About Out of the blue Out of the Blue (OOTB) has been making a-cappella popular in England for just over 7 years now... It all started with a certain Mr Derek Smith. Joining Oxford University in 2000, his decision to conjure up an all-male a-cappella group from mostly thin air (with a few wannabe pop stars...) has proved to be a turning point in the history of Oxford music.
October 2000 saw those brave pioneers come together: Stephen, John, Julian, Kyu, Philip, Rajat, Seb and of course, Derek. Out Of The Blue was born. The first gig on 27th November 2000, at the Legendary G&Ds Ice Cream shop, was just a taste of the journey ahead. Johannes and Joseph were two more recruits snapped up in the spring.
Come October 2001, and it was time for OOTB to be brought up to full complement - the arrival of Jason, Wes, Josh, Seb (jnr!) and Ben took the group to 14 members and full size. That year proved to be the breakthrough - reputation increased and the word spread quickly - this was the group to see. Bill Clinton agreed at a private performance... One trip to the Pacific North-West of America, several balls around the country (including the renowned Trinity Ball - Cambridge), and one studio album (Unexpected) later, the group had, in two short years, made its mark unforgettably on Oxford's music lovers.
2002-2003 saw a big change in personnel... Adam, Ben "B", Dave, Gus, James, Pedro, Tom, and Tim all pitched in and kept the performance to the top level the audiences had come to expect, with Vish and André joining in the spring. Things didn't slow down at all though, numerous gigs all around the country kept them busy during the year, with several trips outside England to cope with too. Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia, and America again all got their own taste of OOTB's quirky performance style. Then the group buried themselves in the studio again... the result? A brand-new 11-track album of fresh songs - "Third Addiction".
The first era of OOTB under the inspired and driven leadership of Derek Smith ends here.
October 2003 saw new leadership and new singers... but the same style and quality! New members on board Oxford's internationally acclaimed all-male a-cappella group were Ron, Mike and Ed A, and Out Of The Blue rocked the house at St John's for the second consecutive year. More new faces were added that Spring, in the form of Ed B, Andy, Daz and Todd, and the group went from strength to strength: moving on from the playhouse show of the previous year, OOTB performed a one-night show at the New Theatre in 2004 to an audience of 1600! The Summer of 2004 also saw OOTB's first trip to Edinburgh where they enjoyed a very successful debut run of 10 shows at C Venues, releasing their next album, House of cards.
Another large change in personel (and leadership) was seen in October 2004, with the arrival of Simon, Johannes, Alex, Matt, Harry, Jason, Tim and Rich, with James and Shaun joining in the spring. Continuing where the previous group had left off, they wowed audiences across the world as their repertoire became even more diverse, adding some RnB to the growing genres the group performed. Their first appearance on international television was on this year's east coast USA tour where they appeared on the CBS early show to an audience of 18 million! This year also showed successful performances at St John's and the New Theatre as well as an extended run at the Edinburgh festival (17 shows). This was also the year that this new website was launched, complete with its capacity to sell CDs directly through the website. This year's album, Freefall, boasts a good collection of modern arrangements, as well as two live tracks from the June 2005 New Theatre show!
By October 2005, OOTB is a well established group that changes its leadership and many of its members annually. This year, the group welcomed Haz, David, Arden, Marc, Tom G and the returning member, Tom S. The spring also saw the arrival of Ben. As expected, the group continues to improve and evolve, both musically and in other ways. December 2005 saw a run of 4 successful shows at the Jacqueline DuPre building in St Hilda's. The group also reached an important landmark in February 2006, where they hosted and won the first ever European regional of the ICCA (International competition of collegiate a cappella). Here, they picked up not only the overall first prize at this competition, but also the outstanding soloist and outstanding vocal percussion awards.
After an incredible tour to the US West Coast, Out of the Blue returned to Oxford for a short breather, only to depart for New York in just over a fortnight to compete at the International Finals of the ICCAs. Competing with the best groups from all over the world, we came in 2nd - placing the UK firmly on the a cappella
world map!
Excitement turned to anticipation as we worked towards an adrenaline packed New Theatre show - with greater attention to choreography, lights and music gained through the experiences over an intense year - that evening proved to be a magical night for all.. Truly something special.
