The Winter Olympics

HE WINTER OLYMPICS – ATTENTION ALL DEPARTMENTS – OFFICE ROCK RECORDS
Fronted by vocals that wouldn’t have sounded out of place within the years where new wave locked horns with Gothic tinged melancholy – TWO intertwine their throbbing disco-indebted rock with a Manic delivery that wont fail to grab your attention, all backed up by a crunching rock sound that references 30 years of guitar music in one swift blow – impressive stuff and well worth a listen! - Subba Culture

HE WINTER OLYMPICS – ATTENTION ALL DEPARTMENTS – OFFICE ROCK RECORDS
Fronted by vocals that wouldn’t have sounded out of place within the years where new wave locked horns with Gothic tinged melancholy – TWO intertwine their throbbing disco-indebted rock with a Manic delivery that wont fail to grab your attention, all backed up by a crunching rock sound that references 30 years of guitar music in one swift blow – impressive stuff and well worth a listen! - Subba Culture

“It’s time to get retarded on some cheap champagne” sings Andrew Wagstaff on ‘Attention All Departments’, in direct contradiction to the “delicate pop hooks” mentioned in the promo material. He’s no precious flower on the strength of the bellowing going on here and the demented power chords of the chorus recall the delirious awesomeness of Electric Six (… their first two singles, not everything else they ever did). Special note goes to the LCD soundsystem-esque keyboards which round of the whole the whole thing wonderfully, creating a hella’ catchy song about office shenanigans.

‘They Launched A Probe’ veers dangerously close to the stadium cock-rockery of the Killers before landing on safer ground (British Heavy Metal stadium twattery; it’s no non-sense, fat guitar rock, thank fuck). Professing to lay out a simple band credo of being ‘amazing’ and aspiring for nothing more than amazement, the Winter Olympics have made a good start. - High Voltage

“It’s time to get retarded on some cheap champagne” sings Andrew Wagstaff on ‘Attention All Departments’, in direct contradiction to the “delicate pop hooks” mentioned in the promo material. He’s no precious flower on the strength of the bellowing going on here and the demented power chords of the chorus recall the delirious awesomeness of Electric Six (… their first two singles, not everything else they ever did). Special note goes to the LCD soundsystem-esque keyboards which round of the whole the whole thing wonderfully, creating a hella’ catchy song about office shenanigans.

‘They Launched A Probe’ veers dangerously close to the stadium cock-rockery of the Killers before landing on safer ground (British Heavy Metal stadium twattery; it’s no non-sense, fat guitar rock, thank fuck). Professing to lay out a simple band credo of being ‘amazing’ and aspiring for nothing more than amazement, the Winter Olympics have made a good start. - High Voltage

26. The Winter Olympics - Feeling European
Your standard English stodge rock but with interesting European metaphors for shagging and going through your nothing to declare aisle etc.. No passport required for EU citizens. No video available so here's an inferior single of theirs. Warning - he looks like he sort of hipser you'd want to kick in the plums. - Super Mercardo Project

26. The Winter Olympics - Feeling European
Your standard English stodge rock but with interesting European metaphors for shagging and going through your nothing to declare aisle etc.. No passport required for EU citizens. No video available so here's an inferior single of theirs. Warning - he looks like he sort of hipser you'd want to kick in the plums. - Super Mercardo Project

Miss the 90's? Love the perfectly imperfect tinny sound of a cassette? Pine for the really good ol’ days of electronic pop?

If you answered yes to one or all of the above, you’re in for a real treat today – kickstarting our new weekly Tunesday (geddit?!) post, we bring you The Winter Olympics new single, “I Miss The Nineties”.


There is literally so much we want to say about this band, in particular this single, but our brains have gone all bouncy and crazy… watch the video below and you’ll be on the same vibe as us! Do it, do it now…


Was that a Ride EP we spotted? Oh, how we could wax lyrical about one very messy night out at a gig in Portsmouth many years ago with Mark Gardener however, that is but a mere nod to the nostalgic trip the band just threw us on…

“I Miss The Nineties” is a boisterous thrill ride of sheer electronic pop bolstered by some meaty guitar rock. Better yet, it’s “dedicated to Winona Ryder, Swervedriver and anyone who has ever tried to leave the house with a mobile phone”, paying tribute to all the good stuff of the 90's. Eric Cantona, Windows 95, the Dot.com boom, X-Files and singles on cassette (the cassingle) are all honoured, even “staying up all night with Tamagotchi ties”, which will resonate with all you kawaii toy fans! We can definitely recall the endless nights the pioneer in pocket-sized electronic cyber pets needed feeding or poop cleaning… we’d like to thank the band for reminding us we are not alone in valuing these days (and nights).

