Brigadier Ambrose - 2007 and 2008

2007 and 2008

The band then spent some time recording songs with Jim Riley at his Ranscombe Studios in Chatham. A song from these sessions, the Pavement influenced How Popular You Are, started picking up radio and club airplay in the UK and the band decided to form their own record company, Brigadier Records, to release it as a single. The song, described by the BBC as "quirky guitar pop", was supported by Phill Jupitus and Huw Stephens and backed with a song from the same Jim Riley sessions, the chiming Back In The Old Days. The release saw the band's first artwork collaboration with Christoff Spurr, who has gone on to design all of the band's sleeves since. The single proved to be a big breakthrough for the band, who were then invited to record a Maida Vale session for BBC Radio One. Brigadier Ambrose followed this up with a small tour of England, a highlight being the Latitude Festival (travelling to which some of the band were involved in a motorway crash with a juggernaut).

The band then chose to turn down a series of record company offers, preferring instead to continue working independently by releasing their own material via Brigadier Records. They rounded off a hectic 2007 by recording and releasing a Christmas single, the chaotic Decembered, which was nominated for single of the week on Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie's BBC Radio Two show. It was released on Brigadier Records on 10 December 2007.

2008 began with BBC Radio One including the then unreleased Mrs Peel We're Needed in their Introducing Tips For 2008. The song marked a change of pace for the band following their frantic opening singles and drew comparisons with the likes of Felt and Pulp. Mrs Peel We're Needed was written after the tagline in the cult 1960s series The Avengers and featured The Cut Of Your Jib as a B-side. The band eventually released the single in April 2008, accompanied by a tour with BBC Introducing and the fringe event of Radio 1's Big Weekend. Brigadier Ambrose released their 4th single, the double A side Police/There Has Been A Murder In Nasons, on 1 September 2008, which followed on in the footsteps of the previous singles, gaining significant national airplay and positive critical acclaim.