Newcomers Ooberman are ahead of schedule on their quest to become Bradford's latest pop sensations.

The five-piece had not been expecting to make a dent on the Top 40 until later this year.

But their new single Blossoms Falling has caused such a stir that they are bracing themselves for their first chart hit when it is released next week.

Vocalist Danny Popplewell said: "I think the hope was always originally that the second single would be the one and this one was going to be a sort of set-up thing but we've had a lot more interest from people than we expected."

Blossoms Falling will be Ooberman's first record since signing to the Independiente label and is the follow-up to the Shorley Wall EP, which sold more than 10,000 copies despite being released by the small independent company Tugboat.

Danny, who was a pupil at Buttershaw Upper School with brothers Andy Flett (guitar) and Steve Flett (bass) when Ooberman were first formed, revealed one of the band's first brushes with rock 'n' roll excess came when they filmed the video for the new single.

"We went off to Spain for a weekend in February and went to the top of a mountain where we spent two days jumping over a tent," he said.

"It only makes about three seconds in the video. The rest of it was all done in the studio!"

He, Andy and Steve now live in Liverpool, where they recruited vocalist and keyboard player Sophie Churney and drummer Alan Kelly, but their hearts are still very much in Bradford.

They are likely to be touring in the summer to coincide with the release of their debut, which they have just finished recording with Stephen Street, best known for his work with Blur and The Smiths.

And Danny's big ambition is still to play at his old school or Buttershaw Lane Working Men's Club.

Blossoms Falling is an uplifting, romantic song which Danny wrote when he fell in love himself last year. The single will be released on CD and on 7in vinyl, with extra tracks including Grey, 13 and The Things I Have Lost. Ooberman hope their positivity can be an antidote to the recent trend for pop songs with feeling to be predominantly sad.

Blossoms Falling has been playlisted by Radio 1 and the band have also been asked to support the newly-reformed Happy Mondays at a comeback gig at Brixton Academy on Tuesday.

Ooberman will also perform at this year's Glastonbury Festival on June 26 and T In The Park on July 10.

For more information about the band, check their website on www.ooberman.com.

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