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Press release


  • 5 September 2006

No tractors just lots of applause for Nizlopi


Luke Concannon and band mate John Parker

Luke Concannon and band mate John Parker

Sussex graduate Luke Concannon makes a debut performance at Brighton's Concorde 2 with his group Nizlopi following the release of their new album.

Luke and band mate John Parker, better known as Nizlopi, performed tracks from their new mini-album ExtraOrdinary at the popular venue on Monday (4th September). The concert follows the pair's launch into the music charts with an unexpected battle for the Christmas Number One with The JCB Song. The tune, memorable for its animated video featuring a yellow tractor, was a surprise hit in last year's pop charts and was only narrowly beaten to the top of the pops on Christmas Day by X Factor winner Shayne Ward.

The concert was the acoustic duo's first appearance at the renowned Concorde 2, in Madeira Drive, which has hosted legendary acts such as Brighton DJ Fatboy Slim, the Scissor Sisters and The Darkness. The performance is the first stop in a UK promotional tour, including Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow.

Luke says: "It was unreal performing at Concorde 2 especially since I had seen so many great bands while I was still a student at the University of Sussex.

"I used to walk around Brighton, stumbling up that steep hill to Hanover and jumping in the sea in December while I was still studying. To come back here and actually perform is just unreal."

Luke graduated from the University of Sussex in 2000 with a degree in English, which included a course in Shamanic Consciousness. He arrived in Brighton with life-long friend John and the pair spent their time writing, rehearsing and touring the city's numerous music venues. Inspired by the sheer variety of musical styles and performances on offer, the pair returned to their hometown of Leamington Spa, armed with the material for their debut album Half These Songs Are About You.

It was the release of The JCB Song that brought Nizlopi commercial success, with the tale of the five-year-old Luke escaping the school bullies and spending the day riding in his Dad's yellow digger. The album topped the National Unsigned Network Chart for a record-breaking ten weeks, prompting a rush of interest in the group.

New album ExtraOrdinary is a collection of songs on life, love, communities, sexual politics, the meaning of being a young man in the modern age and the realities of careerism. Singer/guitarist Luke and double bassist/human beat boxer John have released the album on their own record label combining folk, hip-hop and country to create a unique style evocative of their musical beginnings at Sussex.

Luke says: "Being at the university definitely informed the band and it was while in Sussex that we discovered the importance of doing things for yourself because you believe in them and making things happen among a bunch of friends.

"Sussex is very good in terms of opportunity for musicians, but you also have to be disciplined if you are there and remember not spend all your time talking about and listening to music but rehearsing and practising too."

Notes for editors

For more information about Nizlopi, visit www.nizlopi.com/main.htm

 

University of Sussex press contacts: Jacqui Bealing or Jessica Mangold tel: 01273 678209, fax 01273 877456, or email press@sussex.ac.uk

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