JJ72 (Mark Greaney, Sarah Fox, Fergal Matthews and Hilary Woods) were a brilliant and much underrated band. They may only have recorded two studio albums but both were full of some excellent songs. After releasing their self-titled debut album in 2000 it seemed that they were going to be a big success. The single, ‘Snow’ got a great deal of airtime and it reached an impressive number 21 in the UK charts.

Other singles that followed from the album included, ‘Algeria’, ‘Long Way South’, ‘October Swimmer’ and ‘Oxygen’. JJ72 received several very good reviews and were likened to The Smashing Pumpkins. Ironically, the band supported them when they played in Ireland. After the success of their first album, JJ72 returned to the studio to start work on their second…

‘I to Sky’ turned out to have a lot more depth to it than the previous album. Much of it concentrates on spiritual matters and even the sleeve notes are full of religious symbolism. As for material, there are some belting tracks. ‘Brother Sleep’ is a beautiful and mysterious song. It is almost like a cross between a lullaby and a song for the dead. ‘Serpent Sky’ is a response to the atrocity of the Twin Towers attack. It is loud, driven and full of righteous anger. ‘Sinking’ deals with the depression and isolation that plagues so many of us in this modern age. It is a very powerful song with a wonderfully dirty bass line. The excellent and catchy, ‘Always and Ever’ was released as a single as was ‘Formulae’.

In 2005 ‘Coming Home’ was released. A third album was soon to follow and if the single was anything to go by then it would have been JJ72’s strongest work to date. Some demos and B sides began to circulate, along with some rumours… Sadly they would prove to be true.

On June 22, 2006, JJ72 officially announced that it was all over with the band. Mark Greaney went on to form Concerto for Constantine whilst Sarah Fox became the bassist for Lluther.

So, I was talking to my brother who works in the city and he believes that there is massive money in buying stocks for kerosene suppliers. He is one of those sorts who is of the stance that America is trying to seize the world by taking over the Middle East. I must say I am getting sick to death of the fact that everyone seems to have the same argument on this.