After Dinner Speakers: Hanson, Terry Griffiths, Spontaneous Combustion

Hanson are a three-piece pop-rock band from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson started writing music and performing together in 1991, at the ages of 11, 9 and 6. Starting out as a vocal group, Hanson (then known as The Hanson Brothers) performed a cappella in and around their hometown of Tulsa, singing to anyone who would listen. They would sing 50s and 60s rock and roll, as well as original songs the boys had penned together.In 1994 Hanson produced their first independent album, Boomerang, selling it themselves at shows. This album consisted of a mixture of cover versions and original material, such as Boomerang and Rain, the first song they wrote together. Following a lack of interest from record companies, Hanson began working on a second independent album in 1995. By this time, Hanson had picked up instruments and had moved from being a vocal harmony group to a rock and roll band. With Taylor on keyboards, Isaac on guitar and Zac on drums, Hanson would write and produce this album entirely by themselves. Entitled Mmmbop, the album included the first, much slower, version of the smash hit song.Mmmbop attracted the attention of major record company Mercury. In 1996 Hanson went to LA to start work on an album, this time on a much larger budget. Hanson would co-write with established songwriters such as Desmond Child, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. Hanson stormed to stardom in the summer of 1997 with the single 'Mmmbop'. They topped the charts in over 25 different countries, including here in the UK, remaining Number 1 for 3 weeks. Their major label debut, Middle of Nowhere, quickly followed and rose to the top of the album charts. The band then proceeded to release a further 4 singles: Where's the Love, I Will Come To You, Weird and Thinking of You, all doing particularly well in the charts.Hanson promoted their fifth single, Thinking of You, with a with a sold-out show at London's Wembley Arena. To cater for the fans' hunger for new material, Hanson released 3 'novelty' albums: Snowed In, a collection of Christmas songs (including 3 originals), in 1997; 3 Car Garage, a re-release of their independent album 'Mmmbop' in May 1998; and Live From Albertane, a live album, in November 1998.Following a 2 year break to tour the US and write new songs, Hanson released their 2nd studio album, This Time Around, accompanied by a single, If Only, in 2000. Disappointingly, this album did not match up with their previous success. After an extensive tour of the US, Hanson have entered the studio once again to work on their 3rd album, due out Spring 2002. A documentary will accompany this release. "We're on our way, this time around, and we won't go down."