The Cure Biography

Through more than 20 extravagant years and 20 extraordinary albums The Cure have done it all in their own unmistakable way. Free, independent, wilful, unconfined, the band have spent most of their career creating and exploring in the strange places where the worlds of mainstream and alternative collide. They have developed a range of uniquely distinctive sounds and styles, and in the process created as great a body of contemporary music as you could wish to hear.

With over 27 million albums sold, The Cure's achievements on every level have been incredible. Yet whereas even the most creative of bands both past and present have invariably completed their best work during 'the early years', The Cure have continued to flourish and grow with every release, continually adding new, unusual and essential chapters to their improbable story.

As the band move into their 3rd decade, they present what is undoubtedly their most powerful work to date, their 13th studio album 'Bloodflowers'. Exhibiting a coherency, intensity and emotional depth that is at times breathtaking, 'Bloodflowers' embodies all that The Cure do best. It is the band at the height of it's powers, and the now 5 year-old line up has developed into what is unquestionably the strongest ever; Cure mastermind Robert Smith (voice, guitar), Simon Gallup (bass), Perry Bamonte (guitar), Roger O'Donnell (keyboards) and Jason Cooper (drums).

The album has been co-produced by Robert and Paul Corkett, and is intended as the final part of a trilogy that began with the release in 1982 of the album 'Pornography', and that continued on with the release in 1989 of the album 'Disintegration'. Moving from wistful nostalgia through unguarded introspection, to impotent rage through helpless despair, 'Bloodflowers' is in essence an attempt at resolution. Performed with a musical sensibility that is truly moving, the emotional and lyrical clarity combine to make the listener uncomfortably aware that this could indeed be the oft threatened 'last ever' Cure album...

...It all started in 1976 when Robert, a 17 year old attending St Wilfrid's Comprehensive in Crawley, Sussex, formed The Easy Cure with schoolmates Michael Dempsey (bass), Lol Tolhurst (drums) and local guitar hero Porl Thompson. The 4-piece began writing and demoing their own songs almost immediately, and quickly amassed an impressive repertoire of original material that included such seminal classics as 'Killing an Arab' and '10:15 Saturday Night'.

By early 1977 the fledgling group had won a nationwide 'Battle of the Bands' style competition held by German-owned major label Ariola-Hansa that would have led to the release of a debut single and album but for the doomed nature of the relationship -Hansa saw The Easy Cure as a 'fresh faced' and malleable pop group - but even at this relatively young age, a headstrong Robert had other ideas... Within one unsatisfactory year the two parties had parted company with nothing having been released.

Frustrated but undeterred, in 1978 the 'Easy' was dropped, along with Porl, and an eager trio now known simply as The Cure sent out a demo tape of 4 songs to a number of record labels. A keen response from Polydor A&R man Chris Parry was quickly followed up, and The Cure signed with his new Fiction label that September; it was to prove a lasting partnership - they have been together ever since. Work began immediately on their first single and album, with debut engineer Mike Hedges, and 'Killing An Arab' was released to great acclaim through a deal with 'Small Wonder' records in December.

Re-released on Fiction in January 1979, it was quickly followed by the album 'Three Imaginary Boys', and the strangely beguiling mix of peculiarly obscure imagery and sparsely angular music caused a great deal of controversy and comment. The album kick-started an extensive UK touring period, during which The Cure played with various other emergent bands of the time such as Wire, Joy Division and The Jam. A further two non-album singles, 'Boy's Don't Cry' and 'Jumping Someone Else's Train' were released, as well as a couple of 'sideline recordings' with 'The Obtainers' and 'Cult Hero'. 'Boys Don't Cry', the single, was a minor success in the USA, and led to 'Three Imaginary Boys' being re-tuned and re-named 'Boys Don't Cry'.

This period also saw the development of a long standing affiliation between The Cure and Siouxsie and The Banshees, as within two dates of their support slot on the Banshee's UK tour in late 1979, Robert found himself playing two sets a night, having stepped into the breach for departed guitarist John McKay. At the end of this incredibly hectic period, subtle but irresolvable differences within the band led to the quiet departure of Michael Dempsey.

Simon Gallup (bass) and Matthieu Hartley (keyboards) joined, and in early 1980 the 4-piece Cure embarked on two weeks of studio experimentation. This time with Mike Hedges co-producing, the band decided to explore the darker side of Robert's songwriting, and emerged with the minimalist classic 'Seventeen Seconds'. An album of extraordinary clarity and grace, the distinctive, almost cinematic 'A Forest' became the band's first bona fide UK hit single, and a Top Of The Pops appearance followed. With 'Seventeen Seconds' climbing to #20 in the UK album charts, The Cure set out on an extensive and exhilarating world tour of Europe, the USA and Australasia. Unfortunately, the strains of a frantic year proved too much for Matthieu Hartley, and he was forced to leave the band.

