The Mock Turtles

The Mock Turtles are a Manchester based indie rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 1985, who enjoyed some success in the early 1990s. Their best-known song is "Can You Dig It?" which was released in 1991.Led by former Judge Happiness singer Martin Coogan, older brother of Steve Coogan, the band began to pick up attention around 1990, with tracks such as "Lay Me Down" and "And Then She Smiles" on the Imaginary label. It was "Can You Dig It?", however, which gained them wider attention. Originally a b-side to "Lay Me Down", the band's new record label, Siren, re-issued it with additional guitar work, and "Can You Dig It?" breached the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart.

In March 1991, the British music magazine, NME, reported that the band were appearing at the 'Great Indie Festival - A Midsummer's Day Dream' at Milton Keynes Bowl in June that year. Also on the bill were 808 State, Gary Clail, Shades of Rhythm, The Shamen, Paris Angels plus Flowered Up.

The Mock Turtles, however, were unable to follow up the early success and were dropped by their label, three members briefly joining up as Ugli in the mid 1990s, remaining in limbo until Vodafone used "Can You Dig It?" for an advertising campaign in 2003. This saw the band make a comeback with Fatboy Slim doing a remix of the song, taking the track to #19 in the UK. Eight new tracks were included on a new Greatest Hits album, together with older songs from their early 1990s peak.

Coogan was presenter of the breakfast show on The Revolution in Oldham until the station was bought by Steve Penk, who took over the show himself having 'flipped' back to its original Adult Contemporary format.

Now Coogan, along with fellow ex-Revolution DJs including Mani, Mike Joyce and Alex Carter, are launching an internet service called Radio Republic to pick up where The Revolution left off. From 27 October 2008, Martin Coogan and Phil Beckett present a regular late programme on 103.6FM Tameside Radio. This programme is known as 'Radio Republic' and serves as a possible temporary measure until the new radio station is launched in the near future.

Discography

* Turtle Soup (LP/CD) - Imaginary Records 1990
* 87-90 (LP/CD) - Imaginary Records 1991
* Two Sides (LP/CD) - Siren Records 1991
* Can You Dig It - The Best Of The Mock Turtles - Virgin Records 2003