Driven by an inexplicable passion to get out there and just do it, Out of the Blue stormed the Fringe and completed an entire month-long run.. with sell- out shows every day, 5* reviews and contacts all over the world.
With OOTB going from strength to strength with each year, and 2005's group reaching commercial heights surpassing previous years, there was big pressure to choose a new group of guys to follow in the footsteps of all those years before, and with only Ben and Haz in a position to stay on, the future looked bleak for OOTB. Luckily October saw an awesome turn-out for auditions with over 120 guys vying for the 11 spaces! And from here, OOTB '06 was born. The new talent came in the form of Harry S, Deep, Stefan, Cal, Phil, Mark, Joe, Jonathan, Terry, Will and returning member Ben B. The group was set and under Haz and Ben's leadership first term saw them take off become properly initiated into the ways of OOTB. Over the Christmas holidays the group was invited up to perform at the world-famous Gleneagles hotel outside Edinburgh the night before New Year's Eve which provided a truly memorable night of unexpected luxury! Unfortunately it was in January that we had to see Stefan leave to pursue his studies, but this paved the way for returning member Rich who was more than capable of filling the space in the crucial half-way point of the year. Hilary term also saw the ICCAs in which we were ranked 2nd in Europe! In addition, we were also awarded for our breakthrough developments in choreography! Following our success at the competition we were primed and raring to go, and the Easter holidays saw a fantastic 2 and a half week tour to the East Coast of America as we ploughed our way through the likes of Mayland, Washingston Dc, New Rochelle, New Jersey, New York, Ithaca, Boston, Yale and Philadelphia singing for schools and guesting with acappella groups from colleges all over America.
Trinity term provided an extremely hectic term with the build up to the New Theatre gig and the music got tighter, the moves slicker, the tongue definitely more in cheek and the group was determined to put on a fantastic show for Oxford and live up to the reputation of the past years of OOTB. Fortunately, all out hard work paid off and it turned out to be a very memorable night in OOTB history, paving the way for much bigger things in the future.
As the summer came, preparations for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival were focussed and the end of August saw us with a sell-out month run, 5* reviews, guest appearances on variety shows and new fans from all over the world. It also provided the perfect springboard for the release of Redshift, which included recording in professional a cappella studios in America and continued to improve the developments in OOTB's album history.
With big plans for OOTB this year, don't hesitate - Audition now!
(Last updated September '07)
October 2000 saw those brave pioneers come together: Stephen, John, Julian, Kyu, Philip, Rajat, Seb and of course, Derek. Out Of The Blue was born. The first gig on 27th November 2000, at the Legendary G&Ds Ice Cream shop, was just a taste of the journey ahead. Johannes and Joseph were two more recruits snapped up in the spring.
Come October 2001, and it was time for OOTB to be brought up to full complement - the arrival of Jason, Wes, Josh, Seb (jnr!) and Ben took the group to 14 members and full size. That year proved to be the breakthrough - reputation increased and the word spread quickly - this was the group to see. Bill Clinton agreed at a private performance... One trip to the Pacific North-West of America, several balls around the country (including the renowned Trinity Ball - Cambridge), and one studio album (Unexpected) later, the group had, in two short years, made its mark unforgettably on Oxford's music lovers.
2002-2003 saw a big change in personnel... Adam, Ben "B", Dave, Gus, James, Pedro, Tom, and Tim all pitched in and kept the performance to the top level the audiences had come to expect, with Vish and André joining in the spring. Things didn't slow down at all though, numerous gigs all around the country kept them busy during the year, with several trips outside England to cope with too. Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia, and America again all got their own taste of OOTB's quirky performance style. Then the group buried themselves in the studio again... the result? A brand-new 11-track album of fresh songs - "Third Addiction".
The first era of OOTB under the inspired and driven leadership of Derek Smith ends here.
October 2003 saw new leadership and new singers... but the same style and quality! New members on board Oxford's internationally acclaimed all-male a-cappella group were Ron, Mike and Ed A, and Out Of The Blue rocked the house at St John's for the second consecutive year. More new faces were added that Spring, in the form of Ed B, Andy, Daz and Todd, and the group went from strength to strength: moving on from the playhouse show of the previous year, OOTB performed a one-night show at the New Theatre in 2004 to an audience of 1600! The Summer of 2004 also saw OOTB's first trip to Edinburgh where they enjoyed a very successful debut run of 10 shows at C Venues, releasing their next album, House of cards.
