The Bookshop Band was formed in 2010 by three songwriter friends; Beth Porter, Poppy Pitt and Ben Please, as a collaboration with their local independent bookshop, Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights, in Bath. The bookshop was looking to add a new and exciting angle to their author events programme, and so the band was tasked with writing and performing songs at the start of each event. In each case the songs were written especially for the event and were inspired by the work of the visiting author.
Ben Please is part of indie-folk band Urusen who have recently recorded an album with platinum-selling producer Steve Osborne (KT Tunstall, The Happy Mondays, U2, Doves); Poppy Pitt is an artist and sculptor who also tours with her own band, Poppy and Friends; and Beth Porter has played with Peter Gabriel, currently tours with Eliza Carthy and has recorded for Newton Faulkner, The Unthanks, and Maximo Park.
Since the first event in September 2010, the band has written 49 songs inspired by 29 books and is about to release a box set containing four albums of songs written in their first year. This year, for the first time, the band took their show on the road for a 25-stop tour of independent bookshops and festivals kicking off on 6th June and coinciding with Independent Booksellers Week– a national celebration of independent bookshops, taking place 30th June – 7th July 2012.
Since launching two years ago, The Bookshop Band has already been picked up by Tom Robinson's Introducing show on 6Music, been featured on BBC Radio 4's Front Row and on BBC1 News in an interview about the innovative ways that some independent bookshops are responding to the current economic situation. The trio’s work has also started to reach the big screen, through collaborations with animator/director Michael Please on a number of projects, including the BAFTA winning short animation The Eagleman Stag.