Amsterdam (band)

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Amsterdam
Origin	Liverpool, England
Genre(s)	Pop
Years active	1999—present
Label(s)	Beat Crazy Records, CIA Recordings
Associated acts	Christy Moore, Ian McNabb, Elvis Costello
Website	www.amsterdam-music.com
Members
Ian Prowse, Johnny Barlow, Paul Hagan, Kevin Spurgeon, Pete O'Connor, Anna Jenkins

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Amsterdam are a six-piece pop band from Liverpool, England. Formed in 1999, they had their first UK top 40 single with "The Journey" in February 2005. The band members are Ian Prowse (vocals/guitar), Johnny Barlow (guitar), Pete O'Connor (drums) Paul Hagan (bass guitar), Kevin Spurgeon (keyboards), and Anna Jenkens (violin).

[edit] Biography

Amsterdam were formed on Merseyside in 1999, and the following year won an NME competition to find the best unsigned band of 2000. They were also among the winners at the prestigious music business event In the City. Amsterdam appeared on an EMI compilation album, Mersey Boys and Liverpool Girls, alongside Paul McCartney and other Liverpool greats. They performed sell out shows in Liverpool and London to critical acclaim, and played three tracks on Janice Long's BBC Radio 2 show.

Elvis Costello invited the band to play with him live on BBC TV's Jonathon Ross Show to promote his new single. This was followed by opening for Costello in Amsterdam and at the Kings Arena in Liverpool, on his world tour. Amsterdam also made the last-ever John Peel Festive Fifty with "Does This Train Stop on Merseyside?".

Following the recruitment of new bassist Paul Hagan, the band signed to London-based indie label Beat Crazy Records, and recorded their debut album, The Journey. The first single "The Journey", reached number 32 in the official UK top 40 in January 2005. The follow up "Does This Train Stop on Merseyside?" also hit the charts in June 2005, to be followed by the album release. The third single, "Takin' On The World", was playlisted on BBC Radio 2 and many other stations, charting in October 2005.

The band officially announced on the 14th June 2006 that they had parted company with the record label Beat Crazy. A live album, 1,2,3,4 was released, featuring 15 live tracks,^[1] and a new studio album Arm In Arm was released on 17th March 2008.