| Crackout | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Oxford, England |
| Genres | Pop punk / indie |
| Years active | 1997–2005 |
| Labels | Shifty Disco (1998) Hut Recordings (2001 - 2004) |
| Associated acts | Blackholes, Out of the Afternoon |
| Members | |
| Steven Eagles Nicholas Millard Jack Dunkley |
|
Crackout were a pop punk / rock / jazz influenced trio who formed in Oxford, England in 1997. As well as releasing two albums and a handful of singles, they toured with artists such as Seafood, Haven and Span before disbanding in late 2005. One notable aspect of the band's concerts was drummer Nick Millard's insistence on wearing a suit for every show. Steven Eagles and Jack Dunkley later adopted the suited look when touring the Oh No! album.
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The band, Steven Eagles (guitar, vocals), Nicholas Millard (drums) and Rachel Lavelle (bass), were all 16 years old when they signed to the Shifty Disco label after playing only eight gigs as 'Crackout' (named after 'Brian Krakow', a character in American TV teen drama, My So-Called Life). Within four weeks of the record label first seeing the band live, they had recorded and released their debut "Chuck" single. An album was also recorded around this time, but was never released. Lavelle was quickly replaced on bass by Jack Dunkley.
Crackout toured with Sick Of It All / 28 Days in late December 2000, where they sold a self-released tape containing early recordings of "Breakout" and "Joey Lost His Mind" (both later re-recorded and included on debut album This Is Really Neat). "EP1", a 500-limited edition CD with four songs showing early promise, and "EP2" shortly followed in 2001. Both EPs came with a free sticker and in a hand-numbered cardboard sleeve, finished with a wax seal (red on "EP1"; green on "EP2"). Their debut album, This Is Really Neat, was released that October featuring artwork by Jane Wooster-Scott.
In 2002, plans to release old favourite "Volume" (the B-side to their first single, later re-recorded and featured on This Is Really Neat) were scrapped when, "I Am The One", was used in an advert for Salomon Sports. "Volume" was therefore the only Crackout song not released as a single with its own music video.
After long delays, the band's follow up to This Is Really Neat was released in March 2004. However, the promotion for Oh No! was ended abruptly due to EMI deciding to close down Hut Recordings shortly after the album's release. Whilst making plans for a third album, their record producer friend Clive Langer asked them if they were interested in playing on a film soundtrack which he was scoring, which ended up with them being cast for small roles in Brothers of the Head, the 2006 mockumentary based on the 1977 novel by Brian Aldiss.
In 2005, Crackout toyed with the idea of adding an extra member to provide them with options with guitars, keyboards and backing vocals live. This led to a few low-key gigs with additional member Simon Plumbley in October that year. After playing these gigs, however, they felt like too much time had passed since their last shows and decided to disband Crackout.
However, 2006 saw Eagles, Millard, Dunkley and Simon now playing in a new group called 'Blackholes', who released "The Alcohol EP" themselves through their MySpace profile, featuring a couple of tracks played at their last few Crackout gigs.
Eagles, Millard and Dunkley have also played in French pop act Vanessa and the O's on a few of their live shows. It was announced in 2007 that Dunkley had left due to 'creative differences', with Alex Szrok replacing him on bass. In September of the same year, Blackholes decided to regroup, renaming the band 'Out Of The Afternoon' and they had brought in Anna Sales on keyboard and vocals.
Millard played drums for The Kooks whilst Paul Garred, the usual Kooks drummer, was injured.
Out of the Afternoon released their first record 'The Bird EP' on Leeds indie label tip toe records in April 2008
Crackout | Table of Contents | Walkthrough
| Crackout | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) | Konami (JP), Palcom (EU) |
| Japanese title | 謎の壁 ブロックくずし (Nazo no Kabe - Block Kuzushi) |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| System(s) | NES, Mobile |
| Players | 1 |
Crackout is the title of the European release of a paddle/breakout game originally released for the Famicom Disk System known as Nazo no Kabe - Block Kuzushi, which is translated as "The Riddle of the Wall: Block Destroyer". The game was developed by Konami, and while it is modeled heavily after the wall crash genre defining Arkanoid, Konami actually managed to publish this version just a few days before Taito published their own conversion of Arkanoid for the Famicom in late 1986
While Nazo no Kabe has a lot in common with Arkanoid, it departs from it in slight ways. It introduces concepts such as mid-bosses that must be hit multiple times before they are eliminated, something which is only seen at the very end of Arkanoid. Power-ups are provided by destroying the interfering monsters, and not the bricks. Throughout a few of the stages, letters can be revealed by various methods. The letters must be written down and unscrambled in order to enter the final code that will unlock the ending of the game.
A prototype was developed for the United States, but never released. Instead, the game was converted to the cartridge format and released for PAL NES systems under the name Crackout throughout Europe as well as Australia. It replaces the disk saving feature with a password system that allows players to continue where they left off the last time that they played. In 2001, Nazo no Kabe was released for play (with simplified graphics) on various cell phones in Japan.
 Famicom Disk System cover |
| Crackout | |
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| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) | Palcom |
| Release date | NES: 1991 (EU) 1991 (AU) |
| Genre | Breakout |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Age rating(s) | N/A NES |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Media | Cartridge NES |
| Input | NES Controller |
| Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough | |
 NES European Boxart |
 NES Australian Boxart |
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   | MySpace Profile - Crackout on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads |
| | Official Site - Crackout.com - crackout music Resources and Information. |
| | archived - crackout.com :: the official website |
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