The Courage

The Courage was a British britpop band from the mid-late 90s.

The Courage were a successful British band with a smattering of hits in the mid to late ninties. They were one of the founding, and most popular, bands of the 'Britpop' era. The band was made up of two regulars, David 'Barney' Barnard on guitars, vocals and piano and Tom Ford on guitars and vocals. The remainder of the band were made up of various session musicians, who were constantly revolving and evolving. Barnard and Ford were the sole song writers and collaborated on numerous top twenty singles, the biggest being the Number 3 hit War. They disbanded in 1998, with rumours continuing to this day on whether they will join forces once again.

Beginnings

The Courage's founding members were close friends from school. David Barnard (b. 25 July 1980) and Tom Ford (b. 12 August 1980) first met at Brookfield Secondary School in their home town of Locks Heath. They stated in their first interviews that they had no time for school, choosing to spend most of their days learning their instruments:

'We used to bunk off school whenever we got the chance. Tom lived across the road so we used to go back to his and practice our guitar skills in his garage. I think the only lesson we didn't miss was PE on a Wednesday afternoon. That was when we knew we had what it takes to form a band.'

The remaining school years helped them shape their sound. They left school in the summer and moved to Itchen College where they continued to grow musically, incorporating organ and piano into their guitar sound. They also developed their 'mod' look at college, with frequent pilgrimages to Carnaby Street to pick up Fred Perry, John Smedley and Farah clothing. This was to be their look, along with other Britpop bands for the rest of the decade. After college, Barnard chose to carry on studying at University, with Ford choosing the path of work, mainly to fund their growing obsessions in all things musical. Whilst at university, Barnard and Ford got together and wrote their first creditable song, War.

'We wrote it at Dave's uni digs. We had been out drinking all night and got back and as usual we got the guitars out. I always find a few drinks helps loosen the mind. I had some lyrics that had a sort of Doors quality to them. We sat on the bed and jammed around with them for a while, before coming up with the sound we wanted. That was the the seed of the song War. It developed from there.'

Whilst Barnard was at university, the band was christened on an inspired drinking session down the local British legion. A friend, Rick Limburn (who was to also play on the bands early records) decided they should be called The Courage after eying up an ash tray which had the name on (advertising a beer). It was agreed, the band shall be called The Courage. This replaced their existing band name Willy And The Walnuts. They had previously released one single under their previous guise, 'Do The Walnut', which was a limited release of 200 units. Whilst stockpiling songs, recorded at Barnard's parents country house they continued to gig around the local area. It was at one of these gigs that a record executive heard them and excitedly called for them to join his label, Rogue Trade.

The roof-top gig

Prior to the release of War, The Courage performed a promotional concert on the roof-top of the Locks Heath Centre's Co-operative (then called Pioneer). A large crowd quickly gathered in the car-park and photographs of Barnard and Ford upon the roof became amongst the most iconic images of that particular afternoon. The manager of the supermarket, Mr Geoffrey Taylor, and his athletic sidekick Alan Fuch rushed to the scene in order to bring a stop to procedings, they were met with a deafening chorus of boos from the gathered crowd. Taylor and Fuch's progress was hampered by local hero Christopher Collins (a self-confessed fan of the band) who blocked Taylor and Fuch in a nearby play-area, ironically with a line of trolleys. Taylor and Fuch's torment was compounded when local nomads Ross and Scott climbed the nearby clock tower and blew bleach-lined needles at them from hollow biro pens. The light-heartened mood quickly soured however when Ross and Scott quickly turned their fire on the innocent crowd, leading to wide-spread panic. In the interest of public safety (in addition to the fact that they only had one song to play) The Courage cancelled the concert and the crowd quickly dispersed.

The Eurohike Tour 2001

In 2001 The Courage embarked on an ambitious tour of Europe. The tour got off to a shaky start with an early gig in Zante being cancelled after Barnard fell down a hole the previous evening. However the professionalism of the band eventually shone through with gigs on the Italian leg of the tour being very well received by the locals.

