- O Emperor
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O Emperor Origin Waterford, Ireland Genres Alternative Rock Labels Universal Website oemperor.com Members Paul Savage
Alan Comerford
Phil Christie
Brendan Fennessy
Richie WalshProfessional ratings Review scores Source Rating Entertainment.ie 
[1]Irish Times [2]O Emperor are an alternative rock band from Waterford, Ireland. Their debut album Hither Thither reached number 6 in the Irish Albums Chart.
Contents
Background
The band initially formed when they were in secondary school in Waterford together. They continued to learn, play and write together into their college years. The band has been together in some formation for the greater part of a decade. The band began their live journey in a well-known local biker pub in Waterford called ‘The Hog’s Head’. “We were barely 17 or so but it was a great grounding for us and it gave us a taste of the rock and roll lifestyle.” - Paul Savage.
O Emperor branched out in their locality, playing in the majority of the available local venues, all whilst working with various other musicians. They worked closely with several other bands, swapping musicians and borrowing them for various projects.
Getting Serious
O Emperor became bored and discontented as being seen as a cover band, thus deciding to embark on an original album of their own. The band’s initial set lists were composed of covers of The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.
“It took us about a year of playing our own stuff to come up with a set-list of songs that we were happy with.” (Paul Savage, lead singer and guitarist of O Emperor). The band decided to record their own album; they rented an old country house in Kinsale, Co. Cork, Ireland, and began their work writing and recording. Over a period of six months, the band created the foundations of their debut album.
The band were initially going to release their album independently, but soon realised that their hard work and dedication may go unnoticed. With their new attitude, the band sent their recordings to every listed company in the Hot Press Year Book. Universal Records quickly signed the act. As a result of their record contract, the band were able to record in a much more professional capacity, this allowed them to record new songs and revisit and edit old songs.
Early Success (2009-present)
O Emperor began touring intensively to promote their upcoming album release, thus attracting a growing live audience. As a result of this the band appeared on the New Band Stage at Oxegen and played at Dublin’s Hard Working Class Heroes festival. In late 2009, O Emperor released their debut single ‘Po’. The media reacted positively; Hot Press deemed it the ‘Single of the Fortnight’.
Perhaps one of their biggest accomplishments at such an early stage in their band lifecycle was touring with Mumford and Sons in 2010 on their UK and Ireland Tour. They also made several television appearances on Irish television, RTE’s The View and Irish music show Other Voices. O Emperor’s first release under their major label Universal was the EP ‘Reverie’.
O Emperor then went onto tour throughout the summer of 2010 at festivals in Ireland, such as Oxegen and Electric Picnic; they also played at German and UK festivals. They have been announced as special guests for Spoon at The Academy in Dublin on November 18.[3]
It was announced on the MCD website that they would play that their biggest headline gig to date in Academy, Dublin on April 15, 2011. They will also take part in a SXSW festival (March 16, 2011).[4]
In late February 2011 the band performed on Other Voices performing three of their songs.
Members
Paul Savage - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Alan Comerford - Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Philip Christie - Piano,Vocals
Brendan Fennessy - Drums, Backing Vocals
Richie Walsh - Bass, Backing VocalsDiscography
Studio Albums
Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications IRL
[5]2010 Hither Thither - Released: October 1, 2010
- Label: Universal Ireland
- Formats: CD, digital download
6 "—" denotes a title that did not chart. Extended Plays
Year Album details Peak chart positions IRL
[6]2010 Persephone - Released: January 13, 2010
- Label: Self Released
- Formats: CD
— Reverie - Released: April 16, 2010
- Label: Universal Ireland
- Formats: CD, digital download
32 "—" denotes a title that did not chart. References
- ^ http://entertainment.ie/album-review/O-Emperor-Hither-Thither/7275.htm
- ^ http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2010/1001/1224280038965.html
- ^ http://mcd.ie/home/fn.php?c=6899617&ar=spoon&cat=all
- ^ http://schedule.sxsw.com/events/event_MS12871
- ^ http://www.irma.ie/aucharts.asp#albums
- ^ http://www.irma.ie/aucharts.asp#albums
External links
Categories:- Irish musical groups
- Irish alternative rock groups
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