Sunday, November 25, 2007

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   Codes from Dublin and surrounding hinterlands have released their 2nd single, which is an amazing feat in itself, after the trouble the band has gone through to get to this point..

  

  The band first formed back in 1996 when they called themselves ''The Commodores'' but apparently that name was taken, and despite 6 months of legal proceedings, they were forced to rename themselves as the very orignal ''Lost'' . The band enjoyed limited success in the early days in Dublin and in September of 1998 the decided to start afresh with a move to Copenhagen, where they burst onto the scene with such songs as ''Dirty old Town'' and ''Tinkers Are Doin' it for Themselves"

  

  Having finally achieved the success they sought, they found it came at a price. Bass player Stephen "Burkinator" Burke got heavily involved in recreational drugs and illegal underground bingo rings, almost ripping the talented band apart. Tragically on March 18th 1999, Stephen was found dead in a roadside motel, after suffering an overdose from the fatal combination of heroin, horse tranquilizers, whiskey and the ingestion of several  counterfeit bingo cards.

  The band subsequently returned to Dublin, heart-broken and in search of a new melancholy sound to mirror their feelings of loss after Stephen's demise. They found their creative answer in the form of a new band member, known only as Ray. Following a night of heavy drinking and drug use in a well known Dublin hotel, Ray appeared in the band's suite and refused to leave. Luckily for the band it turned out he was a good bass player as well as a talented stone-mason, and the band needed no further encouragement to add him to the line up. Ray wrote the bands comeback hit 'Bingo Kills' and also carved the headstone for Stephen's grave which is still in use to this day.

  The band enjoyed major success in Dublin and developed a huge cult following in Japan where in March of 2006 they were invited to perform in front of the Japanese Prime Minister. But that came at a price for the group as Alan the lead guitar player was introduced to Bruno Harazicuszu who was employed as security for the band on the tour. Fate intervened as Bruno and Alan fell quickly in love and Alan decided to quit the band and stay in Japan to ply his trade as a gay couples counsellor.

  

  The remaining members of the band decided to give it one last throw of the dice and with Alan being such a major part of ''Lost'' the band decided that one last name change was required. After much soul searching the band decided to overhaul their sound and decided on the name ''Codes'' (a tongue-in-cheek tribute to drummer Paul's inability to remember his bank or phone pins) and now with their 2nd single about to hit the shops (download only) there is huge pressure on them to top the heights that are now known as the ''Copenhagen years''. We wish them every success.

   

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