Indie rock band from Kells, County Meath (Ireland). The band was formed by John Moore, Podge McNamee and Niamh Farrell at a crucifixion party on Good Friday 2003, initially with Moore as guitarist and McNamee and Farrell as vocalists. Moore and McNamee had been friends since childhood, and Farrell had befriended McNamee upon her recent return to Ireland after spending several years in Scotland.Brian Darcy, who McNamee had known from school, was recruited as a guitarist and Ollie Murphy joined soon after as the group’s drummer. Moore suggested the band’s name at an early rehearsal session, initially as a joke, before it was officially adopted by the band.
The band spent the next year writing and rehearsing songs, with Moore as their primary songwriter, before giving their first live performance in their home town of Kells. They released their debut single, ‘Sad Songs’, in August 2005. Rather than seeking a record label contract, the band published their records on their own independent label, Route 109A Records, named for the bus route between Kells and Dublin. The band continued to tour around Ireland throughout 2006, releasing two further singles, ‘St. Christopher’ on 20 February and ‘Words’ on 19 September.
On 16 February 2007, Ham Sandwich released their fourth single, ‘Click..Click…BOOM!!!’ This was followed by a short tour of Ireland in support of the release. The band made their Irish television debut in February, performing the single on ‘The Late Late Show’.
In 2008, they released their debut album. They embarked on tours of Ireland and the UK, including spots at Glastonbury and Electric Picnic. Their second album ‘White Fox’ was released on 1 October 2010. Having toured extensively in support of ‘White Fox’, Ham Sandwich began recording their third album at Windmill Lane Studios in 2014. In 2015, they released ‘Stories From The Surface’. It was released to generally positive reviews and became the band’s first album to top the Irish album charts.
During live shows, Ham Sandwich have performed their own version of Running Up That Hill.
References
- Ham Sandwich (band). Wikipedia, retrieved 19 September 2018.
