Ocean Colour Scene is comprised of Steve Cradock (lead guitar, keyboards, vocals), Simon Fowler (lead vocals, guitar, harmonica), Damon Minchella (bass) and Oscar Harrison (drums, vocals). Prior to forming in 1990, the members of the band had played in a variety of other groups. During the late '80s, Cradock played in a mod revival band called the Boys. At the same time the Boys were active, Fowler and Minchella were in a Velvet Underground-influenced group called the Fanatics, who released an EP, Suburban Love Songs, on the independent label Chapter 22 in the spring of 1989. Following the release of the single, the group's original drummer, Caroline Bullock, was replaced by Harrison, who had previously played with a reggae/soul band called Echo Base. Shortly after Harrison joined the Fanatics, the group split up. Several months after their disbandment, Fowler, Minchella and Harrison formed Ocean Colour Scene with Cradock, who they met at a Stone Roses concert. Appropriately, Ocean Colour Scene was initially heavily influenced by the Stone Roses. After performing a few concerts, the group built a small fan base and signed with a local indie label, !Phffft.

Shortly after signing with !Phffft, Ocean Colour Scene became hyped as "the next big thing" by the British music weekly press, as their live shows and debut single, "Sway," earned extremely positive reviews during the first half of 1990. In the spring of 1991, they headed into the studio to record the debut album with Jimmy Miller, who worked on the Rolling Stones' classic albums of the late '60s and early '70s. Instead of concentrating on work, the band essentially drank away their hours in the studio, resulting in a batch of uneven recordings. Unsatisfied by the tapes, the band headed back into the studio with Hugo Nicolson, who was had previously worked with Primal Scream.

By the time they completed the record, !Phffft had been acquired by Fontana Records, who bought the indie for £350,000, with the intent of owning the rights to Ocean Colour Scene. Despite their enthusiasm for the band, the label's head of A&R, Dave Bates, rejected the group's first attempt at the album and asked them to re-enter the studio to re-record most of the album with another producer, Tim Palmer, who had previously worked with Tin Machine. Palmer also remixed the remaining cuts, resulting in a slick, overproduced debut album that was delivered belatedly in the spring of 1992. By that time, the music press had abandoned the "madchester" scene that the Stone Roses spawned and, in turn, they rejected the return of Ocean Colour Scene. The public also refused to buy the record and it sank upon its release. The band made some headway on an American tour, but tensions with Fontana continued to increase throughout the year.

Ocean Colour Scene returned to England halfway through the year, planning to record a new album quickly, but Bates rejected their new material. Bates condemned the set of demo tapes, which contained 'The Riverboat Song', 'The Day We Caught The Train', 'It's A Beautiful Thing', 'Hello Monday' and the currently unreleased 'Magical', accusing them of sounding like Simon and Garfunkel. He also criticised the lack of any obvious singles. Soon, the band sued to get out of its Fontana contract. By the time it was settled in early 1993, the group owed hundreds of thousands of pounds to the label and they were back on the dole. They converted their rehearsal space into a recording studio and began recording constantly, but their break didn't arrive until they played a gig supporting Paul Weller's new band in early 1993. Weller was impressed with Steve Cradock's playing, and asked him to play on his forthcoming single, "The Weaver." Cradock gradually became part of Weller's backing band, performing on much of Weller's second solo album, Wild Wood, and touring with him around the world.

However, the guitarist didn't abandon Ocean Colour Scene - all the money he was making was funneled back into the band, and he landed Fowler a gig as a backing vocalist for Weller. By the end of the 1993, Cradock, Fowler and Minchella were all playing in Weller's band.

The next break for Ocean Colour Scene arrived in late summer of 1994, when Noel Gallagher, the leader of Oasis, heard the band's tape in the offices of his record label. Gallagher offered OCS the opening slot for Oasis' breakthrough autumn 1994 tour, which provided the group with needed exposure. Soon, the group was subject to a bidding war among several major labels, all of whom wanted the band to change their name. Eventually, the band signed with MCA in the summer of 1995; they were one of the few labels not to insist that the group change their name.  Cont.....

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