A trio once more, in the spring of 1981 The Cure, again with Mike Hedges co-producing, recorded 'Faith', a mournful, atmospheric album of bleak and barren soundscapes evoking a world of dissolution and fear. The band also finished an instrumental soundtrack for their 'tour support' film 'Carnage Visors'. 'Faith' reached #14 in the UK album charts, and spawned another successful single, the abrasively insistent 'Primary'. The global 'Picture Tour' that followed was an intense experience for all, and by the time the hauntingly beautiful non-album single 'Charlotte Sometimes' was released in October, the band were due a break.

But a break was not on the agenda. Instead, at the start of 1982 The Cure returned to the studio to produce an album, in tandem with Phil Thornalley, that was to be the culmination of their increasingly morbid fascination with darkness, despair and decay. 'Pornography', released in May, was infected with an unrelenting black nihilism, and rather ironically became the first Cure album to break into the UK Top 10 at #9. The 'Fourteen Explicit Moments' tour however, saw the band becoming increasingly more volatile and violent, and by the time 'The Hanging Garden' was released as a single, Simon Gallup had left.

Having pushed himself and those around him beyond the limits of excess, Robert realised it was make or break time, and that the only way to distance himself from all that the group had become was to 'lighten up' again. This he did with the counterfeit cheesy disco of 'Let's Go To Bed', an instant if unexpected pop hit in America! The Cure line-up was still in some disarray - the single was recorded with Wreckless Eric drummer Steve Goulding, Lol Tolhurst having moved onto keyboards - but another key Cure partnership was forged in the making of the accompanying promotional video, and the colourful collaboration with Tim Pope was another relationship that would stand the test of time.

The Cure continued to redefine themselves in 1983 with the groovy electronic dance of 'The Walk' (UK #12) and the demented cartoon jazz of 'The Lovecats', which became the band's first single to claim UK Top 10 status, reaching #7. Robert felt vindicated: he had worked through the rage and despair of 'Pornography', and with the release of these 3 wildly different singles, had effectively turned everyone's perception of The Cure upside down. 1983 was interspersed further with Robert's commitments recording and touring once more as a Banshee, helping write and record their 'Hyaena' and 'Nocturne' albums, as well as completing the 'Blue Sunshine' album as 'The Glove', an experimental project undertaken in partnership with Banshee Steve Severin. The three Cure singles and their B-sides were collectively released as the album 'Japanese Whispers' in December.

In 1984 'The Top' was released, and although billed as a Cure album, in reality Robert played everything on it save drums. The result was a strangely hallucinogenic mix that saw the band drift once more into the UK Top 10, a Top 20 single being achieved with the release of the infectiously psychedelic 'The Caterpillar'. Robert also recorded the Tim Pope single 'I Want To Be A Tree' at this time. With the world 'Top Tour' featuring the live line-up of Andy Anderson on drums, Phil Thornalley on bass and Porl Thompson back on guitar, the band were seemingly once more fully functioning and on their way. But for a number of reasons, come the end of the tour both Andy Anderson and Phil Thornalley had left the band. Boris Williams (drums) and a returning Simon Gallup (bass) replaced them.

This new incarnation started work on 1985's 'The Head On The Door' with enthusiasm, zeal, and a very real sense that 'something was happening'... Varied and diverse, and yet informed throughout with a wonderfully simple pop sensibility, 'THOTD', co-produced with Dave Allen, reached # 7 in the UK. The vibrant hit single 'Inbetween Days' was followed up by 'Close To Me', and another brilliant Tim Pope collaboration, this time featuring the five band members unaccountably trapped in a wardrobe, balanced perilously on the clifftop of the infamous suicide drop Beachy Head!

'THOTD' had managed #59 in the American Billboard Charts, and the accompanying world tour and ever increasing devotion of fans paved the way for the massive success of the impeccable collection 'Standing On A Beach'. Released in May 1986, the title taken from the first line of 'Killing An Arab', it featured all The Cure singles and B-sides to date. Complemented by a video version of the compilation 'Staring At The Sea', these releases, and yet another huge world tour, including the band's first headlining slot at Glastonbury, launched the band headlong into a worldwide 'big time'. The album broke into the US Top 50, and the American media suddenly became fascinated with Robert Smith. One publication labelled him "the male Kate Bush", and when he lopped off his notorious mop of hair in a fit of pique, it made MTV News On The Hour! 'Boy's Don't Cry' was re-sung, re-mixed and re-released as a single, and a year of extensive gigs and festivals was crowned in the August with Tim Pope's celebratory live concert fil
m 'The Cure In Orange', released for cinema and video the following Spring.