Singer/song writer, Andrew Wagstaff, wrote the song for backing vocalist Pippa Wragg Smith – real life, distance and a decade of differences meant the pair saw each other all-too rarely. He wrote the first verse to make her laugh, the second to remember the past and the third to convince her to join the band. She didn’t laugh but she did join the band; her sweet, sparkling voice can be heard on the track.

The highly addictive video was directed by Chris Hemming whose credits include Cornershop and Elvis Presley! Passion Pictures (most widely acclaimed as the animators for the Gorillaz), thanks to their shared passion for the 90's, produced the video on a budget of beer and pizza alone. It was filmed in Martin Bowman’s kitchen.



The Single

The double A-side “Nineties” and the previously unreleased, and frankly brilliant, “This is the Fourth Time (I Have Been in Your House)” single will be released on March 14, 2011 on Office Rock Records.

Available to download online from iTunes, eMusic, Amazon, The Church of Merch and (very possibly) some proper actual high street shops as well. It will also be available to buy as limited edition, hand numbered CD or CASSETTE single complete with handmade sleeves.

All three formats come with beautiful full colour artwork by the fabulous Lottie White. The cassette also comes with a free download card, in case you were wondering how you were going to play a tape on your computer!

About The Band

Inspired by the DIY dignity of the Dischord label, the literate disco of LCD Soundsytem and the 80's stadium standards of Def Leppard and Duran Duran, The Winter Olympics are a dance-punk, pro-pop, rock n’roll band. Hailing from London, the band consists of Andrew Wagstaff (vocals), Martin Bowman (guitar), Neil Mackay (bass), Simon Oldham (drums), James Mitchell (keys), Pippa Wragg Smith (backing vocals) and Agatha Mylnarczyk (who plays a little bit of everything). Bruce Graham sat down for drumming duties on these 2 tracks.

Live Dates

The Winter Olympics promise an unmissably messy live show. Check the band’s website for upcoming live dates. Or bounce along for their COMPLETELY FREE “Nineties” single launch party on Wednesday March 16, 2011 at The Wheelbarrow in Camden (which even has a Pie Bar, yes really!)

Huge thanks go out to the rather lovely Keir Mills at Bloody Awful Poetry for sharing this absolute gem with us.

Pssst…

Why not leave a comment to let us and the band know what you think – or what you miss about the 90's! If you’re in a band or rep a band you’d like us to feature, please get in touch. If we dig it, we’ll post it. If we don’t, we won’t. Simples.
- The Neon Hive

Miss the 90's? Love the perfectly imperfect tinny sound of a cassette? Pine for the really good ol’ days of electronic pop?

If you answered yes to one or all of the above, you’re in for a real treat today – kickstarting our new weekly Tunesday (geddit?!) post, we bring you The Winter Olympics new single, “I Miss The Nineties”.


There is literally so much we want to say about this band, in particular this single, but our brains have gone all bouncy and crazy… watch the video below and you’ll be on the same vibe as us! Do it, do it now…


Was that a Ride EP we spotted? Oh, how we could wax lyrical about one very messy night out at a gig in Portsmouth many years ago with Mark Gardener however, that is but a mere nod to the nostalgic trip the band just threw us on…

“I Miss The Nineties” is a boisterous thrill ride of sheer electronic pop bolstered by some meaty guitar rock. Better yet, it’s “dedicated to Winona Ryder, Swervedriver and anyone who has ever tried to leave the house with a mobile phone”, paying tribute to all the good stuff of the 90's. Eric Cantona, Windows 95, the Dot.com boom, X-Files and singles on cassette (the cassingle) are all honoured, even “staying up all night with Tamagotchi ties”, which will resonate with all you kawaii toy fans! We can definitely recall the endless nights the pioneer in pocket-sized electronic cyber pets needed feeding or poop cleaning… we’d like to thank the band for reminding us we are not alone in valuing these days (and nights).

Singer/song writer, Andrew Wagstaff, wrote the song for backing vocalist Pippa Wragg Smith – real life, distance and a decade of differences meant the pair saw each other all-too rarely. He wrote the first verse to make her laugh, the second to remember the past and the third to convince her to join the band. She didn’t laugh but she did join the band; her sweet, sparkling voice can be heard on the track.

The highly addictive video was directed by Chris Hemming whose credits include Cornershop and Elvis Presley! Passion Pictures (most widely acclaimed as the animators for the Gorillaz), thanks to their shared passion for the 90's, produced the video on a budget of beer and pizza alone. It was filmed in Martin Bowman’s kitchen.



