JJ72 is a rock music group, formed in Dublin, Ireland, in the late 90s by lead singer Mark Greaney and drummer Fergal Matthews. The two recruited the third and final member Hilary Woods as bassist and formed the trio, playing gigs In ireland while still studying for the Leaving Cert (The Irish equivalent of the A Level). They released their first album, the self titled 'JJ72' in Autumn, 2000, following the completion of the Leaving Cert. Released to great acclaim by music journalists and the fan buying public alike the album has sold in excess on 500,000 copies in their native Ireland and the UK. The album spawned the singles; 'Snow', 'October swimmer', 'Long way south', 'Oxygen' and 'Algeria', and saw the band tour Europe, America and Japan. The band follwed the release of the first album with the release of their second album, 'I To Sky' in October 2002. This release was panned by critics, however it reached top 5 in the Irish charts and top 10 in the British charts, which led to the singles; 'Formulae' and 'Always and Forever' being released from that album. All of the singles have reached top 40 in the UK and Ireland, the single 'Snow' reaching the highest position of top 30. In March 2003 bassist Hilary Woods left the band citing personal matters as the cause. Greaney and Matthews recruited another bassist, Sarah Fox, and the band continued as a three piece. The band are currently working on the third, currently untitled, album which is due to be released in the Spring of 2005. songs tipped to be on the album include, 'We'll Wait For You', 'Rainfalls', 'Coming Home', 'Maria', 'Everything' and 'Nothing in This World'. And only Greaney knows what the name of the band, JJ72, actually means. Speculative guesses include Janis Joplin's weight at the height of her demise, and a rather high, 72, number of Jam Jars that lined Greaney's classroom!

Discography

• JJ72 (2000)
• I To Sky (2002)

Websites

• http://www.jj72.com/
• http://www.jj72.org/