks at number 4, with the singles “Profit in Peace”, “So Low” and “July”. A greatest hits set, Songs for the Front Row, appears in 2001.

Later albums and live releases

After bassist Damon Minchella leaves, the band continues recording and performing. Albums follow every two years with Mechanical Wonder in 2001, North Atlantic Drift in 2003, A Hyperactive Workout for the Flying Squad in 2005 and On the Leyline in 2007.

The band also issues several live albums, including Live: One for the Road in 2004, a nineteen-track compilation from various concerts; Live at the Jam House in 2006, which includes fifteen live tracks and four new songs; and another live release later in 2006 recorded at Birmingham Academy and issued on two discs for purchase after the show.

2010s and beyond

In 2009 the band works with producer Gavin Monaghan on Saturday, released in 2010. The album includes tracks such as “Rockfield” and “Saturday”. A free download of “Mrs Maylie” appears before the album, and “Magic Carpet Days” is released as the first single. A second single, “Saturday”, does not chart. The album reaches number 35 in the UK Albums Chart.

In 2010 the band also releases the 4-CD box set 21 to mark its 21st anniversary. In 2011 it issues a special edition of Moseley Shoals and a double CD/DVD release of the band’s Birmingham Academy performance filmed in February that year. The group also plays an acoustic set at Lanford Live for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Painting follows in 2013, and the band performs at V Festival and Electric Picnic that year. In 2014 a special edition of Marchin' Already appears, including a deluxe four-disc box set with a DVD of the 1998 Stirling Castle performance. In 2015 the band marks its 25th anniversary with acoustic concerts and a live album from the Manchester date on that tour.

In 2016 the band celebrates the 20th anniversary of Moseley Shoals with special concerts in the UK and plays in Australia for the first time. That June, Scottish musician Raymond Meade joins permanently on bass after the departures of Dan Sealey and Andy Bennett.

In 2018 the band releases a four-track EP on 10-inch vinyl, available only at Christmas shows. In 2023 it issues the career-spanning box set Yesterday, Today 1992–2018, which contains all studio albums, five bonus CDs and a 72-page book, along with companion vinyl box sets covering different periods of the catalogue.

Style and releases

Ocean Colour Scene’s listed genres include britpop, mod revival, neo-psychedelia, pop rock and rock. Their studio albums include the self-titled debut Ocean Colour Scene (1992), Moseley Shoals (1996), Marchin' Already (1997), B-Sides: Seasides & Freerides (1997), One from the Modern (1999), Mechanical Wonder (2001), North Atlantic Drift (2003), A Hyperactive Workout for the Flying Squad (2005), On the Leyline (2007), Saturday (2010) and Painting (2013).