The Single

The double A-side “Nineties” and the previously unreleased, and frankly brilliant, “This is the Fourth Time (I Have Been in Your House)” single will be released on March 14, 2011 on Office Rock Records.

Available to download online from iTunes, eMusic, Amazon, The Church of Merch and (very possibly) some proper actual high street shops as well. It will also be available to buy as limited edition, hand numbered CD or CASSETTE single complete with handmade sleeves.

All three formats come with beautiful full colour artwork by the fabulous Lottie White. The cassette also comes with a free download card, in case you were wondering how you were going to play a tape on your computer!

About The Band

Inspired by the DIY dignity of the Dischord label, the literate disco of LCD Soundsytem and the 80's stadium standards of Def Leppard and Duran Duran, The Winter Olympics are a dance-punk, pro-pop, rock n’roll band. Hailing from London, the band consists of Andrew Wagstaff (vocals), Martin Bowman (guitar), Neil Mackay (bass), Simon Oldham (drums), James Mitchell (keys), Pippa Wragg Smith (backing vocals) and Agatha Mylnarczyk (who plays a little bit of everything). Bruce Graham sat down for drumming duties on these 2 tracks.

Live Dates

The Winter Olympics promise an unmissably messy live show. Check the band’s website for upcoming live dates. Or bounce along for their COMPLETELY FREE “Nineties” single launch party on Wednesday March 16, 2011 at The Wheelbarrow in Camden (which even has a Pie Bar, yes really!)

Huge thanks go out to the rather lovely Keir Mills at Bloody Awful Poetry for sharing this absolute gem with us.

Pssst…

Why not leave a comment to let us and the band know what you think – or what you miss about the 90's! If you’re in a band or rep a band you’d like us to feature, please get in touch. If we dig it, we’ll post it. If we don’t, we won’t. Simples.
- The Neon Hive

With their nostalgic tribute to the last decade of the twentieth century 'I Miss The Nineties' (check out the video below) London based hard pop squad The Winter Olympics have put in their bid to be Gritpop's Pulp to Brother's Oasis. - The Devil Has the Best Tuna

With their nostalgic tribute to the last decade of the twentieth century 'I Miss The Nineties' (check out the video below) London based hard pop squad The Winter Olympics have put in their bid to be Gritpop's Pulp to Brother's Oasis. - The Devil Has the Best Tuna

Monday (14th March 2011) sees the release of The Winter Olympics excellent new single “I Miss The Nineties” (reviewed here). In the run up to the release Kenneth John Porteous caught up with the band’s Andrew Wagstaff via a series of emails.



If you haven’t heard The Winter Olympics’ latest single “I Miss The Nineties” I heartily recommend you go and check it out. Here’s the video – go on, I’ll wait. You won’t be disappointed.



Back? Great. As you can no doubt tell, the song presents a sucker punch of nostalgia for a time period which now lies, quite scarily, two decades ago in a whole other century.
So you may be wondering: why bother eulogising such an ancient time? The Winter Olympics’ lead singer, Andrew Wagstaff, is clear with his answer:

“The song had to be about the 90’s because it’s a true story.

“I know on the surface it’s just a list song, but it’s also a little love letter to a couple of friends I used to have in the 1990s. Most of the famous names in the song are just there as a bit of context.

“Sure we loved T2, Crooked Rain Crooked Rain and the X-Files, and we really did stop up when the Tamagotchi died, but that wasn’t actually the important part of the night. The people the song is really about most folk haven’t heard of, but they’re the ones I really miss.”

A lot of the material reviewed by this site comes with press notes which talk about the long and arduous journeys bands have taken to be heard “since their formation in September 2010?. The final line of course, makes this difficult to take seriously. Not so with The Winter Olympics who were actually formed the better part of a decade ago, although Andrew provides this knowledge with a slight wink.

“Martin (Bowman – guitarist) and I formed The Winter Olympics about eight or nine years ago.

“The early days were by-and-large an excuse to go to the pub on a school night. We would notionally book band practice, but there was no real guarantee that we’d get to it. The practice place we used to use would ring the pub around the corner to see if it was worth them wheeling in the amps or whether we were just having ‘talking practice’.

“It’s a bit embarrassing thinking back on it now, but we had a very good time.

“Just before we got together I’d been working as a music writer. I didn’t pick up many plaudits for my work, but I did get an idea of what I thought a really amazing band should be like, and would moan and moan at Martin about how there weren’t enough of them around.

