The Planet Of Sound

Charlie’s greatest passion was for music, as a fan, a songwriter or performer. Primarily though it is his qualities as a human, not only his talents as a musician, that meant that those with whom he worked and met during his bright career were touched by his affable nature, boundless enthusiasm and thirst for fun. Chazz was regarded by all those who knew and loved him as a warm conversationalist, possessing genuine charm and a man with whom countless happy memories, musical or otherwise were shared.

OELSP – A BIOGRAPHY

As the name might suggest, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool never took themselves too seriously. Moments after their first ‘recording session’ in a bedroom in Camden, 3 songs went up on MySpace. Seemingly overnight they were signed by Tom Graham and Briony Turner to Global Publishing. They each had large amounts of cash put in their hands and raced to see who could spend it in the most reckless fashion. The next year was survived in abject poverty, but the bands global fanbase grew rapidly. They were joined by two new band members, Caan and Alex, and were collectively known for their riotous adventures. Early supporters who really helped nurture the bands presence in the UK include Nick Grimshaw, Eddy Temple Morris, Fearne Cotton and Annie Mac. Every label tried to sign them, normally on condition that they changed their name. Every offer was rejected, and their lawyer and mentor, Martin Deller, helped form their own label. Next came a UK tour supporting La Roux, an Armand Van Helden remix and a debut record certified platinum. It wasn’t long before they were playing to 80,000 people around the world.

Chazz was the epitome of happy-go-lucky, bringing smiles to the faces of everyone he ever met and a man whose amiable presence filled a room. He also suffered acutely from depression. On the 20th August 2010 after an amazing show at Pukkelpop festival in Belgium, Chazz took his own life.

A memorial show took place at Koko where close friends each covered one song from the bands posthumous debut album. The line-up included The Vaccines, Tribes, The Horrors, The Kooks, Man Like Me and Spandau Ballet. The event was suitably hosted by Eddy Temple Morris, the first man to play the band on national radio, and who’s love and support was unequaled.

The debut album was released weeks after Chazz’s death to widespread critical acclaim. A finished second album will never see the light of day.

“As a posthumous eulogy to a man’s evolving and endearing pop ability, The Golden Year is perfection.” – BBC

Suicide, though rarely talked about, is the biggest killer of men aged 20-45 years old in the UK. Remaining band member Joe Hutchinson, along with Eddy Temple Morris, work to support a brilliant and award winning charity called CALM. The charity is fronted by patron Professor Green and is kindly supported by Lynx and Topman.

Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), is an award-winning charity dedicated to preventing male suicide in the UK.  They push for cultural change so that men of any age feel able to talk about issues and get help when things start to go wrong via:

– a free, confidential helpline and webchat service taking over 40,000 calls a year on 0800 585858 (national) 0808 802 5858 (London) open 7 days a week, 5pm – midnight.

– www.thecalmzone.net – a site where men can hear about other mens lives as well as help and information

– CALMzine, our award-winning quarterly men’s lifestyle magazine.

In 2013 there were 6,233 suicides in the UK, of which 78%, or 4,858, were male (ONS, NISRA, GRO)

CALM is reg charity no’s. 1110621 and SC044347