JJ72

JJ72 is a rock music group, formed in Dublin, Ireland, in the late 90s by lead singer Mark Greaney and drummer Fergal Matthews. The two recruited the third and final member Hilary Woods as bassist and formed the trio, playing gigs In ireland while still studying for the Leaving Cert exams. They released their first album, the self titled 'JJ72' in Autumn, 2000, following the completion of their Leaving Cert. Released to great acclaim by music journalists and the music buying public alike, the album has sold in excess on 500,000 copies in their native Ireland and the UK. The album spawned the singles; 'Snow', 'October swimmer', 'Long way south', 'Oxygen' and 'Algeria', and saw the band tour Europe, America and Japan. The band followed the release of the first album with the release of their second album, 'I To Sky' in October 2002. This release was panned by critics, however, it did reach the top 5 of the Irish album charts and the top 10 of the British charts, which led to the singles; 'Formulae' and 'Always and Forever' being released from that album. All of the singles have reached the top 40 in the UK and Ireland, the single 'Snow' reaching the highest position, in the top 30. In March 2003 bassist Hilary Woods left the band citing personal matters as the cause. Greaney and Matthews recruited another bassist, Sarah Fox, and the band continued as a three piece. The band are currently working on the third, currently untitled, album which is due to be released in the Spring of 2005. songs tipped to be on the album include, 'We'll Wait For You', 'Rainfalls', 'Coming Home', 'Maria', 'Everything' and 'Nothing in This World'. And only Greaney knows what the name of the band, JJ72, actually means. Speculative guesses include Janis Joplin's weight at the height of her demise, a reference to his and Fergal's old school Belvedere College (James Joyce is a past pupil, and at the time they had last won the Leinster Senior Cup in 1972) and a rather high, 72, number of Jam Jars that lined Greaney's classroom!

Discography

Albums

• JJ72 (August 2000)
• I To Sky (2002)

Singles

• Pillows (Oxygen) (Spring 1999)
• October Swimmer (November 1999)
• Snow (February 2000)
• Long Way South (May 2000)
• Oxygen (August 2000)
• October Swimmer (October 2000)
• Snow (January 2001)
• Formulae (September 2002)
• Always And Forever (February 2003)
• She's Gone (June 2005)
• Coming Home (August 2005)

External Links

• http://www.jj72.com/
• http://www.jj72.org/
• http://www.jj72.org.uk/