Echobelly

Rock

London-based Britpop band. Founded in 1992 when vocalist Sonya Madan & guitarist Glenn Johansson met in a pub, with Madan expressing an interest in singing in a band. Soon after bassist Alex Keyser & drummer Andy Henderson (2) were drafted in, with guitarist Debbie Smith—formerly of Curve—rounding out the group in 1994. The band came up with the name from the notion of "being hungry for something". Upon releasing their debut, 'Bellyache EP', Echobelly found themselves securing a contract with label (which at the time was part of Epic), leading to their first album, 'Everyone's Got One', in June of 1994. After receiving major airplay they became a mainstay of the blossoming Britpop genre. Their sophomore record, 'On', gained rave reviews by fans & critics, leading it to sell twice as many as their debut, with all the singles birthed from it entering the top 30. After a major illness Madan decided to venture away from the band in 1996 after working with the House act Lithium, and Debbie Smith also left due to creative differences. Sonya returned to the fold in 1997 in time for the band's third album, 'Lustra', with the singles 'The World Is Flat' & 'Here Comes The Big Rush' failing to hit the top 30. This would lead to a 4-year hiatus, which came to a close with the release of the 2001 ' EP'. This was followed up by their 4th album, 'People Are Expensive', through their own label, , which featured new bassist Ruth Owen. In 2004 the band released their 5th album, 'Gravity Pulls'. Following this both Owen & Henderson decided to leave the band, and the decision was made to break up. In 2009 Johansson & Madan performed an acoustic set featuring fan favourites and new demos. These demos would later become their side project Calm Of Zero, where 2 mini-albums would be recorded and released in 2012. In 2015 Echobelly returned to the stage, performing a sold-out gig at The Scala in London. The following year they announced that a new album was in the works, which would be the 2017 release, 'Anarchy And Alchemy', featuring Oliver McKiernan on bass and Ash Hall on drums. In 2018 the band's third compilation, 'Black Heart Lullabies', was released.