Reamonn

• Genre: Brit Rock
• Reamonn Website

About

Like many bands, the genesis of Reamonn started with an ad in the paper -- this one stating: "Irish singer looking for band for recording and tour." Drummer Mike Gomezz first contacted Rea (who took out the ad), who said he knew a keyboardist named Sebi, who knew a guitarist named Uwe, who knew a bassist called Phil and in no time at all the German band Reamonn was born. The band started playing small shows with a handful of original songs and were able to impress the locals enough to create a following. Eventually the band got the ear of music industry and found themselves in the middle of a bidding war. Once the band declared Virgin the winner, they headed into the studio and started work on their debut album, Tuesday. In the summer of 2000, the band released their first single, "Supergirl," which quickly became a huge hit for quintet, going on to become the most played song on German radio that year. Reamonn spent the better part of 2001 on the road in support of their debut and then headed back into the studio to record album number two. Thought by many as a one-hit wonder, Reamonn felt they had something to prove with their next album, Dream No. 7. Released in 2001, the band's sophomore effort got a friendly start, thanks in part, to a cameo appearance in the German movie Mondscheintarif in which the boys played themselves. The song Reamonn performed in the movie, the sweeping, atmospheric "Weep," went on to become another huge hit for them and effectively silenced their critics. With this release, Reamonn toured all of Europe and made many new fans. Reamonn went over so well in places like Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Istanbul, Poland, Ireland, South Africa and Sweden (to name a few) that when their third album, Beautiful Day, was released in 2003, the band headlined stadiums that held 20,000-30,000 fans, making them one of the few German bands who have managed to gain international acclaim. In fact, experiencing Reamonn live is probably the best way to get to know the band, so with that in mind, the band released a live disc, Raise Your Hands, in 2004.

- Linda Ryan