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Pop Musicology - "The Second Drummer Drowned"

Bands Britpop - Pop Musicology

The Bluetones

February 18th 2008 08:00

Originally named The Bottlegarden, The Bluetones were formed in 1994 by original band members, Mark Morriss (vocals), Adam Devlin (guitar), Scott Morriss (bass guitar) and Eds Chesters (drums).

The band name was apparently chosen after Adam had a dream about the best band in the world and they were called The Bluetones, so the next day the band began calling themselves The Bluetones although in another interview, the band said the name was chosen as an anagram of "The Subtle One".

The Bluetones rose to prominence during the mid 1990s - the height of the BritPop era - with their hit song "Slight Return", a single from their debut album Expecting to Fly released in 1996. The album was a bestseller and huge commercial success for the band and it proved so popular that it dislodged Oasis' (What's the Story) Morning Glory? off the No.1 spot on the UK music charts upon its release. The album spawned other hit singles including "Bluetonic" and "Cut Some Rug".

The bands sophomore album, Return to the Last Chance Saloon, was released in 1998 and had some huge shoes to fill. Despite never reaching the same heights as their debut effort, the album was well-received by fans and spawned four singles: "Solomon Bites the Worm", "If...", "Sleazy Bed Track" and "4-Day Weekend".

By the time the third album, Science & Nature, came along in 2000, the BritPop era was well and truly over but despite this, the album reached No.7 on the UK music charts - two positions higher than their previous effort. Together with the addition of new member Richard Payne (keyboards and guitar), the band achieved sound commercial success with hit songs "Keep the Home Fires Burning" and "Autophilia".

The Bluetones released Luxembourg in 2003 as a four-some once again after the departure of Richard Payne in 2001. The album peaked at No.49 - the band's lowest charting record to-date - but their popularity with fans was sustained through extensive touring, earning them the tag of "Britpop survivors" by the press.

The band's most recent and self-titled album was released in late 2006. Hoping to recapture some of the magic of their debut album, The Bluetones teamed up with former producer Hugh Jones to largely positive reviews from critics and fans. Despite the album charting at an all-time low of No.100, it still spawned the singles "My Neighbour's House", "Head On A Spike" and "Surrendered".

The Bluetones remains present to this day and are currently on a mini-tour of Scotland.

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Posted By: Arnold - Category: Bands, Britpop

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Mansun

January 2nd 2008 08:30

Another one of the more innovative and enduring bands of the Britpop era were Mansun - a band formed in Chester by founding members Paul Draper (Vocals), Dominic Chad (Lead guitar), and Stove King (Bass).

Originally called "Manson", the trio were first discovered by influential DJ Steve Lamacq and later signed by record label Parlophone after a tug-of-war with a few other labels. The band's name was later changed due to copyright issues and work soon began on the band's debut album Attack of the Grey Lantern which went straight to No.1 in the UK album charts during its first week of release in 1997.

The album spawned the smash hits "Wide Open Space" which later became a dance anthem after being remixed by popular DJ Paul Oakenfold, "Egg Shaped Fred", "Stripper Vicar" and "Dark Mavis".

Mansun's sophomore album Six, preceded by the chart hit "Legacy", was a far cry lyrically and sonically from their debut album with an emphasis on subjects including Taoism, the Catholic Church and the suspicious death of Brian Jones.

Rather ironically, the album charted at No.6 in the UK album charts and was subsequently followed by the band's debut tour in Europe and Asia.

At the conclusion of the promotion for the album, Paul and Chad went on a writing trip to Spain to collate lyrics and ideas for the band's third studio album titled Little Kix, a much more personal and softer album from the previous two records.

Charting at No.12, it was also the band's least successful album - the end of Britpop no doubt played a huge part in the album's demise - but still managed to contain some beautifully structured songs nonetheless including "Butterfly (A New Beginning)" and the chart hit "I Can Only Disappoint U".

Following a short hiatus in 2002, the band re-grouped to announce a small tour of the UK to test out new material destined for their fourth studio album. Despite overwhelmingly positive response from fans, an announcement was made by Dominic Chad that the band had called it a day due to artistic differences - exactly one year after the beginning of the last tour.

The band's fanbase were shell-shocked by the announcement and a petition was setup in hope of hearing the fourth album material. Word got back to Paul Draper and he rewarded the die-hard fans by sifting through the songs they had completed to release not just one CD of new Mansun material, but three CDs full of unreleased recordings, home demos and live material.

Thus Mansun's fourth album, Kleptomania was Paul and Chad's way of saying thank you to all the fans that had stuck by the band over the years.

A final Mansun release entitled 'The Best of Mansun' was put out by Parlophone in 2006. It included all of the band's chart hits and a DVD of rare live material plus a Mansun documentary with previously unseen footage of the band.

The band has no plans to reform at this stage.

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Posted By: Arnold - Category: Bands, Britpop

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Kula Shaker

November 19th 2007 09:00

Kula Shaker is a UK psychedelic rock formed in 1995 that shot to stardom during the Britpop movement alongside the likes of Suede, Blur and Oasis.

Formed by band members Crispian Mills (Lead Vocals/Guitars), Alonza Bevan (Bass), Paul Winterhart (Drums) and Jay Darlington (Keyboards), Kula Shaker released their debut album, K, in September 1996 which became the fastest selling debut since Oasis' 'Definitely Maybe'.

The album cover, which featured various images related to the letter K, including John F. Kennedy, Lord Kitchener, Karl Marx, Gene Kelly, Katharine Hepburn, Ken Dodd, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Krishna and King Kong sold 850,000 copies in the UK, a further 250,000 copies in the US, and well over a million copies worldwide.

The music itself was heavily influenced by Mill's backpacking trip in India and his interest in the philosophy of Gaudiya Vaishnavism - the song "Govinda" was sung totally in Sanskrit and mixed swirling guitars with traditional Indian music.

They were awarded the BRIT Award for "British Breakthrough Act" in 1997.

Their second album, Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts, was released in 1999 to mixed reviews and failed to replicate the success of K, selling just over 100,000 units and peaking at No.9 on the UK Music Charts.

In September of that same year, the band announced their decision to split citing that "there comes a time when you want to do your own thing."

In 2004, the band got back together (minus Jay Darlington) for a charity album made with the School of Braja. While many thought this would be a one-off, Kula Shaker officially announced on January 11, 2006 that they had reformed permanently.

Harry Broadbent came on board as a keyboardist in place of Jay Darlington and work soon began on a third studio album, Strangefolk, which was produced in collaboration with an all-star team of hit makers & Grammy winners, including Tchad Blake (Peter Gabriel, Crowded House), Sam Williams (Supergrass) and Chris Sheldon (The Foo Fighters, The Pixies).

Despite receiving positive reviews from music critics, the album only managed to peak at No. 69 on the UK Music Charts - an indication that the Britpop era was long gone. However, with a band this talented, no one would bet against them reaching the same heights as their debut album in the future.

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Posted By: Arnold - Category: Bands, Britpop

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