HMTV DJ Tina host of HMTV Canada Ezine is the first lucky Ezine to cover the press release of Pied Piper Records inks a deal with British Sensation Koopa and Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 signs to produce Album. A must listen Koopa has been hitting the top charts in the UK on Radio! Check out this awesome band!
Koopa are a pop punk band from Sible Hedingham, near Colchester, Essex in England. The band formed in 2000 by brothers Stuart Cooper (drums), Oliver "Ollie" Cooper (vocals and guitar) and Joe Murphy (vocals, bass, production). The band became the first act to have a top 40 UK Singles Chart hit based on download sales only and the first act to have a charting single without being signed to a record label, both facilitated by then-recent changes to rules for eligibility for the singles chart. The band began working together whilst Ollie was a teenager at school. In 2003 they made some recordings with B-Unique Records and EMI, receiving interest from EMI, an advance that was rejected by the band.
Between 2004 and 2007, the band toured continuously, both locally and nationally. During this period, they released two singles on Mad Cow Records. "No Trend" made the top 75 singles chart, but failed to break into the better known Top 40. Their records included "Stand Up 4 England", a World Cup related song supporting the England national team, the lyrics of which were written for the band by Paul Baker. The single featured on the 2006 re-release of England (the album).
At the end of 2006 the band released a non-chart-eligible EP called "Three in a Bed with Bobby George". The cover featured the band in bed with the legendary darts player, Bobby George. The EP also featured "Erin's Main Obsession", "Pop Rock Factory", "How True" and "Unique" as well as "Blag, Steal and Borrow", the song that went on to become the band's download-only history making single. 2007: Breakthrough
In January 2007, changes to the chart rules in the UK meant that songs which are not released on physical formats (such as CDs or on vinyl) would now be eligible to chart through downloaded copies. Koopa's single "Blag, Steal & Borrow" was released through Ditto Music and charted at #31 on 14 January 2007, making it the first single to chart without ever being 'released' in the traditional sense.
Koopa were reported as being the first 'unsigned' band to reach the charts. Although "self-issued" records are fairly common for unsigned bands, the costs of doing so mean that it is relatively rare for enough copies of such records to be produced in order to gain a chart position. Wealthier artists who are able to fund their own record label have also previously charted without a record deal. KOOPA's achievement is to have entered the Top 40 Chart as an unsigned band through sales of downloads alone, there being no physical copy of the single in existence.
On 13 February 2008, again on MySpace, the band announced that their new record company; Pied Piper, had given them the opportunity to record an album in the US, which was to be produced by Mark Hoppus (Blink 182). The band also announced the album was receiving its final mix and that they would be main support for Bowling for Soup on a UK Tour. The album was mastered by Brian Gardiner and was released at the beginning of 2009. In August 2008 the band announced that the first single from the forthcoming album would be "Gimmie It Back" which was released on 24 November 2008.