In 1987 The Cure brought out an immense and ambitious double album entitled 'Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me'. Lyrically and musically broader than anything they had yet attempted, the greatest strength of the album, once again co-produced with Dave Allen, lay in it's extreme diversity and extraordinary stylistic range, as the band moved effortlessly from dreamlike beauty to nightmare horror. Hit singles 'Why Can't I Be You?', 'Catch', 'Just Like Heaven' and 'Hot Hot Hot!!!' were released, all accompanied by more brilliantly inventive Tim Pope videos. With the arrival of Roger O'Donnell on keyboards, the 6-piece Cure travelled the world from July to December on the wildly successful 'Kissing Tour'.

In 1988 The Cure's first decade was officially documented with the 'Ten Imaginary Years' biography, and the band had a few well deserved months off. On reconvening for new demos, it became obvious that Lol Tolhurst's increasingly tenuous position in the group had soured beyond recognition and his departure was sadly inevitable.

His exit was followed by the completion and release in 1989 of the wonderfully atmospheric 'Disintegration'. Co-produced once more with Dave Allen, the album was a classic work of mournful grandeur and brooding power. It entered the UK charts at #3, and gave rise to 4 Top 20 singles; 'Lullaby' (which also garnered a 'Best Video' award at 'The Brits'), 'Fascination Street', 'Lovesong' and 'Pictures Of You'. The awesome 'Prayer Tour' that followed gave rise to some of the best performances The Cure had yet played, and the European leg included, among many memorable shows, a wonderful three night stint at Wembley Arena, whilst the USA leg took in sell-out crowds at the Giants and Dodgers Stadiums.

In early 1990 Roger O'Donnell left the group, and was replaced by long-time band friend and 'roadie' Perry Bamonte. The Cure headlined various festivals around Europe, including Glastonbury for a 2nd time, gave the royalties from their live album 'Entreat' to their 10 favourite charities, recorded the single 'Never Enough', and released 'Mixed Up', a collection of remixes old and new by such luminaries as Mark Saunders and William Orbit. The album also included the seminal Paul Oakenfold single remix 'Close To Me', and reached #13 in the UK and #14 in the US.

In February 1991 The Cure at last won some long overdue recognition at home with 'The Brits' award of 'Best British Group', and celebrated by filming a secret London gig as 'Five Imaginary Boys', debuting 4 new songs which would go on to form part of their next album. They also released 'Playout', a 'behind the scenes' live video containing excerpts of this show as well as a number of other strange TV performances!

'Wish' was hailed in 1992 as The Cure's best work yet. Again working with Dave Allen as co-producer, the album was a richly diverse, multi-faceted guitar driven album of massive appeal. It went straight in at #1 in the UK and #2 in the USA, and 3 more fabulous hit singles were taken from it; 'High', 'Friday I'm In Love', and 'A Letter To Elise'. This was another phenomenal year for The Cure, with the wonderfully kaleidoscopic 'Wish Tour' taking the band around the world again, playing sold-out shows wherever they went, from NZ's Wellington Town Hall to Dallas Texas Stadium...

The sheer power and excitement of the 'Wish Tour' performances inspired the release of two live works in 1993, 'Show' and 'Paris'. 'Show', a double album as well as a cinema and video release, captured the band onstage in Detroit performing 'all the hits and more', whereas 'Paris', a limited edition, presented the band live in the French capital playing a rather more eclectic collection of songs. Immediately after the tour, guitarist Porl Thompson left the band again, (this time with a smile!), and The Cure headlined the 'Great Xpectations Show' in London's Finsbury Park as a 4-piece on behalf of XFM. The band also contributed the song 'Burn' to the film 'The Crow', as well as covering 'Purple Haze' for the Hendrix tribute album 'Stone Free'.

The recording of new material was hindered in 1994 by a protracted and distracting legal action, instigated by Lol Tolhurst and finally settled in the Fall by High Court judgement in favour of the defendants Robert Smith and Fiction Records, and by the unexpected departure of drummer Boris Williams. A period of auditions was held, and Jason Cooper quickly took up residency behind the kit, as Roger O'Donnell rejoined on keyboards.

In 1995 The Cure contributed 'Dredd Song' to the film 'Judge Dredd', as well as covering Bowie's 'Young Americans', again in support of XFM. They broke off recording further new songs with co-producer Steve Lyon to headline some more major European Festivals, including, for an unprecedented 3rd time, the 25th Glastonbury. The band eventually returned to the studio (actually Jane Seymour's country mansion!) to finish off the new album in time for Christmas...

In January 1996 The Cure headlined the two Hollywood Rock festivals in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, returning to the UK for the release of the album 'Wild Mood Swings'. Although the sheer scope and scale of its diversity unsettled many people, it still went straight into almost every Top Ten around the world! The Cure hit the road once more with 'The Swing Tour', their biggest to date, and as the four singles 'The 13th', 'Mint Car', 'Strange Attraction' and 'Gone' were released to growing acclaim, the band played over 100 extraordinary concerts to increasingly rabid crowds around the globe.

