The Immediate Family

Dublin four-piece the Immediate’s music adventure was as short as their title implies. Barely two years following the release of their debut single, the group split without warning, a shock for those who had predicted the group to become one of the U.K. music scene’s most important groups. Boasting a remarkably fluid lineup which allowed the four members to swap instruments at will (all four shared guitar and bass duties, for instance), their music was equally eclectic and subject to change at any moment from furious dance-punk to laid-back progressive pop and post-Kid A indie electronic music. The Immediate formed in Ballsbridge, an affluent suburb of Dublin, Ireland, at an undefined point in the late ’90s. Bringing together school friends David Hedderman (lead vocals, guitarist, and bassist), Conor O’Brien (vocals, guitar, drums), Peter Toomey (vocals, drums, bass), and Eoin O’Reilly (guitar), the fledging Immediate came under the wing of their school caretaker, who introduced the band to vital later influences including the Velvet Underground, Can, and Serge Gainsbourg. The group developed an innovative marketing strategy, hawking their early demo recordings to unsuspecting musicians in public places, reportedly launching a CD at a bemused Nicky Wire during a Manic Street Preachers concert in Dublin. The publicity worked, and in early 2005 legendary development label Fierce Panda Records released the group’s debut single, a limited 7″ edition of “Never Seen.” That March, the Immediate performed at Austin, TX’s South by Southwest Festival, and in June were featured alongside Angels of Mons and Republic of Loose on Faction Records’s compilation of the cream of young Irish music Faction ONE. The single was a success in the U.K., having been playlisted by BBC Radio 1, and later that year the Immediate signed with Sanctuary Records satellite Fantastic Plastic Records. Eoin O’Reilly left the group to be replaced by Barra Heavey, who introduced an electronic element to the band by way of keyboards. The second half of 2006 was devoted to recording their debut album with American producer Chris Shaw (Wilco, Super Furry Animals). The first fruit to be borne by these sessions was the four-track Make Our Devils Flow EP, released in April 2006. The EP charted at number 35 in the Irish singles chart, where it remained for a week. The group’s first and only full-length album, In Towers & Clouds, was released in Ireland in August 2005 and debuted at number 33, and remained in the Top 75 for three weeks. The Immediate were nominated as the 2006 Meteor Music Awards. In Towers & Clouds was nominated to receive the 2006 Choice Music Prize, which acknowledges the best album released by an Irish artist during calendar year. Though they lost out to the Divine Comedy, they were one of eight nominees to perform at the televised ceremony. In May 2007, the Immediate made the surprise announcement while on-stage at Dublin’s Trinity College Ball that they would disband with immediate effect, citing “existential reasons.” ~ Dave Donnelly