Biography
The massive influence of Oasis, whose Beatles-esque appeal swept Britain, sparked a wave of copycat acts across the mid-nineties, much like how Nirvana had galvanized a generation of raw, guitar-driven American acts. One such group to emerge in Oasis’ wake was Northern Uproar, which came together in 1995 in the same Manchester, England, birthplace as its inspiration. The lineup consisted of Leon Maya handling vocals and bass alongside guitarists Paul Kelly and Jeff Fletcher plus drummer Keith Chadwick, and the quartet embraced both Oasis’ brash attitude and the confrontational punk edge of the Clash and the Manic Street Preachers.
Still teenagers with no releases to their name, the band drew intense scrutiny from the British music press on the strength of their high-energy shows at Manchester’s Roadhouse, eventually igniting a bidding war that led to a contract with Heavenly. The musicians then headed to Monnow Valley Studio in Monmouth to lay down tracks under the guidance of Manic Street Preachers members Dave Eringa and James Dean Bradfield. Northern Uproar’s debut single, “Rollercoaster,” arrived in 1995 and climbed to number 41 on the UK charts, while the follow-up “From a Window” reached number 17. The exposure brought them a Melody Maker cover and an appearance on Top of the Pops. Their self-titled debut album surfaced in April 1996, after which the group toured extensively in England and Japan before entering the studio again in 1997 for the follow-up Yesterday, Tomorrow, Today.
That second album flopped commercially. With Brit-pop’s appeal fading except for Oasis, Northern Uproar found itself on the receiving end of the inevitable backlash; denied the radio and television airplay they had previously enjoyed, the band released a final single aptly titled “Goodbye” and disbanded. Maya moved to Spain, later returning to England to pursue hairdressing, a field that had intrigued him after stylists regularly prepared his hair for the group’s promotional photography.
Still teenagers with no releases to their name, the band drew intense scrutiny from the British music press on the strength of their high-energy shows at Manchester’s Roadhouse, eventually igniting a bidding war that led to a contract with Heavenly. The musicians then headed to Monnow Valley Studio in Monmouth to lay down tracks under the guidance of Manic Street Preachers members Dave Eringa and James Dean Bradfield. Northern Uproar’s debut single, “Rollercoaster,” arrived in 1995 and climbed to number 41 on the UK charts, while the follow-up “From a Window” reached number 17. The exposure brought them a Melody Maker cover and an appearance on Top of the Pops. Their self-titled debut album surfaced in April 1996, after which the group toured extensively in England and Japan before entering the studio again in 1997 for the follow-up Yesterday, Tomorrow, Today.
That second album flopped commercially. With Brit-pop’s appeal fading except for Oasis, Northern Uproar found itself on the receiving end of the inevitable backlash; denied the radio and television airplay they had previously enjoyed, the band released a final single aptly titled “Goodbye” and disbanded. Maya moved to Spain, later returning to England to pursue hairdressing, a field that had intrigued him after stylists regularly prepared his hair for the group’s promotional photography.
Albums
