"We were trying to regroup and lick our wounds by throwing parties. We lived in Islington Mill Studios in Salford, a rundown cotton mill where students would create their textile designs. We only had three songs That's Not My Name, Shut Up and Let Me Go and Great DJ so we'd perform on stage, DJ CDs badly and pump out music. I'd jump on the drums with a loop pedal, Katie would throw on my Strat, we'd art punk it out and it felt amazing."
"There was a girl living at the mill who said: I love what you're doing. Can I put a record out? She had this little label called Switchflicker, so we went halves on the 2,000 it cost to print 500 vinyl records of That's Not My Name and Great DJ as a double A-side. She helped us get it into the Piccadilly Records shop in Manchester by putting it on the shelf illegally."
"One of the copies got to John Kennedy on XFM. I remember Mark Radcliffe saying Strike a light! when he played it on BBC Radio 6. We were also on Myspace, thinking Someone from Australia just liked us which seemed outrageous at the time. We were still doing our parties one Friday a month, but the mood had changed because they were increasingly full of industry people labels and publishers who wanted to sign us who didn't have a laugh and cheer a"
Dear Eskiimo, a Manchester band featuring Katie and the narrator, secured a Mercury deal that was canceled after label personnel changes, leaving them rejected and invisible. They regrouped at Islington Mill Studios in Salford, hosting parties and performing three songs: That's Not My Name, Shut Up and Let Me Go, and Great DJ. A neighbor with a small label, Switchflicker, co-financed 500 vinyl copies of a double A-side, placed them in Piccadilly Records, and helped spread the record. Radio play on XFM and BBC Radio 6 and Myspace attention amplified their reach. Parties grew and industry figures began to attend, changing the atmosphere.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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