'I met Barnard and Ford about 30kms outside of Rome. The gig was great...I really f**kin loved it.'

The tour reached a grand crescendo in Barcelona where The Courage played their last major gig. The presence of The Courage created a frenzy in the city with hotels in the region becoming fully booked. In an apparent show of respect toward The Courage, U2 scheduled a gig in the city on the same date. The concert is often referred to as one of the finest live shows of all time and lead to the popular turn of phrase, "this is going down like The Courage in Barcelona" (to indicate that a gig is going particularly well).

Controversies

Alledged overuse of War - Some critics have accused The Courage of being a one hit wonder and claim that the band's extended success was solely due to the popularity of War. The band has released War under various remixes a total of 11 times (as of 11 August 2007) and it was not uncommon for the band to use War to both open and close their live sets.

Drunken appearance on TFI Friday - The band courted yet more controversy when, in 1999, they appeared on the then popular Channel 4 program TFI Friday. They appeared to be drunk through out their interview, slurring their words. They insisted they kept hearing a sound, some sort of 'raaaaairrr' live on air, leaving host Chris Evans bemused. They then proceeded to forget the lyrics to War.

Living Legends/Ryan Flynn debacle - Near the end of the first phase of The Courage, Ford and Barnard got involved in a supposed 'charitable' organisation set up by fraudster Ryan Flynn. The company, Living Legends was sold to them as a life saving operation for young Thai girls caught in the illegal sex trade. The band devoted their time and voice to the cause, even releasing a charity download only single called 'My Belts Too Tight'. It turned sour when they realised that Flynn had actually taken their money and fled to Thailand, never to be heard from again. The last known picture of him was taken in Cambodia with the reviled Gary Glitter. Rumours of Glitter's involvement remain hazy. It turns out that when The Courage disbanded in 1998, Ford set up a new project with Flynn called 'The Banana Men' with college friends Nick Shepherd and Andy Fuller, and brother Rob Ford. They fell out after one single, the punk pop classic 'Don't diss Herbie'. This is thought to have triggered Flynn's revenge.

Never Mind The Buzzcocks Farce - A good few years after the Courage first split, and proceeding their recent reunion anouncement, the band found themselves on the hit panel show Never Mind The Buzzcocks. Or rather Barney did. He appeared on Phil Jupitus team along with Jamelia, on Bill Baileys team was the lead singer from Terrorvision and Ardal O'Hanlon. Barnard appeared inebriated and in the ensuing mayhem he failed to recognise his former friend and bandmate who was in the identity parade. Barnard by this time had far eclipsed Ford as a solo artist, to the extent that Ford was largely forgotten by the public, hence his appearance in the identity parade. The rest of Barneys team clearly knew who was stood in front of them, all looking embarassed for Ford when Barnard failed to guess who he was.

The Sugar Coated Iceberg trial - Barnard once again caused a media frenzy when college friend Christopher Green sued Barnard for harassment claiming that over a period of two years Barnard repeatedly approached Green unsolicited and whispered "Sugar Coated Iceberg" in his ear. Barnard showed an apparent lack of respect for the justice system by demanding that War be played through the courtroom's PA whenever he entered or exited the room. The judge, after consulting the jury, accepted Barnard's demands. Whilst the judge was summing up the case a lengthy jail sentence at Coldeast looked certain for Barnard until the band's manager Andy Butcher raised an 11th hour objection from the public gallery. The judge postponed his verdict and called Butcher to the witness stand. Under the oath of God, the Brummy oaf testified that Barnard was only acting in retaliation, suggesting that Green used to make annoying little sound effects whilst playing football with Barnard which slowly drove Barnard crazy. The judge agreed that Green's behaviour was unacceptable and threw the case out of court. The verdict raised a loud cheer from the court and many fans of the band embraced to the backdrop of War playing for a final time in the background.

