OCEAN COLOUR SCENE: From Broke To The Big Time

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Hey all, just a heads up, the full new interview with Damon is coming next, so keep an eye out for that JH

[@Justice4allthewronged]

said it before ill say it again, ocs has never been the same without Damon! no bass player has even come close.

[@kieranjquigg6670]

Haven't even watched this yet but this is the video I've been waiting on. I fucking love OCS. Simon fowler is so underrated it's almost criminal.

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

They definitely deserve a ton more recognition. Hopefully this doc can play a role is addressing that 🎸🎸🎸

[@robertovalero6186]

​@@JamesHargreavesGuitarWhen does your opinion video about Johns and Liams album come out.I ❤it!!!

[@tweedlio2763]

Ive always thought that! It confused the hell out of me how they werent right up there

[@jonathanmartin4125]

And my dad taught Damon and Daniel Rachel the bass for 4 years

[@dustmusicyoutubechannel4351]

Love ocs. I’ve been lucky enough to do some support gigs with them a few times. I got to hang out with them and they are great lads. Steve Craddock produced a 3 track demo for me and my old band. That was a fun week recording with him. He even played a bit guitar on one of our tracks. Absolute legends. 🙌🏼

[@robertedwards2527]

These documentaries are getting better and better. Awesome, well done James.

[@glennhiscock478]

I considered myself the biggest oasis head around but OCS grabbed me to a point that I ended up seeing them more than any other band, I followed them over the county at times… getting hold of B sides, seasides and freerides was a high point more so than the rare oasis stuff I grabbed too. The nostalgia with OCS will always be unrivalled and I can’t wait to watch all of this. Thank you.

[@amatingmind7258]

The United States OCS fanbase is small but loyal. We're here Simon. We know how good "Dawn Cried The Day" is. Thanks for the great music.

[@edwardmulholland7912]

I remember when me and a bunch of friends traveled over from Belfast to Ayr in Scotland to see the band at a tiny gig. I think it was just before the second album came out. They were incredible, we all knew they were going to be huge. A great memory from that time. I remember they even played a great cover of the Small Faces “Song of a baker”. Thanks for reminding me of that wonderful era.

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Nice! And you're very welcome

[@robwood8331]

A great mod band

[@khloekloset3645]

'Day they caught the train' randomly popped into my head and came across your report. Wasnt a huge OCS fan, but have so much more respect for them now. Thanks for such detail and research ❤

[@joekelly9369]

Get away 😃

[@shaunmcgee4204]

It’s great to hear the OCS fellas mentioning the Real People, instead of writing them out of the history books. If anyone deserves recognition (and long overdue major success) it’s Chris & Tony Griffiths. Incredible singers, musicians and writers.

[@GT380man]

The Realies! Love them.

[@willamshaw6944]

even liam gallagher said the real people were better musicans than oasis in their earlier days an gave them an helping hand an advice

[@HelenGarland-d2q]

Simply the best Mod Band of my Generation. Their lyrics and Tunes are on another level than anybody else at that time. Saw them in Blackwood Working Club before they went Bang!! And many times after including a BBC Wales appearance. This Band is not only the best Mod band but one of the best in the World!!!!!! Love ya guy's see you in a concert hall sooooooon

[@atverde]

Great story, thanks for sharing! I love OCS. I've seen them live 3 or 4 times and they put on one of the best shows going. Quality!

[@tc-ou2zb]

Thank you so much for this, James. I grew up with OCS in Solihull and their gigs at Sweat with Weller were legendary. I always felt that OCS were the band with the most charm and least arrogance of the Britpop era. You could see why the likes of Weller and the Gallaghers trusted them. OCS also helped local bands such as Shaker (Sergeant), so they were clearly just good human beings. Moseley Shoals is the best album of that era (just ahead of Urban Hymns). By the way, it was well known in Birmingham at the time that Simon was gay and it says so much about what a great person he is that nobody had any issue with it (even in that testosterone fuelled lad-focused society). The woman who outed him was widely lambasted locally, by the way. Great band, great guys and, yes, great times to be a twentysomething in the 90s.

[@larsvincentmusic4578]

Great look over everything, fantastic, and really enjoyed it. Damon is great too, big fan of him in OCS, wasn’t replaced since in my opinion. I wonder if he (Damon) realises that Simon wrote one of the loveliest lyrics about him.. “you take the best of you, I’ll keep the rest of you..” - just a beautiful lyric in any regard.

[@geetarandmusiclover]

this documentary was amazing!! i love how you included all the small details. only 16 and probably my favourite band so hearing this was great and inspiring! also watched the interview with damon and was amazing😁

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@replicas11]

Travellers Tune is a gem.

