I Formed A Band

Eddie Argos and Joe Sparrow•www.iformedaband.com

I Formed A Band is a podcast that talks to people who formed bands about the part before they got famous: why did they do it, what did it take to get there, and what was life like when they were forming a band?

It’s hosted by Eddie Argos, who formed a band called Art Brut and sings a song called Formed A Band; and Joe Sparrow, who did not form a band, but probably should have done.

There’s a huge, secret story behind every successful band: a heady mix of ambition, desperation, perseverance, daydreams, sleeping on sofas, surviving hangovers in the back of a Transit van, and dumb luck. That's what this podcast is about.

(And it's also about compiling The Argos Catalogue: a comprehensive collection of Eddie's various stories of meeting members of the Wu-Tang Clan in a lift, or singing Half Man Half Biscuit songs with Liam Gallagher, etc)

We love hearing from you – if you've got a question for Eddie, send us an email to [email protected]

Oh, also sign up to our email newsletter here – we’ll send you the latest episodes first, and some bonus podcast bits (maybe).

[The ace photo of Eddie in the main image is by the very talented Nessiahuu]

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Episodes

The Argos Catalogue – the time Eddie had horseshit thrown at him by Selfish C*nt outside Buckingham Palace; proposes a TV show with him and Half Man Half Biscuit; when he accidentally ghosted Lawrence from Felt and more...

Ep. 6: In our most faeces-tastic episode yet, we once again read out a mixture of ABSOLUTELY REAL and QUITE DUBIOUS listener letters to try to capture the life, times and tribulations of the lah-di-dah indie gad-about-town Eddie Argos. We're aiming to document the life, times and tribulations of Eddie Argos – and boy did we find out some... surprising and turd-adjacent stuff. In this episode, Eddie: > RECALLS when he had shit thrown at him by the band Selfish Cunt outside Buckingham Palace; &...

Jun 04, 2025•47 min

James Smith from Yard Act Formed a Band! From drawing cartoons to playing Glasto and collaborating with Elton John in between

Ep. 5: Eddie and Joe chat to James Smith, singer (or, much to Eddie's delight, he's more of a speaker-singer) with the totally ace Yard Act; and they speak to him just before the band was about to play Glastonbury.* That seemed like a good time to take stock – and James recalls how drawing cartoons led to him becoming a drummer, then a guitarist, and finally a charismatic front man. It was all via a some truly grim call centre jobs and a bunch of other bands that almost made it, and then, just a...

May 12, 2025•56 min•Season 1Ep. 5

The Argos Catalogue –Eddie (hungover) answers: Who would win if Brian Eno fought Moby in a pub car park? What's his favourite Lighthouse Family song? How he'd use cats to build Noel Edmonds a playlist, and more...

Ep. 4: We continue to document the life, times and tribulations of Eddie Argos – and this time, he's sporting the kind of hangover that required him to be mostly lying down during the podcast recording. Thankfully it allows him to tap into some deep recesses of his mind. In this episode, Eddie: > Reveals that he’d be happy to listen to a Simply Red, a Fall, *and* a Mumford and Sons album every day forever (or would he?); > Muses on the winner if Moby and Brian Eno fought in a pub car park;...

Apr 24, 2025•36 min•Season 1Ep. 4

Dunstan Bruce formed a band! Chumbawamba, anarchy, and accidentally writing a global super-hit

Ep. 3: Eddie and Joe chat to the funny, erudite and extremely dapper Dunstan Bruce – he of 90s Tubthumping BEHEMOTH Chumbawamba, and, latterly, Interrobang. This was a great interview: Dunstan has so much thoughtful stuff to say about life, music fandom, art, anarchy, pranks, learning, growing – and selling millions of records well over a dozen years into your career. Eddie came away from the interview with a renewed love for Chumbawamba, and Joe, who pretty much only listened to Suede in the 90...

Apr 04, 2025•1 hr 25 min•Season 1Ep. 3

The Argos Catalogue: Eddie answers listener's letters (and reveals his time as a traffic warden, his beef with Kele from Bloc Party and the glory days of Landfiull Indie)

Ep. 2 : We begin to document the life, times and tribulations of the much-storied, celebrity-beef-starting, indie troubadour Eddie Argos – and then compile the stories in... The Argos Catalogue. Yes, indeed, it's the inevitable "readers' letters" episode, and boy, do we learn some eye-opening stuff about Eddie's career. So join Eddie and Joe – the Richard and Judy of indie music podcasting – and learn: > How Eddie was a traffic warden and used to let Mel C from the Spice Girls off from gettin...

Mar 13, 2025•47 min•Season 1Ep. 2

Bis formed a band! Top of the Pops, writing the Powerpuff Girls theme, and hanging by the pool with the Beastie Boys

Ep. 1: Eddie and Joe talk to the deeply lovely Manda and Steve from the amazing Bis - possibly the most DIY of all the British bands that also managed to break through to the big time. They talk about how the band formed as teenagers; how Manda migrated from the side of the stage to centre-stage, transforming their fortunes overnight; drawing your own artwork; and how they stuck resolutely to their DIY guns - and why this was so important to them. Oh, and once the band was formed, a load of wild...

Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 23 min

I Formed A Band: Trailer

Eddie Argos is a man so obsessed with forming bands that he did it, recorded a song about it, wrote a book about it, painted pictures about it – and now has a podcast where he can ask other people the timeless question: "why did you form a band?" Join him and sort-of journalist Joe Sparrow (who didn't form a band) as they talk to artists about the part before they got famous: why did they form a band, what did it take to get there, and what was life like while they were doing it? There’s a huge,...

Feb 14, 2025•8 min•Season 1Ep. 1

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