Denzil

Denzil are a rock/powerpop band from Bournemouth, England, based around singer-songwriter Denzil Thomas. Denzil were signed to Giant Records in the USA in 1993 and put out one album, Pub, in 1994. Pub was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 1994.

Denzil were formed in Bournemouth during 1990 by singer/songwriter Denzil Thomas. Thomas had been playing folk clubs for about a year when he met producer/bassist Steve Ennever in a Bournemouth studio. The product of this was a local cassette called A Tape Called Denzil. Ecstatic local press reviews saw thousands of tapes being sold in a matter of months. By the time the band proper hit a stage in September 1990 they were already the most popular draw in town.

Over the next year or so, Denzil played far and wide in the UK, first picking up alternating drummers Andy Place and Jeremy Stacey and later finding guitarist Craig Boyd in nearby Portsmouth.

In 1992 the band attracted the attention of former William Morris Agency and Famous Music A&R Michael LeShay, when the drummer of a former Famous Music Publishing band from the UK sent him a 5-song demo CD. On the strength of Denzil's demos, Leshay was able to convince major label Giant Records to imprint his label Play Records and co-market and distribute a Denzil album in the US. So the band entered the studio in the early summer of 1993 armed with a sheaf of Thomas's songs to begin recording an album. The album was produced, arranged, and mixed by Steve Ennever.

Thomas's tunes and ability to evoke a story were matched with Ennever's simplistic arrangement and production during the making of the album. Denzil gradually selected songs that worked together as a concept that the stories mainly came from his local pub, the title was set. The resulting album had a "back to basics" feel and gritty soap-box narrative. Even before it was completed (which took over six months) the buzz at Giant had started in earnest.

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