In January 1997, Robert was invited to perform at David Bowie's 50th birthday party at Madison Square Gardens NYC, and was thrilled to sing and play a couple of songs onstage with the only living idol of his teenage days... Later in the year 'Galore', a collection of the second decade of Cure singles, including new track 'Wrong Number', was released on album and video. The Cure headlined another number of festivals in America and Europe, as well as performing live on several TV shows around the world.

In early 1998 Robert appeared in an episode of 'South Park' saving the world from the evil Mecha Streisand, as well as recording the song 'A Sign From God' for the Trey Parker/Matt Stone film 'Orgazmo'. The Cure also recorded 'World In My Eyes' for a Depeche Mode tribute, and 'More Than This' for the 'X-Files' album. During the summer The Cure headlined another 12 European festivals, played a secret gig in London for Miller Beer's 'Blind Date' competition, and then returned once more to Jane Seymour's house to record a new album with Paul Corkett (Depeche Mode, Placebo, Nick Cave) co-producing.

1999 saw the band complete the recording and mixing at RAK Studio in London and Fisher Lane Farm in Surrey, and with the new album 'Bloodflowers' finished, they went over to NYC to record an episode of VH1's Hard Rock Live, scheduled for broadcast in Spring 2000. Robert then embarked on an extensive global promotional campaign using TV, radio, print and the internet to get the word out...

...that 'Bloodflowers' is, in his opinion, the most perfect Cure album ever.

The Cure will be playing a limited number of small promotional shows in Europe and the USA around the February 2000 release date, before setting off around the world again for a full-scale 'Dream Tour' very soon after... as the story continues...

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Blur Biography

FORMED: 1989, Colchester, England The history of Blur can be traced back to 1980 when Damon Albarn (b.1968) and Graham Coxon (b.1969) met as schoolboys at Stanway Comprehensive School in Colchester, Essex, where they sang together in the choir. Both were drawn to music. Damon, a Londoner by birth, was the son of Keith Albarn, a former luminary of England's late-1960's psychedelic rock. Arriving in Colchester in the late '70's, young Damon began studying music. Coxon, who was born on an airbase in Germany, was also the son of a musician. He moved to Colchester in 1977 and was encouraged to learn the saxophone and guitar at Stanway. Alex James grew up in Bournemouth on England's south coast, coming to London in the late '80's to study at Goldsmith's College, where he first met Coxon. Colchester-born Dave Rowntree, whose father was a BBC sound engineer and whose mother played in an orchestra, "took up" the bagpipes at a young age and graduated to drums not long afterwards. These four men formed a bizarre, Brechtian art-punk band called Seymour -- Albarn on vocals (and occasional keyboards), Coxon on guitar, James on bass, and Rowntree on drums. After laying a dozen or so shows in and around London, they renamed the band Blur in 1989. Blur signed to Food Records later that year. The first release from Blur was the single "She's So High," in 1990. The story really began to gather speed with the next single, "There's No Other Way," a sizable hit in Britain in spring 1991. The song saw Blur working for the first time with the legendary producer Stephen Street (the Smiths, Morrissey, the Cranberries). Leisure, Blur's debut album, released in August 1991, was an enjoyable collection of songs influenced by Pink Floyd, the explosive guitars of My Bloody Valentine and vocal harmonies reminiscent of Revolver-era Beatles. A No. 7 hit in Britain, Leisure was soon outgrown by Blur, who announced a complete change of attack on their great, "lost" single "Popscene" in March 1992: furiously-paced, with blaring horns over punky guitars. Albarn had undergone a major transformation as a songwriter: from reticent bystander to caustic commentator, and Blur greedily stockpiled the songs that would make up their sophomore effort, the critical breakthrough, Modern Life Is Rubbish. Named after a piece of graffiti scrawled on a wall near London's hallowed monolith Marble Arch, Modern Life Is Rubbish (released in May 1993) was a total sea-change. Flying in the face of fashion, it was a huge pop encyclopedia of England (from Julian Cope to XTC, from the Beatles to Madness). The album's witty and touchingly parochial songs (variously bolstered by the use of string sections and brass sections) aimed for -- and achieved -- a quintessential English sound. This modern view of urban England was developed on the third Blur album, Parklife (a No.1 U.K. chart entry in April 1994), which took an analytical, often comical look at England's foibles and misfortunes. The band won four Brit Awards for Parklife in early 1995. Some months in the making, the much-misunderstood The Great Escape was Blur's worldwide coming of age. Its musical reach far outstripped traditional pop: banjo, Mellotron, curdled waltzes and zonked out keyboards all took a bow in the band's ingenious arrangements. The album spanned every age group, and Blur became the first group ever to receive front cover stories in the teen mag "Smash Hits" and the thirty-somethings' monthly "Mojo." The Great Escape shot straight into the British album charts at No. 1 -- it sold over one million copies in the U.K. alone -- and is Blur's biggest-selling album worldwide to date. A tour of British seaside resorts followed, during which Blur played to small audiences for one last time. Their fifth album, Blur, was released on Food/Paralophone in February 1997 in the U.K. and in March 1997 in the United States. It contained the breakout hit "Song 2" (Whee-hooo!). Two years later, 13 hit record store shelves. Rolling Stone called the William Orbit-produced album their "most playful set yet."

