The Ogdens

The Ogdens were formed in 1986 by Jon Fagg, Andrew Milton, John Phillips and Vince Woodward. They named the band after characters in the soap Coronation Street set in a suburb of the then fashionable city of Manchester. Vince left Britain to live in the US and John Devenney (JD) joined in 1987. Karen Andrews joined the band for a year or so on trumpet.

The band released three singles, the first of which became Single of the Week in the NME in the summer of 1988. The Radio 1 DJ John Peel regularly played the band’s songs on his show and his special selection for the BBC World Service. The third single “She Made Everything Groovy” was produced by Pete Overend Watts of Mott the Hoople who went on to produce The Cure and Hanoi Rocks. Over the years, the band toured across the country in venues such as the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts) on the same bill as The Stone Roses at Dangerous Bands in Safe Hands, the Marquee, and The Mean Fiddler. The group last played together in 2012.

Current members

Jon Fagg (Jon Ogden) – Guitar, Bass, Vocals
John Devenney (JD) – Bass, Vocals
Andy Milton (Milton Ogden) – Drums, Vocals, Percussion
John Phillips (John Ogden) – Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica, Melodica
Previous Members

Vince Woodward – Guitar, Vocals
Karen Andrews – Trumpet, Vocals

All members contribute songs which are then modified and arranged by the band.

Jon, Andy, and JD went on to work together in rock band Sunburst. Later, in the mid to late nineties Jon and Andy played in Dead Man’s Curve, a surf band that produced two albums.