REAMONN
Members:
Rea Garvey
Uwe Bossert
Mike "Gomezz" Gommeringer
Sebastian Padotzke
Philipp Rauenbusch
Band History
In 1998, Rea Garvey, the former singer and guitarist of the Reckless Pedestrians, moved from Ireland to Germany. He initially made ends meet selling T-shirts at festivals and performing as a solo entertainer in pubs. He then moved to the vicinity of Wilhelmsdorf in the Ravensburg district and placed a newspaper advert (“Singer seeks band for album and tour”), to which Mike Gommeringer, Sebastian Padotzke, Uwe Bossert and Philipp Rauenbusch responded. They officially formed the band in November 1998. The band’s name comes from the Irish form of Garvey’s first name (Reamonn). On New Year’s Eve 1998/99, they played together for the first time in Stockach.
In April 1999, the band played a showcase, following which they received offers from several record labels. In June 1999, they signed a contract with Virgin Records, and in May 2000 their debut album *Tuesday* was released, reaching number 5 in the German charts. The first single released from the album, *Supergirl*, climbed to number 4 in the German charts. Reamonn supported the Guano Apes as well as HIM, a-ha and Robbie Williams. In 2000, the band played over 200 sold-out concerts, some of them abroad. The two subsequent albums, Dream No. 7 and Beautiful Sky, achieved gold and platinum status.
In 2001, Reamonn made a guest appearance in the German film *Mondscheintarif*, based on the bestseller by Ildikó von Kürthy, for which they contributed the single *Weep*. In the same year, the band collaborated with Jam & Spoon and Xavier Naidoo, and performed as the support act for the latter. The following year, Reamonn provided the theme tune for the ProSieben television production Fort Boyard with a cover version of ‘In Zaire – Place of No Return’. In February 2006, the band switched record labels and signed with Universal Music. In April 2006, their fifth album, Wish, was released. Due to health problems affecting Garvey, who had to undergo surgery on his vocal cords, the Wish tour planned for 2006 was postponed until early 2007.
In May 2007, a live recording of the concert in Oberhausen was released on CD and DVD under the title *Wish Live*. In September 2008, the band performed in the village of Walkersbach in Bavaria, which has a population of 120. The village had won the band in a competition run by the radio station Bayern 3. Around 15,000 people attended the free concert. In November 2008, the sixth album Reamonn was released. The first single, Through the Eyes of a Child, reached number 6 in the German charts.
In January 2009, they organised a promotion with the radio station SWR3. 80 SWR3 listeners were able to win a trip to Ireland with the band.
At the end of August 2010, it was announced that Reamonn would be splitting up after eleven years. The best-of album Eleven, which also features three new songs, was their final release. Reamonn played their final concert on 6 November 2010 at PV LIVE! at the Hanover Exhibition Centre.
©Wikipedia