Song:Whippin' Piccadilly
Album:Three Men In A Hut: A's, B's & Rarities 1998-2004
Gomez has been around since 1998 and have had success in their native England. They have never broken through in the US and I think they deserve a bigger following. Gomez is from Southport, England. Guitarist and singer Ian Ball and drummer Olly Peacock were friends in high school and played in bands together. Guitarist and keyboard player Tom Gray was a neighbour of Peacock and he met bassist Paul Blackburn in college. Ball met singer and guitarist Ben Ottewell at Sheffield University. The band started playing gigs without a name. There was a sign outside that said "Gomez in here" referring to a friend. Folks assumed it was the band name and it stuck. They recorded a demo in 1996 and this led to a contract with the Virgin Records label Hut. Whippin' Piccadilly is from their 1998 debut CD Bring It On. Though the single only reached #35 on the British Singles chart, the album did really well and was certified Platinum in England. Their next two albums, Liquid Skin and In Our Gun did equally well. But when the 2004 CD Split The Difference did not sell as well, Virgin was not happy. They closed Hut and Gomez asked to be released. You can get all their Virgin hits on this 2CD comp. Gomez signed with Dave Matthews' ATO label and I guess the sales expectations are different. ATO doesn't expect Gomez to be a best selling pop group. Their most recent CD Whatever's On Your Mind was released June 2011. Gomez still tours. Ball and Ottewell have released solo CDs and Ball and Peacock are part of the side project Operation Aloha. Here's the video for Whippin' Piccadilly by Gomez.
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