The Samples

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Biography

There are at least two bands with this name:
1) an American band formed in Boulder, Colorado, in early 1987
2) a British punk band from Worcester, England, formed in 1978

1. The Samples are an American band formed in Boulder, Colorado, in early 1987. The band’s name came from the members’ early sustenance of food samples from the local grocery store. The music has been described as “reggae influenced folk and rock/pop”. The founding members were Sean Kelly (Guitar/Vocals), Andy Sheldon (Bass/Vocals), Charles Hambleton (guitar), Jeep MacNichol (Drums/Vocals), and Al Laughlin (Keyboards, Vocals). They have not released an album since 2005. Since 2008, they have only performed live sporadically, and sometimes under the name “Sean Kelly and The Samples”.

Sean Kelly and Charles Hambleton met in 1985 in Burlington, Vermont at an open mic called The Sheik, leading to the formation of the band Secret City in 1986. After playing together in Burlington for a year, the pair moved to Boulder, CO and met up with Andy Sheldon, a friend and member of a prior band with Kelly. Jeep MacNichol joined the band as drummer after responding to an ad posted at the University of Colorado. After playing around the area, Al Laughlin saw the group perform at a frat party and asked if the group needed a keyboardist, an offer the band accepted.

The band gradually gained fame and released their first self-titled album The Samples on their own label. Following the release, they signed with Arista Records and re-released the same album in May 1989. However, the relationship with Arista was short-lived as irreconcilable differences quickly came up from the label’s desire to change their sound.

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  • Bantukov

    Perks of Being a Wallflower [2]

    22 May 10:59am Reply
  • wretched-one

    No Future Punks!!!!!

    18 Feb 7:37pm Reply
  • sagnikroychowdh

    Perks of Being a Wallflower!

    16 Jan 8:59am Reply
  • tacopanda1045

    g

    26 Sep 2012 Reply
  • DavosRancheros

    Haha I left The Samples playing on Spotify for a bit now my tag cloud claims I am into Glitch....lol

    21 Sep 2012 Reply
  • EmperoR_DoBi

    Hey last.fm: Samples ≠ The Samples [2^3]

    14 Apr 2012 Reply
  • psyphish

    Who the fuck are "The Samples"?! Fix this shit damn it.

    14 Apr 2012 Reply
  • barium62

    Hey last.fm: Samples ≠ The Samples [7]

    1 Apr 2012 Reply
  • dubstep-dude

    WTF last.fm, get with the program.

    6 Mar 2012 Reply
  • chadxz

    Hey last.fm: Samples ≠ The Samples. [6]

    20 Feb 2012 Reply
  • Lost_Perception

    I checked out my lastFM wondering who this new artist was.. Hey last.fm: Samples ≠ The Samples. Drop drop drop BOMBS! [5]

    6 Dec 2011 Reply
  • psyphish

    I've never heard of "the samples". Fix the tag issue damn it.

    20 Sep 2011 Reply
  • dopingue

    it's been more than a year and this confusion still hasn't been given attention. i don't have ben samples tagged as 'the samples', but simply 'samples'. it wouldn't be complicated to correct this, one would assume. owel.

    5 Aug 2011 Reply
  • DavosRancheros

    Jeeze...Glitch...really LastFM..maybe some sort of admin could help this situation out. Dont mix up multiple bands!

    12 Jul 2011 Reply
  • veekahn

    hey somebody already stared this, so i dont have to: Hey last.fm: Samples ≠ The Samples. Drop drop drop BOMBS! [4]

    14 May 2011 Reply
  • musicdemarshall

    Hey last.fm: Samples ≠ The Samples. Drop drop drop BOMBS! [3] Fix this naow!!

    24 Apr 2011 Reply
  • glitchpanda

    Word. Samples is the correct tag for Ben Samples, fix this please. Tired of "the samples" showing up, when its correctly tagged.

    28 Feb 2011 Reply
  • powalone8

    Hey last.fm: Samples ≠ The Samples. Drop drop drop BOMBS! [2]

    3 Jan 2011 Reply
  • ALEX_wave_BELL

    "Hey last.fm: Samples ≠ The Samples."!Yeah!WTF?

    2 Jan 2011 Reply
  • mightykendar

    Evidently there was also a 1980s British Oi! style punk band called The Samples? http://uk82.150m.com/bands/samples.html

    14 Dec 2010 Reply
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