[@tweedlio2763]

Mechanical wonder!!

[@martynlucas2433]

Great video with memories of Chris Cradock thrown in. He is a great bloke who always had time for fans of the band!! Seen them many times over the years and always been a great live performance.

[@NoPointsHarry]

Thank you james as a brummie native it’s nice to see a bit of ocean colour scene love mosley shoals is a classic and i always listen to it when strolling around mosley

[@hopforward1759]

This is awesome James! My 17 year old self is loving this. I used to write the (what became the official) Ocean Colour Scene fanzine, Ocean Colour Zine. There's loads of stuff I didn't know about OCS in this video, and I thought I knew everything! 😂 Keep up the good work.

[@JPMulheron]

Absolutely fantastic. Couldn’t get enough of this. Very well put together. This Took me back to the early and mid 90s . I’ve been a massive ocs fan for nearly 30years and love everything about them :)

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Thanks for that! Was a labour of love this one

[@user-nd1ck7eb2v]

Great this James, love the scene. The sound of summer’96. Aahh the memories. Cheers 👍

[@JRA73]

Best atmosphere ever for a charity gig at the Villa Leisure Center, Sept' 97!! 😎

[@robwood8331]

Steve Cradock what a fantastic musician. 👏 . They all are

[@LiseMac]

I met and got to know them well during their Scottish tour, great times 🥰

[@woodyp50]

Love OCS - great band

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

They are indeed

[@joekelly9369]

YES just playing get away , these guys were awesome . Lyrics were brilliant

[@quadrifern]

A more learned and in-depth documentary on OCS I never did see. Cheers, James!

[@philipmcandrew]

amazing doc - really enjoyed this, great job!

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Much appreciated!

[@darrenjoyce7615]

Brilliant James. Really enjoyed this one. OCS are definitely an underrated band IMO.

[@waynechapman8862]

Absolutely brilliant, enjoyed so much thank you

[@今川ゆみこ]

I still love this band as much as ever.

[@TheStrongBoyz19]

I am a Black Sabbath fanatic, not just for the Ozzy era as well. lol I always cite them as my favourite in the Birmingham scene. I am digging into these guys more and it's great to see you dive into other bands who are underrated and not as well known as the bigger, popular greats.

[@danielhoskins4690]

This was really well done James. Great watch, and loads of stuff I wasn’t aware of before

[@thapthoptheep2076]

One of my favourite bands of all time. I miss the mid 90's, it was glorious and I was obsessed with OCS - they introduced me to Weller, the Jam, the Who, the small faces...I discovered all of them thanks to OCS doing covers of their songs and working with Paul. This was amazing, took me back - wish it was longer.

[@krissymarklewis1793]

always had a soft spot for them and the people I know that have crossed paths with them say they are lovely guys.

[@danielthomas8507]

Another fantastic doco........OCS were a top band............Love my Sabbath too.

[@leewhieldon4299]

I started off as a drummer…Oscar’s drumming was always a big influence on me style..the day I learnt riverboat song drumming was a Wkd feeling! Lyrically and melodically they’ve influenced quite a bit over the years too…mint band!

[@alanfarrell2889]

Great stuff !! Favourite band of the ‘90s . Seen them in Dublin in dec , still amazing live !!

[@sitluxetluxfuit4481]

Where did they play in Dublin ?

[@stephentaylor5500]

really enjoyed this. great documentary and interview, thanks.

[@Jipnag]

OCS are one of my favorites bands and the best band i have ever seen live. Simon Fowler has the best voice in indie

[@tylerthompson1842]

Such an underrated band in America. They were the ones that truly deserved the recognition

[@AreJayCee]

First album was absolutely perfect. Saying that while never the biggest fan I somehow saw them 8 times live.

[@mark-i4o]

Great work James. Thank you for the knowledge.

[@kieranjquigg6670]

Just watched this. Absolutely brilliant pal. Can't wait for the 2nd half of it. Keep up the brilliant work pal. Amazing. Well done

[@DanielRed2]

This Better Day story completely blows my mind. Been listening to that song since 1997 and I can't believe the names, that I didn't twig! Madness. One of my favourite bands of all time.

[@gothgurlfriend]

This was BRILLIANT, James. Would LOVE you to start doing deep dives on the following bands - Sabbath Nirvana The Doors Hendrix Britpop in general as a movement - maybe a series of documentaries cover the ENTIRE scene (not just the Northern bands). Keep it up! x

[@RubenSoler]

Wow!!!! Great documentary. I'm waiting for the second part. Thanks for doing this. Cheers from Spain.

