Biography
The indie music press rallied behind the guitar-pop quintet Joe Lean & the Jing Jang Jong, whose unusual name accompanied forecasts of major success in 2008, yet that early momentum dissipated after the group abruptly halted plans for their first album. Assembled in London during 2006, the lineup coalesced around frontman Joe Lean, previously the drummer for the Pipettes and an actor credited as Joe Van Moyland in Peep Show and The Tudors. Guitarists Tommy D (subsequently replaced by Randy Michael and Dominic O'Dare), bassist Panda, and drummer James Craig completed the five-piece, which had originally operated under the name Joe Lean & the Tantrums. Their first single, "Lucio Starts Fires," appeared in 2007, after which the band opened for Babyshambles, Kaiser Chiefs, and CSS across U.K. dates. A seventh-place finish in the BBC Sound of 2008 poll fueled further expectations of commercial breakthrough. Following the issue of the second single "Lonely Buoy" and a Glastonbury appearance, however, the musicians withdrew their self-titled debut album mere weeks before its scheduled release. Although NME awarded the record four-star notices, the band maintained that "it didn't represent their current sound" and devoted the ensuing months to a complete re-recording. Dropped by the Mercury label in October 2009, the group disbanded shortly thereafter, leaving the troubled album forever unreleased.