“Eventually, he gave in and suggested we try and do it ourselves. It’s been a long, personnel heavy, march towards turning our great idea into a good band ever since, but it hasn’t been boring.”



After this, it became a case of fine-tuning their sound. A task which, as Andrew admits, took them a while.

“I don’t think it was necessarily our intention to become rock and roll dance punks!

“We were just trying to do the best we could. And for a long time the best we could manage was being a watered down Weezer. It’s only been in the last couple of years that we’ve been confident and (nearly) competent enough to let other influences come through.

“Martin has always been a big dance music fan while my heart lies closer to Castle Donnington, so I think the sound was pretty inevitable.

“It wasn’t really a conscious attempt to try and put the Dio in Disco.”

Nonetheless, he describes their approach as influence heavy and says that the originality of tracks like “I Miss The Nineties” and B-side “This Is The Fourth Time (I Have Been In Your House)” is down to a combination of the much different inspirations drawn-on by both sides of their song-writing partnership.

“I’ve always been a fan of a twisted pop song; songs that are bold and bright and obvious, but with something sinister or unexpected going on underneath. That was certainly the plan with ‘I Miss the Nineties ‘and ‘The Fourth Time (I’ve Been in Your House).’

“Hopefully, there’s something a bit more to them than first meets the ear, and I think that comes down to the band’s love of the Pixies. On top of them, my musical upbringing was pretty metal – big hairy stadium acts like Van Halen, Kiss and Priest – and that’s definitely informed our stage show, you know, it’s important to make sure that the people at the back can see what you’re doing.

“Martin doesn’t like it when I get too meat-and-potatoes metal, though. He’ll ask: “What’s the point in rock without the roll?”. Weirdly for a lead guitarist growing up in the Nineties, he always preferred Underworld to Nevermind, and trying to ensure that people can dance to our songs is usually the first thing on his mind when writing new material.”

As for goals going forward, the band are trying to stay relatively grounded:

“Our immediate goal is to get our album finished, and for it to be as good as it can possibly be. Unbelievably, it’s been nearly ten years in the making: Nine years of sitt - Loud Horizon

Monday (14th March 2011) sees the release of The Winter Olympics excellent new single “I Miss The Nineties” (reviewed here). In the run up to the release Kenneth John Porteous caught up with the band’s Andrew Wagstaff via a series of emails.



If you haven’t heard The Winter Olympics’ latest single “I Miss The Nineties” I heartily recommend you go and check it out. Here’s the video – go on, I’ll wait. You won’t be disappointed.



Back? Great. As you can no doubt tell, the song presents a sucker punch of nostalgia for a time period which now lies, quite scarily, two decades ago in a whole other century.
So you may be wondering: why bother eulogising such an ancient time? The Winter Olympics’ lead singer, Andrew Wagstaff, is clear with his answer:

“The song had to be about the 90’s because it’s a true story.

“I know on the surface it’s just a list song, but it’s also a little love letter to a couple of friends I used to have in the 1990s. Most of the famous names in the song are just there as a bit of context.

“Sure we loved T2, Crooked Rain Crooked Rain and the X-Files, and we really did stop up when the Tamagotchi died, but that wasn’t actually the important part of the night. The people the song is really about most folk haven’t heard of, but they’re the ones I really miss.”

A lot of the material reviewed by this site comes with press notes which talk about the long and arduous journeys bands have taken to be heard “since their formation in September 2010?. The final line of course, makes this difficult to take seriously. Not so with The Winter Olympics who were actually formed the better part of a decade ago, although Andrew provides this knowledge with a slight wink.

“Martin (Bowman – guitarist) and I formed The Winter Olympics about eight or nine years ago.

“The early days were by-and-large an excuse to go to the pub on a school night. We would notionally book band practice, but there was no real guarantee that we’d get to it. The practice place we used to use would ring the pub around the corner to see if it was worth them wheeling in the amps or whether we were just having ‘talking practice’.

“It’s a bit embarrassing thinking back on it now, but we had a very good time.

“Just before we got together I’d been working as a music writer. I didn’t pick up many plaudits for my work, but I did get an idea of what I thought a really amazing band should be like, and would moan and moan at Martin about how there weren’t enough of them around.

“Eventually, he gave in and suggested we try and do it ourselves. It’s been a long, personnel heavy, march towards turning our great idea into a good band ever since, but it hasn’t been boring.”



After this, it became a case of fine-tuning their sound. A task which, as Andrew admits, took them a while.

“I don’t think it was necessarily our intention to become rock and roll dance punks!