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The Smiths Biography

FORMED: 1982, Manchester, England
DISBANDED: August 1987

Acclaimed by many as the most important UK band of the 80s, the Smiths were formed in Manchester, England during the spring of 1982. Morrissey (b. Steven Patrick Morrissey, 22 May 1959, Davyhulme, Manchester, England) and Johnny Marr (b. John Maher, 31 October 1963, Ardwick, Manchester, England) originally combined as a songwriting partnership, and only their names appeared on any contract bearing the title "Smiths". Morrissey had previously played for a couple of months in the Nosebleeds and also rehearsed and auditioned with a late version of Slaughter And The Dogs. After that he wrote reviews for Record Mirror and penned a couple of booklets on the New York Dolls and James Dean. Marr, meanwhile, had played in several Wythenshawe groups including the Paris Valentinos, White Dice, Sister Ray and Freaky Party.

By the summer of 1982, the duo decided to form a group and recorded demos with drummer Simon Wolstencroft and a recording engineer named Dale. Wolstencroft subsequently declined an offer to join the Smiths and in later years became a member of the Fall. Eventually, Mike Joyce (b. 1 June 1963, Fallowfield, Manchester, England) was recruited as drummer, having previously played with the punk-inspired Hoax and Victim. During their debut gig at the Ritz in Manchester, the band was augmented by go-go dancer James Maker, who went on to join Raymonde and later RPLA.

By the end of 1982, the band appointed a permanent bass player. Andy Rourke (b. Manchester, England) was an alumnus of various previous groups with Marr. After being taken under the wing of local entrepreneur Joe Moss, the band strenuously rehearsed and after a series of gigs, signed to Rough Trade Records in the spring of 1983. By that time, they had issued their first single on the label, "Hand In Glove", which failed to reach the Top 50. During the summer of 1983, they became entwined in the first of several tabloid press controversies when it was alleged that their lyrics contained references to child molesting. The eloquent Morrissey, who was already emerging as a media spokesperson of considerable power, sternly refuted the rumours.

During the same period the band commenced work on their debut album with producer Troy Tate, but the sessions were curtailed, and a new set of recordings undertaken with John Porter. In November 1983 they issued their second single, "This Charming Man", a striking pop record that infiltrated the UK Top 30. Following an ill-fated trip to the USA at the end of the year, the quartet began 1984 with a new single, the notably rockier "What Difference Does It Make?", which took them to number 12.

The Smiths ably displayed the potential of the band, with Morrissey's oblique, genderless lyrics coalescing with Marr's spirited guitar work. The closing track of the album was the haunting "Suffer Little Children", a requiem to the child victims of the 60s Moors Murderers. The song later provoked a short-lived controversy in the tabloid press, which was resolved when the mother of one of the victims came out on Morrissey's side. A series of college gigs throughout Britain established the band as a cult favourite, with Morrissey displaying a distinctive image, complete with National Health spectacles, a hearing aid and bunches of gladioli. A collaboration with Sandie Shaw saw "Hand In Glove" transformed into a belated hit, while Morrissey dominated music press interviews.

His celibate stance provoked reams of speculation about his sexuality, and his ability to provide good copy on subjects as diverse as animal rights, royalty, Oscar Wilde and 60s films, made him a journalist's dream interviewee. The singer's celebrated miserabilism was reinforced by the release of the autobiographical "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now", which reached number 19 in the UK. Another Top 20 hit followed with "William, It Was Really Nothing". While the Smiths commenced work on their next album, Rough Trade issued the interim Hatful Of Hollow, a bargain-priced set that included various flip-sides and radio sessions. It was a surprisingly effective work, that captured their inchoate charm.

By 1984 the Smiths found themselves f坱ed as Britain's best band by various factions in the music press. The release of the sublime "How Soon Is Now?" justified much of the hyperbole and this was reinforced by the power of their next album, Meat Is Murder. This displayed Morrissey's increasing tendency towards social commentary, which had been indicated in his controversial comments on Band Aid and the IRA bombings. The album chronicled violence at schools ("The Headmaster Ritual"), adolescent thuggery ("Rusholme Ruffians"), child abuse ("Barbarism Begins At Home") and animal slaughter ("Meat Is Murder"). The proselytizing tone was brilliantly complemented by the musicianship of Marr, Rourke and Joyce.

