Mark Greaney
| Mark Greaney | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 June 1980 |
| Origin | Republic of Ireland |
| Genres | Alternative rock |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | Lakota Records |
| Associated acts | JJ72, Concerto for Constantine |
Mark Greaney (born 23 June 1980) is an Irish musician. He is best known as the singer and guitarist in the alternative rock band JJ72, which he fronted from 1996 until 2006. He was later the frontman of Concerto for Constantine and describes himself as "the perpetual writer of a solo record". Greaney is the Head of Education at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute.
Greaney played violin as a child, but gave it up at "about 12". He began writing songs in his mid-teens, as soon as he picked up a guitar. He counts music artists Joy Division, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Manic Street Preachers, Pixies, Depeche Mode, Nick Drake, Thom Yorke, Placebo and authors Wallace Stevens and James Joyce amongst his influences.
Greaney met drummer Fergal Matthews while studying at Belvedere College in Dublin, Ireland, forming a friendship to their mutual love of Joy Division and Nirvana. With Greaney assuming vocal and guitar duties, the duo formed JJ72 with bassist Garvan Smith. After Smith's departure, fellow student Hilary Woods was added as the band's bassist. Greaney was serious about the band and received support from his mother. Woods later described that the band's songwriting process stemmed from Greaney "coming in with the melody and lyrics and basically the three of us then evolve it into a JJ72 song". After saving their money, the band recorded demos and posted them to the offices of Select, Melody Maker, NME and BBC Radio 1 in the UK, which won them attention. They ignored the Irish music press, with Greaney later stating "we thought there were a lot more people in Britain, so let's try there". The band quickly began playing live (while studying for their Leaving Certs) and self-released their first single, Pillows (Oxygen) in 1999. JJ72 signed with Lakota Records (a subsidiary of Sony) in the summer of 1999 and released their first single on the label, October Swimmer, in November. The re-released Oxygen single (released in August 2000) gave the band its first Top 40 hit in the UK. The band's self-titled debut album followed the Oxygen single on 23 August 2000 and charted at no. 7 in Ireland and no. 16 in the UK, going on to sell in excess off 500,000 copies. The band performed their own headline tours and supported U2, Coldplay, Muse, My Vitriol, Embrace, Manic Street Preachers and The Dandy Warhols, wrapping their touring campaign supporting JJ72 in February 2002.
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