by Naggeen SadidMeeting Calum Melvile, current President of the all male a capella sensation OOTB, is quite an event. He stood before me wearing cowboy boots (over jeans), a matching leather jacket, the obligatory artsy scarf, and a wry smile; I must say I felt quite ordinary meeting such a high standing member of the Oxford a capella community.
As President of the most successful a capella group in Oxford, Melvile is a busy man organising the group’s hectic schedule, the group’s particular brand of pop a capella being quite popular. I innocently ask what the schedule currently contains, expecting a few gigs here and there in Oxford. The schedule is in fact The Schedule, including a private party at Gleneagles (yes, the G8 summit venue), potentially an Oxford Ball, a tour of South Africa, and an upcoming show at Keble. Much of Out of the Blue’s success Melville puts down to ‘the hard work and the hours the guys put in’, and the group’s founder, Derek. An American Post-Grad studying in Oxford, Derek formed the group eight years ago, with an inception including secret initiations, trust funds, and a constitution. Talking to Melville, one barely gets a sense of the group’s success: they are the only Oxford group to sell out the New Theatre.
Out of the Blue have certainly been a hit in Oxford, and, well, the world in general. Having conquered the East Coast of America last summer (‘a capella groups are huge in the States’, Melvile informs me) and played at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Out of the Blue world does seem a whirl of events and non-stop touring. What is even more appealing is that the money they are paid for performing (I won’t tell you how many hundreds of pounds they earn for a mere 40 minutes) goes towards their travel expenses and accommodation.
The commercial success of Out of the Blue has meant that they are able to donate half of their yearly earnings to charity. The group are thinking of flying out to South Africa to visit a potential school for sponsorship, ‘It would be so cool, because it’s something that we as a group can feasibly do, indefinitely, and see develop.’
Melvile often talks of the group in a charming understated way, only mentioning the New Theatre amidst other gigs, despite having sold 1500 tickets of the venue’s 1800 capacity already. Get tickets while you can. Even if you’re not a fan of a capella, we’re talking a group of guys, all seriously (but entertainingly) singing high pitched renditions of Take That and Boyzone classics. You’ll love it
