Pool Of Sound - The Farm

The Farm

'The Farm' evolved from an earlier group called 'The Excitements' which included Phil Stephenson on bass guitar, Neil 'Cad' Campbell on drums, Steve Grimes on guitar and Martin Dunbar on vocals. When Dunbar left, Peter Hooton replaced him on vocals and they eventually changed their name to 'The Farm' with an initial line-up of Peter Hooton, Steve Grimes, John Melvin and Andrew John "Andy" McVann.
Peter Hooton was born in Everton in 1962 but moved to live near Aintree Racecourse. In about 1980, he landed a job as a youth worker on the Cantril Farm estate but contrary to the wide held belief, the band actually took their name from a place called Caddicks Farm in Maghull where they used to rehearse. It was at this time Peter and Phil Jones created the magazine 'The End', a fanzine described by John Peel as 'perfect', as it brought together the worlds of football, fashion and music in one place
In 1984, they released the single 'Hearts and Minds' produced by 'Madness' lead vocalist Graham 'Suggs' McPherson. Sadly Andy McVann was killed in a police chase on the 1st of October 1986 at the age of 21 and after his death, John Melvin left the band to pursue a varied career as the director of his own construction firm, but he eventually returned to music in 1990 under the guise of 'Mr. Smith', a two-piece band that toured frequently, but did not release anything of note. In 1987, the band supported 'The Housemartins' on their UK tour.

The loss of these two band members meant a new line-up which included Peter Hooton on vocals, Keith Mullin on guitar, Steve Grimes on guitar and keyboards, Carl Hunter on bass guitar, Roy Boulter on drums, joined in 1988, by Ben Leach on keyboards. Part-time contributor to 'The End', Kevin Sampson, got involved with the band and became their manager. He helped cultivate a dance/rock style that was interwoven with terrace culture, which made them appealing to lads going to the game then going out for a beer and a dance after.
It was in 1990 that they had their big break. Following a cameo role in the movie 'The Final Frame' starring Suggs, they were signed up. They approached dance producer Terry Farley who agreed to produce a sample-heavy cover of 'The Monkees' hit 'Stepping Stone'. Although the single fell just shy of the Top 40, suddenly the group found themselves aligned with the baggy pants club culture movement promoted by the likes of 'Happy Mondays' and the 'Soup Dragons'
The Farm's first hit song was 'Groovy Train', which reached the Top 10 in the UK singles chart in September 1990. With Graham 'Suggs' McPherson now their producer they went to Mayfair studios to record 'All Together Now' which was originally released on the 26th of  November 1990 and instantly became a hit peaking at No.4 in the UK singles chart and at No.7 on the U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Now on the crest of a wave, in the Spring of 1991 they released  their debut album 'Spartacus', dedicating it to the parents of former band member Andy McVann. It reached number one in the UK album chart, staying there for a week and was critically acclaimed in the UK and the rest of the world, especially Germany and the USA. Chosen as 'Album of the Month' in 'Select' and 'Vox' magazines, it was also album of the week in 'Sounds' and the 'NME', who placed the album at number 32 in their list of the Top 50 Albums of 1991.
This success was short-lived however, and their first single for Sony Records, 'Love See No Colour' in 1992 did not perform well and led to a split from producers Pete Heller and Terry Farley. Joining up with Mark Saunders, who had produced 'Erasure' and 'Cure', they released a cover version of  'The Human League's' 'Don't You Want Me' which reached the Top 20 in 1992.
In 1994, they released the album 'Hullabaloo' on the Sire label followed by their last major single 'Messiah'. Despite being a group largely supporting Liverpool F.C. they released a version of 'Altogether Now' to accompany the presence of their cross-city rivals, Everton F.C. in the 1995 FA Cup Final in which Everton beat Manchester United 1-0.

Since 2004, with a line-up of Peter Hooton on vocals, Keith Mullin on guitar, Steve Grimes on guitar, Carl Hunter on bass guitar, Ben Leach on keyboards and Roy Boulter on drums, 'The Farm' have been performing again, and in recent years have established regular appearances at summer festivals, and in 2011-2012 performed as part of the 'Justice Tonight Band'. They joined many other artists and bands on that tour, including 4 performances with 'The Stone Roses', and culminated 2012 as part of the Justice Collective, whose single 'He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother' got to Number One in the UK Official Christmas Chart. 

The band continue to play live, both acoustic and as a full band, and as recently as September 2021 have appeared at the Stone Valley Festival North together with 'Happy Mondays' and 'Cast' amongst others.

see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2019/10/pool-of-sound-care.html