Remus - A band that could have been

Like a phoenix rising from the flames, the band that was to become Remus, first emerged from the dying embers of a renowned local covers band called Noose in the late summer of 2002. When the singer and drummer quit, guitarists Tim & Simon and Bass player James, who had always been frustrated by the inability to focus on original material, decided to form a new band and only play original compositions.

Freed from the need to learn entertaining but rather shabby (it was all in the delivery!) versions of U2, Radiohead, Streophonics and (yes) Metallica covers, and ably assisted by work colleague Mike on drums.



They set to work on a bunch of songs that would come to make up a 7 track EP – Signs (2003). This was released under the name of the previous covers band ('Noose'), although the band was the same line up as the initial 'Remus'.



Patchy in places, the 'Signs' EP was well received by the local press. Marco Rossi writing for the Dorset Evening Echo saying the EP ‘had a fresh and energetic spirit’. Standout tracks ‘I don’t want you to’, ‘Where the sun don’t shine’ & ‘Johnny’, made regular appearances when (much later) they eventually began to gig. The band were naturally pleased with the response the EP was getting, and in 2004 the decision was taken to change the name of the band to 'Remus', to reflect the fact that the band had morphed into an all original material band, with no interest in playing cover versions.

As 2004 melted into 2005, Simon, Tim and James wrote every week, and Remus gradually added more and more new songs to the pile of unrecorded material and so in the spring of 2005 decided to head back to Mike Hallets studio in Weymouth to start work on their first album proper – ‘Fighting against the tide’ (2005).



With a mix of rock songs played with acoustic rhythms, this was a much more confident and robust set than their debut EP, and there was a noticably higher quotant of original ideas within the songs than local bands are expected to have! The album had a striking cover of a man wading out to sea in a smart business suit and a suitcase, which further differentiated it from the usual 'shot of a band' run of the mill. The fact that (a rather bemused) James' life was 'saved' by a major police/coastguard 'rescue' operation during the photo shoot, and this was reported by the local press, only added to the folklore that was beginning to surround the band. The initial run of 500 CD’s was selling well within weeks. However, this occured without the promotion of gigging.

To ride the wave that the album was giving them, remus returned to the studio in the summer of 2006 to record 4 new tracks which made up the ‘Broken/Misunderstood’ single (2006).



The band felt that ‘Broken’ was by far the best song they had written and were very excited about the year ahead. But as is always the case, good things don’t always last. Mike the drummer had begun to grow disenchanted with life in Weymouth and in October 2006 decided to leave and start a new life away in London (well, Guilford as it turned out). This put a stop to any possibility of live work and for the next few months James, Simon & Tim carried on working on new material, but deep down felt that just after releasing their best set of songs to date, the opportunity to really push on had passed.

These fears grew more and more as 2007 moved on. New songs were coming thick and fast, James & Simon had played a number of acoustic sets in a couple of local pubs, but the search for a drummer was not yielding any real promising results. But then in August 2007, after one particularly frustrating band practice, Simon decided to place a ‘wanted’ add in the local Dorset Evening Echo. This didn’t actually lead to any direct applicants, but the Sub Editor of the newspaper was a drummer himself, and within a week had met with the band and had passed his first audition with flying colours! James actually commented at the time that in pure skill levels, we were going to have to pull out all the stops to keep up with our new drummer ‘Nick’. And so Remus were very much ‘Back’.



With a whole new bunch of songs to draw from, gigs were arranged and on the 21st December the new line up of Remus made their live debut at the ‘Tuatara Bar’ in Weymouth. From that point onwards the band hasn’t really stopped. 2008 has been their busiest year by far. Along with regular ‘pub’ gigs, Remus have played some massive outdoor festivals in Weymouth. Including the ‘Weymouth Sea Festival’ supporting ‘The Steeples’, and the ‘Cove House Festival’ in front of an estimated 3000 people (causing much speculation as to its future due to overcrowding).



The Cove festival proved a seminal moment for the band-playing an all original set (as ever) they played well, and as they left the stage after three quarters of an hour, they could feel the warmth of appreciation from the audience. The material written for the follow up to 'Fighting against the Tide' had been comprehensively proven. In August they had an interview with Maria Greenwood on Wessex FM, where they also played an acoustic version of ‘Broken’.



Early 2010 saw Remus complete their second album proper 'The Complete Piece Missing'. A much more rockier affair than 'Fighting Against the Tide' with a much more 'Live' sound. Big songs like 'Parachute' and 'Nightwalker' which had been polished live during 2008 and 2009, sat well with the more delicate numbers like 'Eden Rock' and 'This Autumn Storm'. The album showed a step on from their debut, not only in the quality of the songs, but also in their playing with new drummer Nick bringing snap and energy to the band.



The rest of 2010 & 2011 saw Remus taking their new album out onto the road and then, as these things tend to do, real life took over and the band that could have been was no more. After 16 years, countless live shows and (counting the early Noose recordings) six studio albums, the band went their separate ways. There is still a whole host of unrecorded material and maybe one day we may actually hear the (unofficial) movie soundtrack they were working on towards the end. Who knows, but for 16 years they gave this fan some pretty cool memories.

Thanks for the ride!