[@peanuthowe]

The sound of those second 2 OCS albums was fantastic - Brendan Lynch really did a great job producing a number of albums around this time and I'd love to see a good interview with him @JamesHargreavesGuitar!

[@philholmes9356]

Interesting watch. nice work. One of the great live bands of the incredible 90's.

[@pauloexploder]

Fantastic work, loved this!

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@SkipSpotter]

What a treat to behold - A superb documentary with so much research info. I never had a clue about the bands history. I've alway chosen to believe (from life experience), that some things in life, are just meant to happen, no matter what obstacles get in the way. *Subscribed*

[@smitcher]

Very well done James, that was a great video to watch and well worth the wait, you can see that you put a lot of effort into this. Always loved OCS and that took me right back to the 90s when I saw Weller in Glasgow and Oasis at Loch Lomond and OCS were always around before making it really big. Particularly liked the bit with Damon explaining who the characters in Better Day were...

[@michaelmulhall5007]

Have met Steve craddock had good 2 hour chat with him one the most underrated players ever. Playing with the specials and weller. Great great bloke gave me so much time and let me ask obscure questions about gigs, weller and some b side ocs songs

[@owenstunes5804]

Damon comes across as one of the most decent guys in the music business.

[@mbp870]

Great video, James! I'm becoming a regular on your channel. Keep up the good work! I was obsessed with OCS growing up. Such a talented band. They were criminally underrated and the whole 'too retro' tag the music press threw at them was never fair, especially when you think of Oasis & The Beatles or Blur & The Kinks. OCS also introduced me to some other wonderful bands and musicians. It's crazy to think now of a major national tabloid outing a singer in an indie band?!? My, times have changed, and for the better in that respect.

[@michaeldallaway1988]

Looking back, i think a big reason they weren't even bigger was that it all felt a bit safe. Even their biggest rockers - Hundred Mile High City, Riverboat Song i guess - were still pleasant enough. Put it this way - even my mum liked OCS, but if i put an Oasis record on it would be "what on earth is this?". There isn't t that sense of youthful abandon and excitement, maybe even a bit of danger that you got from listening to Definitely Maybe.

[@lucasm3879]

Oasis had the X factor that split them apart from almost all their contemporaries. The attitude, the look, the frontman etc are all contributing factors as well as the most important one, the music.

[@tonys6237]

After their 1st 2 albums Oasis were over.

[@GazPay1977]

James your videos are so great and full of so much info for all us fans 👍👍

[@salparadiso]

That filled some gaps for me. Thanks very much.

[@paulwilliams-rk6fy]

Excellent doc into the background story of a fantastic band well done sir

[@sanmusic3134]

Great documentary !! Thanks James 🙏 For me OCS it’s the best British band in the 90’s !! By a Belgium fan…

[@robwood8331]

I cant believe how much the world has changed from the 90s ....back then you could still make it via the great routes etc

[@ThePercyGreen]

Great documentary James

[@GidRover]

Thanks James, that was brilliant 👍

[@andyhornett4507]

So glad I stumbled across your channel a few weeks back - great stuff

[@5hillings]

Went and listened to better day after watching this... mind blown..

[@PhilBerry83]

This is brilliant documentary well in James!

[@wickamahn1852]

PS thanks for the links James, I'm watching The Fanatics documentary as we speak. Hargreaves Forevaaaaaaahhhh

[@ianblackmore-allen163]

As usual, cracking video. Loved the reveal about the Better Day lyrics 👌

[@jacksstudios2406]

I was literally just thinking that you should do a video on ocean colour scene then I saw this video in my notifications after listen to them, cracking vid

[@nikreid298]

Thanks brother really enjoyed this.

[@TheOnlineBusker]

Super stuff as aways James!! I still play Moseley Shoals to this day!

[@royalslim2024]

Great show as always

[@DavidMichaels-q5d]

If there is one song by OCS that I wish I had written it's 'So Low'. Great melody and lyrics, and whenever I play it in clubs or even occasional busking in the streets, people always ask me who that song os by, saying they love it! I was chatting on the phone with little Liam garland about 8 years ago, and I asked him ' Where did Simon get the lyrics ' cornfields and pigtails and fish in the stream. The night where the boy stole a billion dollar dream, from the hi-jinx school for girls down the road'. and he said ' He's just got a really good imagination'. ;)

[@GT380man]

If you don’t mind me saying, that question about the origins of the lyrics is more important than you are likely to guess. I remember my father, a doctor, saying “Rare things are rare, common things are common”. He’d often say this at some point when someone he’d met, learning he was a doctor, would share a confidential worry that their symptoms were a sign of something deeply fatal. My dad reassured them. Same here. Rare things are rare. Don’t accept trite answers. If a band makes consistently good songs, and you can detect the style of that band, it’s probably them. It’s the odd standout song, wildly better than their other material, those are the times to be cheerfully sceptical if they say “It was just the usual blokes”. Life’s pretty much not like that. There are exceptions, like Feels Like Heaven by Fiction Factory. They never got close ever again. I bet they had significant help & why not?