Marr's work on such songs as "The Headmaster Ritual" and "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore' effectively propelled him to a position as one of Britain"s most respected rock guitarists. Despite releasing a milestone album, the band's fortunes in the singles charts were relatively disappointing. "Shakespeare's Sister" received a lukewarm response and stalled at number 26, amid ever-growing rumours that the group were dissatisfied with their record label. Another major UK tour in 1985 coincided with various management upheavals, which dissipated the band's energies.

A successful trek across the USA was followed by the release of the plaintive summer single "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side", which, despite its commerciality, only reached number 23. A dispute with Rough Trade delayed the release of the next Smiths album, which was preceded by the superb "Big Mouth Strikes Again", another example of Marr at his best. During the same period, Rourke was briefly ousted from the band due to his flirtation with heroin. He was soon reinstated, however, along with a second guitarist, Craig Gannon, who had previously played with Aztec Camera, the Bluebells and Colourfield. In June 1986, The Queen Is Dead was issued and won immediate critical acclaim for its diversity and unadulterated power.

The range of mood and emotion offered on the album was startling to behold, ranging from the epic grandeur of the title track to the overt romanticism of "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" and the irreverent comedy of "Frankly, Mr Shankly" and "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others". A superb display of Morrissey/Marr at their apotheosis, the album was rightly placed alongside Meat Is Murder as one of the finest achievements of the decade. A debilitating stadium tour of the USA followed and during the group's absence they enjoyed a formidable Top 20 hit with the disco-denouncing "Panic". The sentiments of the song, coupled with Morrissey's negative comments on certain aspects of black music, provoked further adverse comments in the press.

That controversy was soon replaced by the news that the Smiths were to record only one more album for Rough Trade and intended to transfer their operation to the major label EMI Records. Meanwhile, the light pop of "Ask' contrasted with riotous scenes during the band"s 1986 UK tour. At the height of the drama, the band almost suffered a fatality when Johnny Marr was involved in a car crash. While he recuperated, guitarist Craig Gannon was fired, a decision that prompted legal action. The band ended the year with a concert at the Brixton Academy supported by fellow Mancunians the Fall. It was to prove their final UK appearance.

After another hit with "Shoplifters Of The World Unite" they completed what would prove to be their final album. The glam rock-inspired "Sheila Take A Bow" returned them to the Top 10 and their profile was maintained with the release of another sampler album, The World Won't Listen. Marr was growing increasingly disenchanted with the group's musical direction, however, and privately announced that he required a break. With the band's future still in doubt, press speculation proved so intense that an official announcement of a split occurred in August 1987.

Strangeways, Here We Come, an intriguing transitional album, was issued posthumously. The work indicated the different directions towards which the major protagonists were progressing during their final phase. A prestigious television documentary examining the group's career followed on The South Bank Show, and a belated live album, Rank, was issued the following year. The junior members Rourke and Joyce initially appeared with Brix Smith's Adult Net, then backed Sin俛d O'Connor, before Joyce joined the Buzzcocks.

Morrissey pursued a solo career, while Marr moved from the Pretenders to The The and Electronic, as well as appearing on a variety of sessions for artists as diverse as Bryan Ferry, Talking Heads, Billy Bragg, Kirsty MacColl, the Pet Shop Boys, Stex and Banderas. In 1992, there was renewed interest in the Smiths following the furore surrounding Johnny Rogan's controversial biography of the band, and Warner Brothers Records' acquisition of their back catalogue from Rough Trade. In 1996, the long-standing legal action taken by Mike Joyce was resolved with Morrissey and Marr losing their case. Joyce was awarded damages of ? million, and Morrissey subsequently lost his appeal..source:sing365.com

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The Feeling Biography

Dan Gillespie Sells - vocals & guitar
Richard Jones - bass
Kevin Jeremiah - guitar
Ciaran Jeremiah - keyboards
Paul Stewart - drums

The Feeling are five twentysomethings from Sussex and London who love pop music. Great big no-nonsense, hook-filled, giant-chorused pop music – music for the masses, only intelligent, with sunshine hooks and killer choruses that everyone can hum, from plumbers to professors.

Singer Dan Gillespie Sells, who admits to having had an indie phase once, says: "There are no guilty pleasures anymore. You're allowed to like Andrew Gold, ELO, Supertramp or 10cc. It's really liberating."

The Feeling are pop and proud. They're reclaiming the term.

Like The Raspberries or, more recently, Jellyfish or The New Radicals, The Feeling are premier exponents of prog pop meets nouveau soft-rock.

GET THE FEELING 2: THE MUSIC
"You can get away with murder in pop music," says Dan. "We like getting away with murder. We like great big choruses with great big hooks."

