Early Meeting
O'Donoghue and Sheehan met in their late teens in the James's Street area of inner-city Dublin, near the Guinness brewery, gravitating to each other through a shared obsession with music, and in particular a love of American black music. "At that time, MTV only came on in Dublin after midnight, it was the fuzzy channel, and for my generation black culture was just a wave through us all," explains Sheehan. "It wasn't about gangs and guns; it was fashion and fun, singing and dancing."[2]
Striking up a songwriting and production partnership, O'Donoghue and Sheehan's talent was recognized early, and, to their astonishment, they found themselves invited to the States to collaborate with some of their production heroes, including such legends of modern R&B as [[Dallas Austin], Montell Jordan and Teddy Riley].[2] They were based in the US for many years, but moved back to Dublin where they recruited Glen for their new band. Glen Power had been playing sessions from fifteen years old, using the money to work on a solo project in his home studio. But that went on hold when his collaboration with Marc and Danny produced three songs in one week. "I had never had a chance with any other band to express myself with such freedom." The band signed to Phonogenic in Spring 2007, and released an EP on Last.FM. The band's influences include a diverse group of artists that include U2, The Police, The Neptunes, Timbaland, and Van Morrison, all of which contribute to their distinct sound..[3]
Marc and Danny were formerly part of a band that had formed in 1996 called MyTown. They achieved moderate success in Ireland and the UK but were overshadowed by the thriving boyband circuit. There were originally four members; Danny O'Donoghue, Marc Sheehan, Terry Daly and Paul Walker.
[edit] Breakthrough and The Script
Their debut single "We Cry" received "Single of the Week" on RTÉ 2FM, Today FM and by Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 1,[4] and was Kevin Hughes' tune of the week on GCap Media's The One Network show Music Control. We Cry was released on the 24th of April 2008[5] and entered the UK Singles Chart at number thirty before rising and peaking at number 15 the next week,[6] giving the band their first top twenty single. The track also performed well on the Irish Singles Chart by reaching the top ten, peaking at number nine giving them their first top ten single in their home country.[7]
Their second single, "The Man Who Can't Be Moved," was released on the 25th of July 2008.[8] This single proved to be their international breakthrough hit and their most successful single to date. After debuting at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart, it rose twenty seven places to land at number three, making it their first top three single in the UK. It would peak at number two, being held off the top spot by Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl". It has spent twenty one weeks in the Top 40 to date. The song performed well on the Irish Singles Chart. After a top ten debut, the single peaked at number two, again being held off the top spot by "I Kissed A Girl". The song was also popular in Denmark, peaking at number two.
The band released their debut album, The Script on the 11th of August 2008. Following the success of The Man Who Can't Be Moved, the album entered the UK Singles Charts at number one with sales of 54,520 copies[9] where it stayed for two weeks. The album spent eight weeks in the top ten and was the twelfth best selling album in the UK of 2008.[9] The album also entered the Irish Album Chart at number one, holding the top spot for five weeks.[10] It had, of January 2009, spent twenty two weeks in the top ten. The Irish office of Sony BMG music presented the group with their first multi platinum award disc for over 600,000 sales of their debut album, ‘The Script’.[11]
The band's third single "Breakeven" was released in Ireland on November 21, 2008 and in the UK on November 24, 2008. The single was a slow burner on the Irish Singles Chart. After entering the chart at number forty nine, it spent ten weeks before entering the top ten at number ten giving the Script their third top ten single in Ireland. The single has, to date, spent thirteen weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 23. It was exclusively revealed that "Talk You Down" will be the fourth single to be released by the Script in March 2009.[12]
On November 9th The Script received an award at the World Music Awards for 'Best Selling Irish Act' of 2008. The band has confirmed that they plan to write a track for Leona Lewis's second album.[13] In December 2008, the band were confirmed to be supporting Take That at their concert at Croke Park on June 13, 2009.
In January 2009, it was announced that The Script were nominated for a number of awards at the 2009 Meteor Ireland Music Awards which will be announced on March 17, 2009 and in the same month it was also announced they are up for Best Album at the Choice Music Prize to be announced in early March.
The Script have been confirmed for Oxegen 2009 and will also headline the 50th Trinity Ball, on May 8th, 2009.
A March 17, 2009 USA release of The Script self-titled debut album was announced by Epic Records/Sony Music on January 29. The band will also be featured in VH1's promotion You Outta Know.
In February 2009, the band announced they would be releasing their fourth single Talk You Down will be released on March 13th in the Republic of Ireland and March 16th in the UK. A later release for the Scandinavian and Central European markets will be announced in due course.
The video for the single had its UK debut on Channel 4, during T4, on February 22nd. It was directed by Irish duo D.A.D.D.Y in LA and featured celebrity blogger Perez Hilton.
