Union Kid

Union Kid were a British indie rock group formed in Braintree, Essex in the late 1990's by Sean Tuohy (guitar/vocals), Mark Keates (drums), and Simon Dobson (bass).
Established in 1997, Union Kid described Braintree as the "punk rock capital of the world", partly in reference to the burgeoning local music scene at the time, and also because of the attention Braintree's The Prodigy had brought the town following their 1996 breakthrough.
Union Kid's musical style has been compared to The Replacements and Fugazi, with their sound described by the NME as "taut, tight, tense and superbly overmuscled post-hardcore punk rock’n’roll." The trio released material under their own record label, 1970 Recordings.
They came to the attention of the music press in 1999 with the release of their debut single "Fort Disney", which the NME called a "a twisted tribute to The Beach Boys’ ‘California Girls’ with extra souped-up guitars and a chorus the size of Weston-Super-Mare".They released two further EPs that year: "Here Comes Chunk...", and "He Is Mono". 1999 additionally saw the first of two Peel Sessions, recorded at Maida Vale Studios and broadcast on BBC Radio 1. They also appeared on Steve Lamacq's Evening Session.
Union Kid released their only album, the self-produced Candy Falls Here in August 2000. Recorded at the Cookie Palace and again released on 1970 Recordings, the album received positive reviews from NME and Drowned In Sound, who called it "possibly one of the debuts of the year so far." Candy Falls Here appeared on NME's Highest Rated Albums of the 2000s list.The album spawned three singles, "3% Seattle", "The Test", and "Triple A".
The band split after recording their second John Peel session in 2001.
==Links to Peel==
Peel had a copy of the band's white label release of 'Fort Disney' and played it on his 22 October 1998 radio programme. Further material from the group were played by the DJ, including nominating their single, '3% Seattle' , as one of his records of the month for July 2000 (Peel's Record Box). The band also recorded two sessions for his programmes between 1999 and 2001, before splitting up.
==Sessions==
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1. Recorded: 1999-04-06. First Broadcast: 16 June 1999
*Pickups / He Is Mono / Grody Squad / Killer Island
2. Recorded: 2001-01-07. First Broadcast: 24 January 2001
*Get This Message Back To Base / Slow Faze / 100Ml/Ground Zero
==Other Shows Played==
;1998
*22 October 1998: Fort Disney (CDS) white label
;1999
*15 June 1999: Home Team (white label)
*29 July 1999: 'Here Comes Chunk (7")' (1970 Recordings)
*04 August 1999: 'Pacific Bell (CD single - Here Comes Chunk )' 1970 Recordings
*12 August 1999 (Radio Eins): Here Comes Chunk (EP) 1970 Recordings
*15 August 1999 (BFBS): Here Comes Chunk ... (CD Single) 1970 Recordings
*09 September 1999 (Radio Eins): Nowhere DC (CD single - Here Comes Chunk ...) 1970 Recordings
;thumb|220x220px2000
*28 June 2000: 3% Seattle (single) 1970 Recordings
*06 July 2000: 3% Seattle (single) 1970 Recordings
*20 July 2000: 3% Seattle (single) 1970 Recordings
*July 2000 (FSK): 3% Seattle (single) 1970 Recordings
*25 July 2000: Fort Disney (LP – Candy Falls Here) 1970 Recordings
*09 August 2000: The Taking Of The Hill (LP - Candy Falls Here) 1970 Recordings
*12 September 2000: Get This Message Back To Base (EP - The Test) 1970 Recordings
*21 September 2000: Get This Message Back To Base (EP - The Test) 1970 Recordings
*21 September 2000 (Radio Eins): Get This Message Back To Base (EP - The Test) 1970 Recordings
*28 September 2000 (Radio Eins): Get This Message Back To Base (EP - The Test) 1970 Recordings
*November 2000 (FSK): Get This Message Back To Base (CD - The Test) 1970 Recordings
;2001
*15 February 2001: Last Of The Lo-Fi (CD Single - Triple A) 1970 Recordings
*22 March 2001: 'Incoming + Convert (CDS-Triple A)' (1970 Recordings)
==External Links==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
Category:Artists