Sleepy People

The hard-working and militantly indie Sleepy People formed around the Christmas of 1991 when the provincial Paul Hope and Rachel Theresa united with their old college friends Andrew "Tiny" Wood, Richard Green, and Andy Peace to kick off one of the most confusing and convoluted band Venn diagrams of the British 1990s. The Newcastle band's obscure sound, along the lines of Shellac recording the Field Mice's For Keeps, was rooted in the band's establishment of their own frenzied rehearsal house known as Sleepy Hall. Here, amidst soundproofing, frequent parties, and occasional practices, the band roped in keyboardist Liz Wardby and grew enough confidence to make their live debut in February of 1992 and later embark on a devouring two-year tour consisting of over 120 stops. But the schedule paid its toll and Sleepy People's revolving door policy began to turn ever so slowly. Liz Wardby left the band, and it wasn't long before Wood, Green, Peace, and Pete Haslem, who had just replaced Wardby, split from the band to pursue more immediate success in London under the indie-prog madmen banner of Ultrasound. Still, Hope and Theresa remained undaunted. Staying behind in Newcastle, they brought in Graeme Swaddle on drums (previously of psychedelic group the Dead Flowers), Daniel Orange on keyboards, former Soil member Bill "Cowboy" Bailey on bass, and Phil Sears on vocal duties. This new lineup made their re-debut at the Newcastle Arts Centre in the winter of 1995 and went off to cram another 65 gigs in the same year. It was during this tour that Jess Cox, ex-singer of Tygers of Pan Tang, caught the band and offered to release their debut 7" single, "Home Is Where the Telly Is/Hanghar," in the Spring of 1996 on his own label, Edgy Records. The single quickly sold out and the band...