About The Hoosiers
The Hoosiers are an English pop rock band who were originally formed in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The band consists of members Irwin Sparkes and Alan Sharland .
Their first single "Worried About Ray" reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart in July 2007, whilst their debut album, The Trick to Life, reached number 1 on the UK Albums Chart in October 2007. In August 2010, the band released their second top 20 single, "Choices", and their second top 10 album, The Illusion of Safety.
When the band was formed in Indianapolis in 2003, Alan "Alphonso" Raymond Sharland and Irwin Nathaniel Sparkes spent some time in the United States, encouraged by their chemistry teacher Grant Serpell, , in an attempt to broaden their horizons. The pair won themselves a football scholarship at the University of Indianapolis, despite a reputed claim to be "allergic to running" .
Their time spent in Indiana inspired the band's name, as a citizen of Indiana is colloquially called a Hoosier. Having gathered enough material to compile an album, Sharland and Sparkes returned to London, where they met Swiss keyboard player and sound engineer Duri Darms and Martin Skarendahl, a Swedish ex-fireman who was then working with Darms as a recording studio engineer and studying at The London Music School. The original group included two band members who had left by this point, leaving Sparkes and Sharland to replace them with Skarendahl.
This newly revamped trio of Sparkes, Skarendahl, and Sharland subsequently signed to RCA and released their first album The Trick to Life on 22 October 2007. The band have spoken of their desire to write songs that are about more than just "boy and girl... finding love on a Friday night on the lash with your mates". In February 2008, they were named as Worst Band at the annual NME awards. They were produced by ex-member of Jamiroquai, Toby Smith, until his death in 2017, and managed by Steve Morton.
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