JJ72 were an alternative rock band from Dublin, Ireland. After forming in 1996, they signed to Lakota Records in 1999 and released two albums before splitting in 2006.

History

Formation and early years

The band was formed in 1996 by lead singer and songwriter Mark Greaney and drummer Fergal Matthews, while studying at Belvedere College. Greaney grew up in Dublin, where for a time he lived next door to Phil Lynott. Matthews originated from County Meath. the album was a critical and commercial success and has sold in excess of 500,000 copies in the band's native Ireland and in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 16 on the UK Albums Chart. "Oxygen" gave the band their first top 30 single in the UK, leading the band to perform on Top of the Pops. with Kylie Minogue's drummer Bob Knight standing in for a few gigs.

The band's second album I To Sky followed in October 2002. It contained the singles "Formulae" and "Always and Forever" and reached the Top 5 of the Irish album charts and the Top 20 of the UK Albums Chart. Greaney and Matthews recruited Canadian-born bassist Sarah Fox as her replacement. for a release expected in January 2004. In December 2004, it was reported that recording for the band's third album had been completed at Parkgate Studios, Catsfield, with producer Ian Caple. A Spring 2005 release was tentatively announced. which reached 136 in the UK Singles Chart. A second single, "Coming Home" followed in August 2005 and peaked at number 52 in the UK Singles Chart. They cited a struggle with their record label as their main reason for the split. He subsequently formed a new band called Concerto For Constantine, featuring himself (guitar and vocals), Gavin Fox (ex-Idlewild/Turn/Vega4 on bass) and Binzer (ex-BellX1/Frames/Halite on drums). The band performed live throughout Ireland as part of the "2fm 2moro 2our" in November 2007 and supported Smashing Pumpkins in Belfast and Dublin in Spring 2008. Concerto for Constantine then went on to sell out headline shows in Dublin and London, and also played at the Oxegen Festival in Ireland and at T in the Park in Scotland in July 2008. Post activity with Concerto for Constantine, Greaney returned to academia and is now head of education at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM). New musical work includes the project, Vishion Factum, focusing on transhumanism and the aesthetics of succulent plants.

Sarah Fox played bass for a band called Lluther, but has since left the band and is now a London-based graphic designer. Fergal Matthews lives in Norway and plays drums for Blodhevn. Woods returned to visual arts and started a solo project called The River Cry, with a debut self-titled album released on 14 February 2013. She is now recording under her own name on the Sacred Bones label, and recorded two LPs in 2018 and 2020.

Band members

  • Mark Greaney (born 23 June 1980) – vocals, guitar, piano
  • Fergal Matthews (born 29 January 1980, in Dublin) – drums
  • Hilary Woods (born 30 May 1980) – bass, backing vocals
  • Sarah Fox – bass (from 2003 onwards)
  • Garvin Smith – bass (early line-up)

Discography

Albums

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!rowspan="2"|Year

!rowspan="2" width="180"|Details

!colspan="3"|Peak chart positions

!rowspan=2 width="150"| Certifications<br /><small>(sales thresholds)</small>

|-

!width="40"|<small>IRE</small><br />

!width="40"|<small>UK</small><br />

!width="40"|<small>FRA</small><br />

|-

|2000

| JJ72

  • Released: 28 August 2000
  • Label: Lakota Records

| align=center| 7

| align=center| 16

| align=center| —

|

  • UK: Gold

|-

| 2002

| I to Sky

  • Released: 11 October 2002
  • Label: Lakota Records

| align=center| 10

| align=center| 20

| align=center| 124

|

|-

|}

Singles

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

!rowspan="2" | Year

!rowspan="2" width="150" | Title

!colspan="3"| Peak chart positions

!rowspan="2" width="100" | Album

|-

! width="40" |<small>IRE</small><br />

|-

| rowspan="2" | 1999

| "Pillows" ("Oxygen") (demo)

| —

| —

| —

| rowspan="3" |

|-

| "October Swimmer"

| —

| —

| —

|-

| rowspan="4" | 2000

| "Snow"

| —

| 80

| —

|-

| "Long Way South"

| —

| 68

| —

|" rowspan="5" | JJ72

|-

| "Oxygen"

| 42

| 23

| —

|-

| "October Swimmer"

| 50

| 29

| 86

|-

| rowspan="2"|2001

| "Snow"

| 33

| 21

| —

|-

| "Algeria" (promo only)

| —

| —

| —

|-

| 2002

| "Formulae"

| 24

| 28

| —

|" rowspan="2" | I to Sky

|-

| 2003

| "Always and Forever"

| —

| 43

| —

|-

| rowspan="2" | 2005

| "She's Gone"

| —

| 136

| —

| rowspan="2" |

|-

| "Coming Home"

| 38

| 52

| —

|-

| colspan="6" style="font-size: 8pt" | "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

|-

|}

References

  • JJ72 at the Carling Brixton Academy Thursday June 9th 2005
  • JJ72 at O2 Music Wireless Festival, Hyde Park, June 30th, 2005
  • The band's online blog