Ham Sandwich

About Ham Sandwich

Ham Sandwich is an Irish indie rock band from Kells, County Meath. The band consists of Podge McNamee on vocals and guitar, Niamh Farrell on vocals, John Moore on bass guitar, Darcy on guitar and piano, and Ollie Murphy on drums. The band has released four singles, an EP, before releasing their debut album, Carry the Meek, on February 15, 2008. That same day they won the Meteors Hope for 2008 Award. The band is currently based in Dublin, Ireland. [In December 2007 the Sunday Times pegged Ham Sandwich as "Ones to Watch" for 2008.]

Johnny Moore and Podge McNamee were childhood friends, and first announced the formation of the band on Good Friday, 2003. 'Martin' the original lead guitarist in the band departed after just 6 months citing musical differences in the band, he was replaced by 'Darcy'. Moore and Darcy met at St. Patrick's Classical School, Navan; other notable pupils include Tommy Tiernan, Dylan Moran, Hector Ó hEochagáin. Niamh Farrell joined the band in Dublin after a solo stint in Glasgow, Scotland. Bassist and songwriter Moore suggested the name at an early rehearsals session when the group could not decide on a name, and it has both helped and hindered the band. U2 frontman Bono encouraged the group to change the peculiar name upon meeting drummer Ollie Murphy in 2006, but conceded that U2 faced similar criticism before their success. Niamh has commented, "it’s a bit of a blessing I guess, no-one ever forgets the name and it makes us work harder."

On March 17, 2007, the band participated in the annual Kells Festival of Colour. In Summer 2007, the band was featured on FM104's Open Mic with Ruairi Carroll. On August 4, 2007, Ham Sandwich played at the Guinness Indie-pendence festival of independent Irish bands in Mitchelstown, County Cork. The band have been televised on The Late Late Show in February, the Dustin once a week show in September as well as the The Podge and Rodge Show's halloween special on October 30, 2007 during the Rock 'n Roulette feature.