The Crimea began life as The Crocketts, signing to a UK major label, V2, in 1998 and releasing two albums; however, in late 2001, the band were dropped from the label's roster as part of a 'rationalisation' plan. Unwilling to quit following this setback, Davey MacManus and Owen Hopkin formed The Crimea. Comparing The Crimea to their former band in an early press release, "if the Crocketts were four cavemen banging stones together, then this is the sound of four Tchaikovskys banging Kylie Minogue". The Crimea were signed to Warner Bros Records following a showcase at the 2004 SXSW Festival in Texas. Their debut album, Tragedy Rocks, was released in 2005, with the first single from the album, "Lottery Winners On Acid", released on 9 January 2006; it entered the UK singles chart at No. 31 and became the first of three singles to appear as Single of the Week on what was then the show hosted by both Colin Murray and Edith Bowman on BBC Radio One.
In support of The Crimea's second single, "White Russian Galaxy", the band then performed on Top Of The Pops. Due to poor album sales Warner Bros dropped The Crimea in late 2006. Displaying remarkable tenacity, the band continued to write new material and in April 2007 released Secrets of the Witching Hour as a free download from the band's website; a CD was also available, with artwork by Joe Udwin, the band's bassist, in collaboration with London-based, visual artist Tersha Willis. In early 2008 their single "Loop a Loop" featured in a television advert for Trident gum. In 2013, the band on their Twitter account decided that they would call it a day and performed their last gig at the Jazz Cafe in London. Davey MacManus, the singer, is the brother of Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac, who appears as backing vocals on their two records.
Links To Peel
"Such a great voice. A great band, actually." (John Peel, 05 February 2003)
Peel was a fan of the group and all eleven of the initial album demos were played on his show. Crimea's "Lottery Winners On Acid" was Peel's single of the month in December 2002 (Peel's Record Box) and the "North South Divide" album by the band was his album of the month in June 2004 (Peel's Record Box). The group recorded a Peel Session in 2003 and their track "Baby Boom" entered at number 8 in the 2003 Festive Fifty. In an interview with Drowned In Sounds, singer Davey MacManus was asked what was his highlights of his musical career. He responded:
"My first ever tour, aged 19, with The Pogues. Touring the USA so many times - especially the Billy Corgan tour. Top of the Pops. LA2 with the Crocketts. Reading Festival through the years. China. Writing ‘Lottery Winners on Acid’ whilst on the run from the law in Australia over the millennium. Getting in the Top 40. John Peel saying he could listen to our music forever and ever. Being paid to be a rock star, never worrying about money or food or nothing, basically." [1]
2011 Festive Fifty: 'Lovers Of The Disappeared (2xLP-Square Moon)' (self-released) (DJ's playing their favourite tracks of the year before the Festive Fifty)