If there's a Lennon & McCartney - or rather, Becker-Fagen, Gouldman-Stewart, or Godley & Crème - in The Feeling, it's the hydra-headed Dan Gillespie Sells, who handles the music and the words. The band, they say, have to "wrestle the songs out of him."

As a Queen fan, Dan admits he doesn't just like "concise pop songs" - he's also a bit partial to "prog epics with ludicrous outros."

This perfect blend of pop and prog will soon see the light of day on The Feeling's debut album "Twelve Stops And Home". It will be a 12-track affair "with no fillers, all stonkers - a classic album."

It will also, explains Richard, be "lush and epic," while at the same time being, in Dan's words, "stripped-down." The singer cites early Elton John records, The Beatles' swansong and The Carpenters as examples of the feel The Feeling are after.

"They were epic but not lavishly orchestrated," says Dan. "'Rocket Man' is just bass, guitar, piano and drums, but it's vocally driven with not much else going on. ‘Let It Be’ was still powerful without the orchestration. It still had epic-ness; a melodic strength to it. Or 'Solitaire' by The Carpenters: that's a great example of a song that's epic but stripped down. The Carpenters were a big influence on me."

GET THE FEELING 3: THE HISTORY
The Feeling, who are all between 25 and 27, are overnight sensations with a bit of a past, cutting their teeth as session musicians on a variety of mainstream and marginal recordings. They're all from Sussex, except Dan, who's from London. Paul, Kevin and Ciaran even went to the same school: Paul and Ciaran were in the same year. The Sussex axis of the band have been friends for 13 years. They met Dan and Richard at music college in Croydon 10 years ago, and they've been working together in various forms ever since.

Five years ago they went through their "Hamburg era" when they appeared for several seasons in the Alps as a covers band who specialised in versions of Rolling Stones, Kinks, Stevie Wonder and Beatles songs as well as rocked-up versions of '80s hits like "Take On Me" by A-ha, "Walk Like An Egyptian" by The Bangles and "Jump" by Van Halen: "Whatever got the crowd going."

The band still go back there, to try out new material.

"It's our spiritual home," says Richard, adding more seriously: "That's how
we got good at playing."

GET THE FEELING 4: THE PLAYERS
The Feeling are, let's not be coy, superb musicians who have spent years honing their craft. That's not to imply that virtuoso expertise and dexterous professionalism in rock'n'roll are a necessity. But it certainly helps if you can play your instruments. And these cats can play.

But who inspired them, as individuals?

Paul?
"Loads of people! Mick Fleetwood, Bernard Purdie, Roger Taylor and Ringo are all big influences. There seems to be a misconception that Ringo was crap, but some of his parts were genius," says the drummer. "I’d love to contribute as much to our sound as he did to The Beatles."

Dan?
"Karen Carpenter was one of the greatest vocal technicians ever. She had a clean, pure voice, only filled with oodles of emotion. It was heartbreaking. But it doesn't have to be flourish-y or over-elaborate. I'd choose Freddie Mercury for his stage presence, and Neil
Young for his guitar-playing. I'd like to be Karen Carpenter in Neil Young's body. With Freddie Mercury's trousers."

Richard?
"I like to get involved with the whole arrangement and see how I can complement it with my part. Bassists like Paul McCartney or John Deacon were great in this way. For technicality, I'd pick Jaco Pastorius [jazz-rock fusion supremo] or James Jamerson [Motown] "

Kevin?
"Slash and Brian May - Slash for the sheer attitude of his playing, and Brian May for the fact that his solos are always an indispensable part of every Queen song."

Ciaran?
"Maybe Joe Zawinul," says the quiet but deadly keyboardist, and you've got
to admire a band that reference groups like Earth Wind & Fire and Weather
Report. "But my favourites would be Garth Hudson of The Band and Tom Waits."

GET THE FEELING 5: THE FUTURE
The Feeling have an assured future. With dead-cert smash hits like "Fill My
Little World", the joyous harmonies of "I Want You Now", the lilting acoustic and electric guitars and micro-melodies of "Never Be Lonely", the surging keyboard refrains and pop riffs of "Love It When You Call", touching piano ballads like "Strange" and "Spare Me", and the awesomely infectious "Helicopter", pretty soon you won't be able to - hey! - fight The Feeling. They'll just be there, on our radios, a part of all our lives.source:sing365.com

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Jet Biography

Everyone talks about rock these days, the problem is, they forget about the roll. How Keith Richards- who made this comment about post 90's rock music- must love Jet. They rock like there's no tomorrow yet they also roll like the greats of yesterday. As their debut album 'Get Born' proves, this Melbourne four piece, Nic Cester (guitar/vocals), Chris Cester (drums/vocals), Cameron Muncey (guitar/vocals), Mark Wilson (bass), stand for everything that is raw, primitive, direct and loose about rock music. Like all the best bands they trace their influences to the source. I think we were always interested in tracing the roots of this music, explains Chris. We wanted to look beyond the sixties and the seventies and find out where that music came from. That's why we do a cover of Elvis' 'That's Alright Mamma' at the shows. It's just a natural exploration for us.