[@FelixFontana]

Nice work James, really enjoyed this

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@RobotGuy44998]

Could you make a video about the jam Keep up the great work

[@Wolves1967]

I really enjoyed this, excellent information!

[@HighlandPhoenix]

Great documentary, really enjoyed it! OCS #1

[@Drummer8282]

As an Oasis fan in Canada, I’ve heard of Ocean Colour Scene only because I’d follow British music news in search of Oasis news but can’t tell you a single song they ever did and I don’t know anyone who has ever heard of them. Will have to search out some of their songs.

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Cool - I recommend 1 The Riverboat Song 2 You’ve Got It Bad 3 Hundred Mile High City 4 The Circle 5 The Day We Caught The Train 😎🎸👍

[@slidenaway]

^^ songs from James are a great starting place, but please do listen to the full album, they're incredible -- Moseley Shoals and Marchin' Already, and even B-Sides, Seasides, and Freerides is great. Later albums are also good, but the 3 I just mentioned are CLASSIC

[@David-x4x9n]

Well there great !!!

[@ldgelectricalservices8052]

Unbelievable band. There albums after 2000 were all amazing. Painting in 2013 quality. My favourite album has got to be North Atlantic drift 2003. One of the best live bands still.

[@FredCaneh]

Class band and class vid. Will definitely check out that Scheme doc you referenced mate. All the best! 👍

[@johnnycashlives316]

The best band USA does not know about.

[@johnkennedy5528]

I once gave Simon 39p to scrape enough to buy some rough cider in Moseley. Year or so later he gave my son 2 tickets for THAT Oasis/OCS Main Road gig. A good lad. They all were/are. John Kennedy.🐝

[@stantheshagster1484]

one of my top 5 ❤

[@waynefraser6808]

Learn something new every day didn't no they come from there 😮

[@tonybrown5400]

I love OCS but for some reason in my memory I thought the music press were a bit down on them at the time and didn’t really give them the credit they deserved I might be wrong though

[@SethMace]

Loved this, great video! OCS have been my fav band since I was a teen, even ran a fansite called The Downstream. Are you planning to cover the next decade?

[@backandfour]

Great work James! Oasis were my number 1. OCS were my number 2. They sum up the 90's for me.

[@D.L91]

Great video again! One of the best channels on youtube. I know it's probably alot of extra work but any chance you can caption your videos? KZbin ones are awful.

[@robsol123]

I used to love ocean colour scene brilliant band 🇬🇧🎸🎶

[@jennybyford8071]

Ocean Colour scene is one of my favourite bands at one time, with Oasis and Bluetones. I remember Liam Gallagher response on Soccer AM about him being gay, he said ‘I don’t care, what’s that song with the Spice Girls about’

[@DavidMichaels-q5d]

Great story! I remember buying The ' Yesterday, Today' single in about 1991 as a 13 year old. Seems like yesterday, no pun intended lol Where have 30 odd years gone? Scary ! ;) Do you have the full interview with Minchella on the 6th of March? I always like listening to him. He has a good brain.

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Yes, full interview with Damon coming next 👍👍

[@DavidMichaels-q5d]

Nice one, James.I look forward to it. Cheers. ;)

[@brianstones6234]

Right on OCS Rule!!! Damon is a bass star!!! Cheers

[@WWNbroadcasts]

Ocean colour scene is so underrated bro Steve cradock and Simon are so good

[@Remember-r2l]

amazing man love ocs

[@catalina525]

how have i missed this band??? my god they can write songs and in different time signatures. kinda a mix of beatles tom petty and neil young. they are fantastic

[@AaronholtomGolf]

Absolutely top quality again, James you are fantastic. I would love to see something on Radiohead, the bends ok computer time

[@balke7935]

Tbh I think she probably went to the papers because you were all publicly saying she was a rubbish drummer and her name wasn’t acceptable to be a drummer in a band.

[@brokenactors1195]

I'd love to hear the Mosley Sholes demos is there any in circulation??

[@egotram]

Cool vid fella. 👍

[@LouisBidmead]

Good stuff 👍🏻

[@coalitionperformance5901]

Great documentary on OCS