January 13, 2007 10:43

Koopa on verge of unsigned chart success

Bandmembers father dies as band hit Top 40

The father of two members from Koopa - the unsigned band set to enter the single chart this weekend (January 14) - died just ahead of the band's unlikely success.

Ollie and Stuart Cooper’s father Martin died of a suspected heart attack on January 7, just as the band sort to use the new chart rules on downloads to get in the Top 40.

As previously reported, Koopa are the unsigned Essex trio who are set to become the first ever unsigned band to reach the top 40 with a download-only single ’Blag, Steal and Borrow’ this Sunday (January 14) following the changes in the singles chart.

Their manager Gary Raymond explained: “It’s the greatest week of our lives and the worst week of our lives. The boy's dad was one of the driving forces of the band.”

Martin Cooper had invested £20,000 of his earnings from the printing industry into the band.

Singer and bassist Joe Murphy told The Independent: “If we can get into the Top 40 now, we’ve got a decent career happening for us. We just want to get as many sales on the board to honour his (Martin) memory so in future we’ll be celebrating this week.”