Biography
This UK indie outfit was formed by two friends who grew up on the Isle Of Wight in the English Channel. Multi-instrumentalists Paul Butler and Aaron Fletcher played in separate local bands on the island before reuniting at the end of the 90s to record together as the Bees. Their debut album was recorded in Butler's shed on a selection of home studio equipment. The charming, well-constructed pop songs on Sunshine Hit Me eschew samplers and sequencers, creating a mellow sunshine pop style out of an eclectic range of styles including 60s Brit Invasion, psychedelic, funk, reggae and Latin. Though occasionally veering towards self-indulgence, the duo's talent shone through on tracks such as debut single "Punchbag" and the Mutantes' cover version "A Minha Menina". The album drew a favourable critical response from the UK music press, with Butler and Fletcher receiving a Mercury Music Prize nomination a few months after its release in March 2002. The two songwriters then recruited four friends, Kris Birkin (guitar), Michael Clevitt (drums), Warren Hampshire (keyboards) and Tim Parkin (trumpet/keyboards), to help them tour the album. A major label recording contract was not long in following, with Virgin Records winning the band's signatures. The band's debut for Virgin, the sparkling summer pop collection Free The Bees, was released in June 2004. (Encyclopedia of Popular Music Copyright Muze UK Ltd. 1989 - 2004)

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