Jet are steeped in rock folklore. Like The Kinks, AC/DC and Oasis before them- all major influences- they feature two photogenic brothers (Nic and Chris Cester). Their name is on loan from Paul McCartney's frazzled post-Beatles peak from 1973, whilst their debut E.P. 'Dirty Sweet' (Rubber Records) took it's name from T-Rex, and in acoustic highlight 'Move On' had the song The Faces were too hungover to write. But then that's what happens if the first album you ever heard was 'Abbey Road.' My parents had some bad records, explains Chris. But that one always stood out as great. I'd sit there banging on these cushions with a pair of chopsticks playing 'Mean Mr. Mustard.' We formed an entire imaginary band, where we'd play guitars on tennis rackets and do gigs. We were called The Boys, I think?

Such fantasy infuses Jet. Just as Liam Gallagher remarked that BRMC deserved their early Oasis support slots because they 'dared to look like a rock'n'roll band' so Jet see rock music with a clarity only available to those who grew up five thousand miles away in Australia. Where US and British bands subconsciously obey the whims of a media for whom rock's central texts (Beatles, Stones) are somehow seen as passé, Jet bring with them a lucidity and freshness that comes from both youth and sheer Oz-centric bloodymindedness. Jet don't know the rules, and even if they did, they'd break them.

Beginnings. Having grown up in the suburbs of Melbourne on a strict diet of classic rock, the Cester brothers (Nic is three years older at 24) found disaster looming. A terrible blight was about to hit the youth of the Melbourne suburbs. Grunge. I couldn't stand the stuff, continues Nic. To me that was real slit your wrists music. It didn't relate to this idea of rock'n'roll I had in my head. I'd grown up loving The Who, The Easybeats, The Faces and The Stones and these guys were taking music somewhere I didn't want to go. They didn't have that feeling in the music that all great bands have got. Oasis were the last ones.

A long spell in the netherworld of the Melbourne live circuit followed. At the time I think we felt we weren't ever going to break free from that scene, explains Nic. That's why songs like 'Radio Song' have got that feeling of resignation about them. At the time it was unimaginable that a band like ours would get any recognition at all. As with everything, timing was all. Having recruited towering bassist Mark Wilson and sworn to get serious Jet's first few shows coincided with the global success of local heroes The Vines. With the A&R feeding frenzy fuelled by a breathless review in the NME of debut single 'Take It Or Leave It' describing it as a hybrid of the 'Rolling Stones and the balls-out stadium rock of AC/DC' the band duly signed to Elektra, the very birthplace of classic American rock.

The result is 'Get Born.' Produced by Dave Sardy (Dandy Warhols, Marilyn Manson) at the legendary Sunset Sound Studios in LA, 'Get Born' is a reminder of rock at its most primal, vibrant and honest. At its frantic best: 'Get What You Need'; 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl'; 'Get Me Out Of Here'; it hits you straight and deep in a manner to rival The Ramones. Elsewhere with the Nic-penned 'Look What You've Done', the elegiac 'Radio Song' and the ELO-ish 'Lazy Gun' they suggest the wistfulness of everyone from Badfinger to Todd Rundgren after he called time on The Nazz. Lyrically it's home to an epic wantonness to match legendary Oz-rockers The Saints. When Nic growls I know we ain't got much to say in new single 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' or Dance little deejay c'mon in 'Rollover DJ' you can almost hear the female knees buckle and feel ten years of club culture whither on the vine. We wanted to make a contemporary album, states Chris. We didn't want to make a one dimensional rock'n'roll record either. Albums should be able to reflect all sides of your personality, that's why songs like 'Timothy' and 'Radio Song' are on there. We're trying to get the same amount of emotion you get when you listen to an album like Goats Head Soup. There are quieter moments and others where you just want to go crazy.

Proof of their success came with a call halfway through recording from The Stones camp offering the band the support slot on the Australian leg of The Rolling Stones world tour. Clearly, Jet have got the roll.

I like the idea of 'Get Born' having two meanings adds Chris finally. Like 'Rubber Soul.' It's basically a reminder to forget your problems and celebrate the moment instead. It's a rejection of all those feelings of negativity or depression you might get. It's a heartfelt thing, and that's where that primal energy comes through the music.

The choice is yours. Or, as Nic puts it so succinctly on 'Take It Or Leave It': You better roll with whatever you know/ You better move/ If you don't know what to do, here's the groove.source:sing365.com

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