Legacies

John Smedley/Fred Perry - Tom and David became synomamous with the John Smedley and Fred Perry brands after being photographed on numerous occasions wearing such attire. Leaked figures from Smedley Corp suggest that sales of Smedley jumpers rose by 20% year-on-year whilst The Courage were active which many retail analyists in the City put down to fans of the band trying to emulate their heroes. This success was not enjoyed by all, as one shop owner from Carnaby Street recalls.

'I owned a boutique down Carnaby Street called Sherrys for many years. When The Courage visited I asked them if they would mind if I took a few photos of them with my pet dog. As the gentlemen they were they agreed and the photos donned the noticeboard by my till for many years. I eventually found that many customers visited the shop just to see the photos rather then purchasing any clothes...perhaps this was because they were all overpriced.'

Complex Chord Structures - The Courage received many plaudits from across the music industry for the well thought out structures to their songs. However some people have criticised the band for creating music that was so complicated that it might deter newcomers to the music scene. Jimmy Page added fuel to this argument in an interview with Total Guitar magazine.

'The music sounds great but any impressionable kid who expects to be able to pick up a guitar and play it going to be disappointed. I downloaded the tab (sic) to War and I can not see how anyone could stretch their fingers that far during the intro riff. I am amazed that the boys are able to sing and play those songs on guitar at the same time.'

The Fake Sheik

In August 2004 David Barnard was caught out by the 'Fake Sheik' from the Sun newspaper. He cornered Barnard in a bar and plied him with drink. Barnard proceeded to dismiss most of The Courage's back catalogue, insisting that he was going to sell it too Jermaine Jackson, who was reportedly interested. He slagged off his musical companion Tom Ford, stating he 'wrote the lyrics AND the music for War' and insisted that Ford wasn't even there. He also slagged off many of their britpop rivals including Shed 7, Hurricane #1 and Sleeper. Most bizarrely of all, he saved praise for Damon Albarn, who he 'rather admires for his pompous exterior and ability to infuriate anyone'. This drunken rant was to alienate many fans of both Barnard and The Courage for some time, the band saw sales of their backcatalogue drop to just 3 units per month. Ford hit back in the music press with an article in that years NME magazine. He described Barnard as 'difficult to work with, his drink and drug problem definitely got in the way of both our friendship and music' and 'I think he was led astray by various 'hangers-on' like Andy Fuller and Richard Trimm'. Barnard was to have the last say though, speaking of Ford when he said 'trust him to go to the indie Smash Hits, sorry the NME, he always loved the publicity and the sychophancy that the NME heap on people. I can't see us working together again.'

Noel's House Party

Following the dwindling popularity of the band since the Fake Sheik incident The Courage appeared on the popular Saturday night entertainment show Noel's House Party in a bid to renew public support. The band featured several times throughout the broadcast in several small hilarious pre-scripted incidents (along with Tosh from The Bill and Wolf from Gladiators). The episode ended with a public vote on whether Tom or David should be subjected to the terrifying Gunge Tank.

The telephone vote received a record number of telephone calls, perhaps reflecting the added risk involved in this vote as the yeast-based ingredients of the gunge is notorious amongst mods as being very difficult to wash out of John Smedley clothing. Against all odds David was voted into the gunge tank and he appeared to take the decision in good spirit. The appearance of Tom and David onscreen together for the first time since the falling out seemed to have worked with the audience in hysterics over the antics of the band on stage. However the night soon took a grim turn for the worst. Noel Edmonds later revealed in his memoirs that just before Tom was about to pull the lever to gunge David he whispered through the gunge tank vent holes: "Serves you right for nicking War and my f***in Q Magazine from holiday you ginger pr***."

The public relations stunt backfired and only served to underpin public opinion that The Courage were divided. Tom, never failing to spot a potential dollar, teamed up with some of the backstage staff and co-wrote his first number one hit Mr Blobby. David did not react well to the news and accused Tom of writing the melody and lyrics to Mr Blobby many years previous and withholding it from The Courage brand in order to maximise his own personal profit.

