The membership of the band that split in 2008 consisted of founder members Samuel Preston (vocals, guitar) - generally known simply by his surname "Preston", William Brown (guitar), James Gregory (bass), plus Simon Goldring (drums), who had replaced Charles "Chuck" Stanley in 2005.
Following limited success on the UK charts, their popularity revived and grew particularly due to media coverage that the frontman, Samuel Preston, received when participating in Channel 4's Celebrity Big Brother UK in January 2006, where he also met Chantelle Houghton, who he subsequently married and then divorced. Following the Celebrity Big Brother appearance, sales of the band's albums increased and the "Boys Will Be Boys" single moved from #33 to #3 in four weeks. An infamous media incident occurred when Preston appeared on an episode of BBC's comedy music quiz show 'Never Mind the Buzzcocks' broadcast on 14.2.2007 and he terminated his participation in the show by leaving the set during recording when the host Simon Amstell persistently read extracts from his wife Chantelle's at that time recently published autobiography.
Fans of the band are nicknamed "The Ordinary Army" and many gigs have in the past been marked by the presence of the Army's large custom made flag bearing the band's logo and the epiphet "Ordinary Army - on Manoeuvres".
Notable songs include "Maybe Someday", "Talk Talk Talk", and "Seaside" (the promotional video for which featured a cameo appearance from Terry Hall of 80s ska band the Specials) from their debut album; "Boys Will Be Boys" from their second album; and "Over the Counter Culture", which was featured in the soundtrack for Burnout 3: Takedown. Their single "Lonely at the Top" marked a change of sound, with more of a commercial pop feel, featuring synthesisers and samples.
Yahoo! UK revealed that The Ordinary Boys was the fourth most searched for keyword of 2006 in their annual top ten search results.
The song "Boys Will Be Boys" featured in the fifth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The band was also referenced in episode five ("Smoke and Mirrors") of series two of The IT Crowd.
In early 2008, lead singer Preston confirmed the band's split through the official Ordinary Boys website, and announced he was writing new material for a solo album. Though it was apparently completed in 2009, the album was never released after his only single "Dressed To Kill" (which sampled Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Happy House"), failed to chart and Preston then attempted a career as a DJ. Two of the tracks recorded for the album later appeared on YouTube.
A revived Ordinary Boys are reunited in December 2011 for a full UK tour. Although they have given the project their blessing there is no involvement from either William Brown or James Gregory who are unavailable through other commitments and the band have recruited Dane Etteridge (lead guitar), Dan Logan (bass guitar) and Toby Horton (keyboards and occasional drums) to join with original member Samuel Preston and drummer at the time of split, Simon Goldring. They have also recorded one new song, called "Run This Town". and will be playing it on the tour.
The revitalised version of the Ordinary Boys has no official full website but does have a well patronised Facebook page. The Ordinary Army also have their own Facebook page.
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