

Ham Sandwich have been around and about in one very interesting shape or another since 2003, but it wasn’t until the autumn of 2005 – with the release of their debut single, ‘Sad Songs’ – that they began to be known outside their home county of Meath. McNamee’s liking for juggling quirk, strangeness and charm, stability reigned supreme. “I’d always had an urge to be in a band,” says Podge, whose early ambitions lay in stand-up comedy, “and although up to that point I’d done nothing to show that I could be in a band, the lads thought there was something about me that made him think I could be. I think they liked the fact that I could be anything at all.”
Alongside McNamee were co-vocalist Niamh Farrell (whose experience at the time amounted to little other than singing in a few bands in Glasgow), guitarist Darcy and drummer Ollie Murphy. Chemistry has a curious way of working, and within weeks the band clicked through a mixture of varying musical influences, a singular love of kitsch, and a healthy distaste for anything within an ass’s roar of mediocrity.
Inevitably, levels of ambition and confidence grew as the band became more proficient. Each subsequent single release (including ‘St Christopher’ and ‘Click…Click…Boom’) received more positive responses than the previous one. In early 2008, their debut album, ‘Carry The Meek’, was released. Within days, the band was a recipient of the Meteor Music Hope for 2008 Award. The remainder of 2008 was spent touring the album, getting to know the songs inside out, and being aware of the difference between entertainment and novelty value.
Ham Sandwich are currently touring their new album ‘White Fox’.which has recieved much critical acclaim.