KOOPA are from Essex in England. The band formed in 2000 and its members are brothers Stuart (drums) and Oliver Cooper (vocals & guitar), and Joe Murphy (vocals & bass).
HISTORY Originally called 'Elastic Flange' the boys went into the studio to record some songs and start rehearsing. Four tracks were produced, two of which stuck out from the rest: 'Friday' and 'Parents Vs Kids'. Ollie managed to play the tracks to some representatives of record and management companies whilst attending a 'Rock-School' in Brighton in September 2002. They all seemed suitably impressed and took copies of the tracks home with them.
The next twelve months were very busy for the boys outside of the band. With school, college and heavy work commitments dominating their time they only managed a few gigs, one of which in August 2003 was a local band competition, which they won. In August 2003, out of the blue they received a phone call from one of the companies who had taken the CD 12 months previous, who revealed that they had been listening to the songs for a while.
Various meetings with producers, publishers and record labels started. The band recorded a few tracks at a studio in Brighton for 'B-Unique' Records and a few in London for 'EMI Records.' The companies seemed pleased with the results and offered some more recording time. The band declined the offer and decided to go back to their original formula for the new demos and record them themselves. In 2004 the band decided to change its name to KOOPA. From 2004 till 2007, the band toured relentlessly, both locally and nationally. During this period, they released two singles, ‘No Trend’ and ‘Stand Up 4 England’ which both made the top 75 singles chart. ‘Stand Up 4 England’, a World Cup related song supporting the England national football team featured on the 2006 release of 'England The Album', which reached #1 in the album charts earning the band a gold disc. At the end of 2006 the band made available a non-chart-eligible E.P. called 'Three in a Bed with Bobby George'. The cover featured just that with the band in bed with the legendary darts player. The E.P. 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 bands 'Download-only' history making single. BREAKTHROUGH In January 2007 the band succeeded in creating a buzz not seen for years in the music industry. Changes in the official UK chart rules in the UK meant that songs which are not released on 'physical' formats (such as CDs or on vinyl) would now be legible to chart through downloaded copies. KOOPA's single 'Blag, Steal & Borrow'charted at #31 on 14th January making it the first single to chart without ever being 'released' in the traditional sense. (see Unsigned band make chart history).
