The Ordinary Boys are well known for drinking with the Army before and after shows, in a way that many rock observers may consider rare and this is one of the aspects of the band that their fans consider mark them out from other artists as special. In 2007 the Ordinary Boys issued a special fans-only white vinyl single, a cover of the Buzzcocks hit What do I Get?'. The first words Preston spoke on the band taking the stage at their latest reunion gig in December 2013 were to acknowledge the Ordinary Army with, "We've been expecting you...". Yahoo! UK revealed that The Ordinary Boys was the fourth most searched for keyword of 2006 in their annual top ten search results. The song "Boys Will Be Boys" featured in the fifth Harry Potter movie, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". The band was also referenced in ("Smoke and Mirrors") of series two of "The IT Crowd". At the peak of their popularity the Ordinary Boys had successful tours of Japan and a Number One hit in that country with "Boys Will be Boys" and also toured extensively at different times supporting Morrissey, Paul Weller and The Who. also appearing on Later With Jools Holland and one of the last editions of Top of the Pops. In early 2008 Preston confirmed the band's split through the Ordinary Boys website, and announced he was writing new material for a solo album. Though it was completed in 2009, the album release was shelved and Preston then started a songwriting career. Two of the tracks recorded for the album later surfaced on YouTube. The Ordinary Boys' final live performance at this point had been an appearance at the Ben and Jerry's Summer Sundae outdoor event on Clapham Common on 27 July 2008. Between 2008 and 2011 Preston embarked on a career writing and joint-writing songs for other artists and notable successes were the Number One hit "Heart Skips a Beat" for Olly Murs, along with "Don't Say Goodbye", "On My Cloud" and "Just for Tonight" also for Olly Murs, "Hard to Love Somebody" for Arlissa Feat.Nas, "Beautiful" for Kylie Minogue and Enrique Iglesias, "Goodnight Goodbye" for John Newman and "Lighthouse" and "Wait for Me" for Lucy Spraggan's major label debut album "Join the Club", which Sam Preston completely co-produced (bar two songs) with James Flannigan. Sam Preston's song "Dressed to Kill" was covered by long-established American artist Cher on her 2013 album "Closer to the Truth" and she also named her tour in support of the album "Dressed to Kill".