JJ72 were an indie rock band from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The band was formed in 1999 by lead singer Mark Greaney and drummer Fergal Matthews, with Garvan Smith on bass, while studying at Belvedere College.
The two recruited Hilary Woods as bassist, following Smith's departure, to complete the trio, playing gigs in Ireland while still studying for their Leaving Cert exams. The band released their eponymously titled debut album in autumn 2000. A great critical and commercial success alike, the album has sold in excess of 500,000 copies in their native Ireland and in the United Kingdom. The album spawned the singles "Snow", "October Swimmer", "Long Way South", "Oxygen" and "Algeria", and saw the band perform promotional tours in Europe, the U.S. and Japan. The band's second album I To Sky followed in October 2002. It contained the singles "Formulae" and "Always and Forever", and reached the Top 5 of the Irish album charts and the Top 20 of the UK Albums Chart.
The origin of the band's name has been subject to much fan discussion. Speculative guesses have included:
* Janis Joplin's weight at the time of her demise.
* James Joyce 1972. A reference to Greaney and Matthews' old school Belvedere College. James Joyce is a past pupil, and at the time they had last won the Leinster Senior Cup in 1972.
* The number of jam jars that formed a window in the band's high school art room. JamJars72.
* JJ - the name of an uncle of Matthews' who had died at the time of forming the band, 72 - a year important to both Greaney and Matthews' parents.
* James Joyce and 1972 - The year Greaney's parents got married.
Band members
* Mark Greaney (vocals, guitar, piano) born 23 June 1980.
* Fergal Matthews (drums) born 29 January 1980, in Dublin.
* Hilary Woods (bass, backing vocals) born 30 May 1980 - member up to March 2003.
* Sarah Fox - from 2003 onwards.
* Garvan Smith - early line-up.
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