AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Farm

Artist:The Farm

Song:Groovy Train

Album:Spartacus

The British band The Farm scored a couple of hit singles at home in the early 90s. Groovy Train should remind you of The Stone Roses. My guess is listeners thought it was The Stone Roses which is probably why The Farm only had brief success. The Farm was started in Liverpool in 1983 by singer Peter Hooton, a youth worker looking for a musical outlet for his political concerns. Hooton and guitarist Stevie Grimes wrote all the songs. At first they were a soul band called The Excitements. When Hooton took over, he changed the band name to The Farm because they rehearsed in a farm. BTW, it's a terrible name. After original drummer Andy McVann died in a 1986 car crash and The Farm toured with The Housemartins, Hooton decided to change their sound to the popular Madchester sound of The Stone Roses but retain some of the dance elements. He approached former Madness lead singer Graham "Suggs" McPherson about producing. They released the 1990 single Groovy Train on their own label. When it started getting airplay, Jive Records picked it up for distribution in England and Europe and Sire Records picked it up for US release. Groovy Train reached #6 on the British Singles chart and #41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single All Together Now reached #4 on the British Singles chart. The album Spartacus was certified Gold in England. The album is available as a budget CD. The Farm signed with Sony. They were still on Sire in the US. When the 1992 album Love See No Colour was more electropop that the first album, it didn't do well and Sony dropped them. They returned to Sire for the 1994 album Hullaballoo but the damage was already done and The Farm split up in 1996. They reformed in 2004 and still perform but have not recorded new music. So that means The Farm's whole appeal was they sounded like The Stone Roses over 30 years ago. A band needs to have a more distinctive sound for long term success. Here's the video for Groovy Train by The Farm. This is the British video. There is also a US video.