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Drive Shaft

Who? The Pace brothers — Charlie (vocals/bass) and Liam (vocals/guitar) — originally conceived this Manchester four-piece in 1999, completing the band with Adam “Sinjin” St. John (guitar) and Patrick Gleason (drums). DriveShaft’s infectious pop hooks and British charisma can be found on their self-titled debut, released in 1999.

What’s the Deal? DriveShaft are best known for their British hit, “You All Everybody,” the anthemic, slow-burner from their debut that skyrocketed the band to international success and all the spoils. After the album went gold in Europe, the Mancunians made an American breakthrough as “You All Everybody” topped the pop charts, landing DriveShaft onstage in large theaters across the U.S. But their sophomore album, Oil Change, failed to lube eardrums just about anywhere, and then the band’s engine stalled mysteriously; a drug-fueled tiff between the Pace brothers was the rumored cause.

By the fall of 2004, a DriveShaft reunion was in the works when tragedy struck. After visiting his brother Liam in Australia to discuss the band’s reunion, Charlie Pace boarded the now-infamous Oceanic Flight 815 bound for Los Angeles that mysteriously went missing in the South Pacific. All 300-plus passengers and crew aboard were lost. However, the renewed attention on the band in the wake of Charlie’s death has brought about a renaissance for DriveShaft, with their debut re-charting on both sides of the pond and critics rediscovering Oil Change as a lost classic, a la Weezer’s Pinkerton.

Fun Fact: DriveShaft altered the lyrics of “You All Everybody” to “You All Every Butties” for a diaper commercial, which aired in the U.K.

Now Hear This:
DriveShaft – “You All Everybody” (Download MP3)

On the Web:
Charlie Pace tribute on driveshaftband.com
DriveShaft on MySpace