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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