On one of those simple twists of fate, all the individual members of The Animalhouse were known to each other before they finally settled in to become a band in the winter of 1997.

The story really starts in March of that year when Mark Gardener and Sam Williams both found themselves back in Oxford. Mark had been playing with seminal Oxford act Ride, who had disbanded a year previously, while Sam had been playing on and producing material on the first two Supergrass albums. Sam had also seen his band The Mystics split up in 1996.

Sam and Mark began playing acoustic shows, and one of Sam's songs, Animal House, became the name for their fledgling group, and in what they describe as some kind of 'strange destiny', the other members all came on board.

Loz Colbert (Mark's former band mate in Ride) who was already working with Sam, joined on drums and percussion, Hari Teah joined on bass and Jason King came from fronting his own band, Disco 45, to play keyboards and guitar.

They played their first gig at London's Highbury Garage as part of Shifty Disco's 'show off' night. Despite the local media interest, The Animalhouse played things at their own speed. Their second gig was in March 1998, this time in the Bullingdon Arms on Oxford's Cowley Road. Praise was intense, yet the band had still to release a record. Mark continued his Saturday night DJ slot in the Zodiac Club in Oxford, and despite promises of a record in the near future, The Animalhouse remained an enigma.

By June the band had embarked on their first tour, though promotion was still minimal. Soon after the June tour, Oxford's Nightshift music monthly confirmed that the band would appear at the now fabled 'Oxstock 98' festival at Cutteslowe Park in July.

Ironically, headliners at The Animalhouse's highest profile gig to date would be Hurricane #1, the band fronted by Mark and Loz's former Ride partner Andy Bell. Oxstock saw The Animalhouse confirm their reputation as Oxford's brightest musical hope.

Unfortunately, problems related to the band's name arose around this time, possibly leading to release date after release date for the debut EP being cancelled or put back.

The makers of the National Lampoon film series apparently took issue with an Indie band from Oxford daring to share a name with one of their films.

However a high-profile support slot for Oasis in Germany, together with a critically praised album, confirmed their arrival.

Despite this, The Animalhouse remain something of a well-kept secret outside Oxford but this constantly surprising musical menagerie deserves a wider audience.