Another large change in personel (and leadership) was seen in October 2004, with the arrival of Simon, Johannes, Alex, Matt, Harry, Jason, Tim and Rich, with James and Shaun joining in the spring. Continuing where the previous group had left off, they wowed audiences across the world as their repertoire became even more diverse, adding some RnB to the growing genres the group performed. Their first appearance on international television was on this year's east coast USA tour where they appeared on the CBS early show to an audience of 18 million! This year also showed successful performances at St John's and the New Theatre as well as an extended run at the Edinburgh festival (17 shows). This was also the year that this new website was launched, complete with its capacity to sell CDs directly through the website. This year's album, Freefall, boasts a good collection of modern arrangements, as well as two live tracks from the June 2005 New Theatre show!
By October 2005, OOTB is a well established group that changes its leadership and many of its members annually. This year, the group welcomed Haz, David, Arden, Marc, Tom G and the returning member, Tom S. The spring also saw the arrival of Ben. As expected, the group continues to improve and evolve, both musically and in other ways. December 2005 saw a run of 4 successful shows at the Jacqueline DuPre building in St Hilda's. The group also reached an important landmark in February 2006, where they hosted and won the first ever European regional of the ICCA (International competition of collegiate a cappella). Here, they picked up not only the overall first prize at this competition, but also the outstanding soloist and outstanding vocal percussion awards.
After an incredible tour to the US West Coast, Out of the Blue returned to Oxford for a short breather, only to depart for New York in just over a fortnight to compete at the International Finals of the ICCAs. Competing with the best groups from all over the world, we came in 2nd - placing the UK firmly on the a cappella
world map!
Excitement turned to anticipation as we worked towards an adrenaline packed New Theatre show - with greater attention to choreography, lights and music gained through the experiences over an intense year - that evening proved to be a magical night for all.. Truly something special.
Driven by an inexplicable passion to get out there and just do it, Out of the Blue stormed the Fringe and completed an entire month-long run.. with sell- out shows every day, 5* reviews and contacts all over the world.
With OOTB going from strength to strength with each year, and 2005's group reaching commercial heights surpassing previous years, there was big pressure to choose a new group of guys to follow in the footsteps of all those years before, and with only Ben and Haz in a position to stay on, the future looked bleak for OOTB. Luckily October saw an awesome turn-out for auditions with over 120 guys vying for the 11 spaces! And from here, OOTB '06 was born. The new talent came in the form of Harry S, Deep, Stefan, Cal, Phil, Mark, Joe, Jonathan, Terry, Will and returning member Ben B. The group was set and under Haz and Ben's leadership first term saw them take off become properly initiated into the ways of OOTB. Over the Christmas holidays the group was invited up to perform at the world-famous Gleneagles hotel outside Edinburgh the night before New Year's Eve which provided a truly memorable night of unexpected luxury! Unfortunately it was in January that we had to see Stefan leave to pursue his studies, but this paved the way for returning member Rich who was more than capable of filling the space in the crucial half-way point of the year. Hilary term also saw the ICCAs in which we were ranked 2nd in Europe! In addition, we were also awarded for our breakthrough developments in choreography! Following our success at the competition we were primed and raring to go, and the Easter holidays saw a fantastic 2 and a half week tour to the East Coast of America as we ploughed our way through the likes of Mayland, Washingston Dc, New Rochelle, New Jersey, New York, Ithaca, Boston, Yale and Philadelphia singing for schools and guesting with acappella groups from colleges all over America.
Trinity term provided an extremely hectic term with the build up to the New Theatre gig and the music got tighter, the moves slicker, the tongue definitely more in cheek and the group was determined to put on a fantastic show for Oxford and live up to the reputation of the past years of OOTB. Fortunately, all out hard work paid off and it turned out to be a very memorable night in OOTB history, paving the way for much bigger things in the future.
As the summer came, preparations for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival were focussed and the end of August saw us with a sell-out month run, 5* reviews, guest appearances on variety shows and new fans from all over the world. It also provided the perfect springboard for the release of Redshift, which included recording in professional a cappella studios in America and continued to improve the developments in OOTB's album history.
With big plans for OOTB this year, don't hesitate - Audition now!
(Last updated September '07)
HISTORY