“We were just trying to do the best we could. And for a long time the best we could manage was being a watered down Weezer. It’s only been in the last couple of years that we’ve been confident and (nearly) competent enough to let other influences come through.

“Martin has always been a big dance music fan while my heart lies closer to Castle Donnington, so I think the sound was pretty inevitable.

“It wasn’t really a conscious attempt to try and put the Dio in Disco.”

Nonetheless, he describes their approach as influence heavy and says that the originality of tracks like “I Miss The Nineties” and B-side “This Is The Fourth Time (I Have Been In Your House)” is down to a combination of the much different inspirations drawn-on by both sides of their song-writing partnership.

“I’ve always been a fan of a twisted pop song; songs that are bold and bright and obvious, but with something sinister or unexpected going on underneath. That was certainly the plan with ‘I Miss the Nineties ‘and ‘The Fourth Time (I’ve Been in Your House).’

“Hopefully, there’s something a bit more to them than first meets the ear, and I think that comes down to the band’s love of the Pixies. On top of them, my musical upbringing was pretty metal – big hairy stadium acts like Van Halen, Kiss and Priest – and that’s definitely informed our stage show, you know, it’s important to make sure that the people at the back can see what you’re doing.

“Martin doesn’t like it when I get too meat-and-potatoes metal, though. He’ll ask: “What’s the point in rock without the roll?”. Weirdly for a lead guitarist growing up in the Nineties, he always preferred Underworld to Nevermind, and trying to ensure that people can dance to our songs is usually the first thing on his mind when writing new material.”

As for goals going forward, the band are trying to stay relatively grounded:

“Our immediate goal is to get our album finished, and for it to be as good as it can possibly be. Unbelievably, it’s been nearly ten years in the making: Nine years of sitt - Loud Horizon

Aside from apologising for this being late (the song came out a week ago) I don't know how to start with this. So here goes: 'I Miss The Nineties' is more than just a massive sounding glam-pop song. It's the 'All My Friends' for the kids of the 1990s.

Although arguably it relies on the audience borrowing some nostalgia of the decade from the band the sentiments expressed seem nothing but genuine. Cultural references from MegaDrive to Bill And Ted are reeled of almost constantly throughout the song and (superb accompanying video) until the track climaxes with the emotional crux “I miss the people that we were / I miss the ones we might have been”

And, wallop! That's one to the gut, that along with spotting all of the references to the films and TV that you grew up with, keeps you coming back to 'I Miss The Nineties'. Admittedly it does help that this latest single by The Winter Olympics has possibly the catchiest chorus of the year so far, but I think it's one that's destined for the End of Year List.

Listen to it NOW!

You can find out more about The Winter Olympics here and buy the single either on CD or Cassette at their online store. - Keep/Pop/Loud

Aside from apologising for this being late (the song came out a week ago) I don't know how to start with this. So here goes: 'I Miss The Nineties' is more than just a massive sounding glam-pop song. It's the 'All My Friends' for the kids of the 1990s.

Although arguably it relies on the audience borrowing some nostalgia of the decade from the band the sentiments expressed seem nothing but genuine. Cultural references from MegaDrive to Bill And Ted are reeled of almost constantly throughout the song and (superb accompanying video) until the track climaxes with the emotional crux “I miss the people that we were / I miss the ones we might have been”

And, wallop! That's one to the gut, that along with spotting all of the references to the films and TV that you grew up with, keeps you coming back to 'I Miss The Nineties'. Admittedly it does help that this latest single by The Winter Olympics has possibly the catchiest chorus of the year so far, but I think it's one that's destined for the End of Year List.

Listen to it NOW!

You can find out more about The Winter Olympics here and buy the single either on CD or Cassette at their online store. - Keep/Pop/Loud

"In the grand tradition of Blur's Girls & Boys, this Brummie-Aussie-Basingstoke five-piece's contribution to the Word CD hymns the ups and downs of holiday romance. There’s even a hands-in-the-air piano bit reminiscent of a beachside rave in the middle." - Word Magazine - Cover CD November 2010 - Word Magazine

"In the grand tradition of Blur's Girls & Boys, this Brummie-Aussie-Basingstoke five-piece's contribution to the Word CD hymns the ups and downs of holiday romance. There’s even a hands-in-the-air piano bit reminiscent of a beachside rave in the middle." - Word Magazine - Cover CD November 2010 - Word Magazine

"TIP FOR THE TOP - The Winter Olympics band will make you want to jump up and down" - The People, Sunday Oct 31st 2010 - The People

"TIP FOR THE TOP - The Winter Olympics band will make you want to jump up and down" - The People, Sunday Oct 31st 2010 - The People