leebrennan

29 years ago today 911 was officially launched at the Pagoda nightclub in Carlisle. No record deal, no money, no big songwriters, no big agents, just a small team of driven and passionate people who believed in the project as much as we all did. When I met Steve Gilmour our manager in Feb 1995, he said, if we make it, which is a very long shot, it may last one year, two max! I said I’d quit my job at Hollywood Bowl and move to Glasgow and go for it as I was a risk taker! Spike & Jimmy were already performing as dancers around the UK on big roadshows for radio stations back then and had built up a really good fan base who loved what they could do on stage. We all moved into Steve’s house in Glasgow and we all didn’t have a clue what to do or how to get noticed. But with determination of all our team and our desire to do all of the ground work and hundreds of gigs for nothing to build our fanbase, we started to create a stir in the pop industry. Who are these 3 guys who don’t have a record deal or big money behind them but are selling out their own shows! We released two singles on our own independent record label and to the amazement of the record industry we had two UK top 40 hits, one a cover version that reached No.38 and our second single, an original song from a new Scottish writer, which reached No.21! Eventually on my birthday 27th Sept 1996, Virgin Records signed us and we released our third song but first on a major label, which reached No.10! A run of ten consecutive top 10 hits followed (the only 4 other British acts in the 90s to do that were Steps, Oasis, George Michael & Take That) I am so proud of the success we had that we are still around doing big shows and selling out our own shows 29 years later. Nothing was handed to us on a plate, we worked our arses off and had to fight for everything, we still do, we never gave up. Last year we had a huge hit with I Do, unbelievable! When you and a great team believe in the project, along with amazing fans, big things can happen! Any memories you have to share, drop them in the comments below and thanks for all your support to me, Spike & Jimmy ❤️x