== "Tom is dead!" Rumours ==
In 1997, the partying lifestyle nearly claimed another victim when Tom was found by his brother collapsed on the floor of his bedroom by his Amiga. After kicking his brother a few times, Rob ascertained that Tom was not joking around and Tom was rushed to hospital. Tom quickly recovered and was discharged from hospital at 2.18pm on October 14th.

The incident led to a bizarre theory amongst a subset of The Courage followers who believe that Tom died due to the illness and Rogue Records (wanting to maximise the profits from the successful group) replaced him with a look-a-like. Ardent fans insist that the Tom who emerged from hospital had longer hair and was a "bit fatter" then before.

The band has refused to comment on the rumours stating that they did not want to give credibility to such a ridiculous story. There are numerous websites committed to finding clues about the death and a motion picture detailing the transformation of the look-a-like into a rock star is due to be released in 2011.

The Trident Clan

In the wake of the success of War, enthusiasts noticed that secret messages were hidden in the record. When played backwards at one-sixth of the normal tempo, the record seems to repeat the message "By the power of Trident Rob (Ford, Tom's brother and early champion of the band) and Barney become One". This seems to be a tribute to the controversial Trident Clan, of which Tom Cruise and John Travolta are also suspected members. When Louis Theroux followed the band around for a week his sound crew picked up the faint sound of Tom and David repeating the phrase repeatedly during their private time. Former roadies also claim that there is a Trident logo on the inside of the band's bass drum.

Reunion

It was announced in 2007 that The Courage are to reunite for a comeback tour. The motives behind the reunion were not disclosed but eyewitnesses report seeing The Courage meet with Dave Grohl in London's Covent Garden and it is speculated that Grohl begged the band to reform. In addition Barnard has told friends that he was very impressed with the success of the Led Zepplin comeback gig in London which he attended backstage at the request of Robert Plant in order to give the band some tips on beating the big-night nerves.

News of the comeback has not sat well with both Take That or The Spice Girls who have stated that their ticket sales for their own combacks have halved since the announcement. The Courage have also re-released War for the 12th time, this time it has been remixed by their dj friend GTR (33rd best dj in the world). They have stated that 'it sounds like Sympathy For The Devil did when remixed by Fatboy Slim, we are really pleased with the results.'

Communication Breakdown:In December 2007 Tom Ford announced that due to irrepairable differences between himself and David Barnard, the Courage have called off their reunion. He publicly stated on Richard & Judy that he 'finds Dave really hard to work with because his relationship with the girls from Hepburn is always coming between us and the songs. Dave even suggested that Jamie Benson sing on one of the new tracks we are working on, I don't wish to sound like Paul McCartney but it's a bit of a drag ya' know'. This quote was apparently an exclusive as Richard & Judy were rather taken aback, thinking that Ford would be talking about the long awaited reunion. Barnard was available for comment although the rumour fires were fanned later on that evening when Barnard attacked a photographer when leaving China Whites with Alicia Douvall. Benson was also unavailable for comment on the apparent breakdown of The Courage and her own relationship with Barnard. Attempts to contact the bands manager Andy Butcher were also unsuccessful.

Discography

Do The Walnut (Ltd Ed. Single, released by Willy And The Walnuts) 1995
War (single) 1996
War (re-released single) 1996
War (special edition single) 1996
War (colloboration with Edwin Starr, single) 1996
War (commemorative Diana Tribute single) 1997
War (fan club only collectable) 1997
War (Paul Oakenfold remix, free with Mixmag) 1997
War (Rogue Trade compilation album) 1997
My Belts Too Tight (download only for Living Legends) 1998
War (Live at Southampton Guildhall, ltd edition) 1998
War (Re-release after band split) 1998
Don't Diss Herbie (released by The Bananamen) 1999
War (Recorded with various artists for Live 8) 2006
War (Remix by Fatboy Slim for reunion) 2008

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