(Singer-songwriter, b. 1974) This Canadian singer recorded two teen-oriented albums that went nowhere in 1990 and 1992. Signed to Madonna’s Maverick label, major debut Jagged Little Pill (1995) was a multi-platinum success. Music aside, it was Morissette’s abrasive, honest, sharp lyrical concerns, ranging from anger at being jilted to confessional, that captivated. Singles like ‘Ironic’ and the Chilis-esque rock power of ‘You Oughta Know’ were huge hits. Second album Supposed Former ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1987–present) This Seattle group, Layne Staley (vocals), Jerry Cantrell (guitar), Mike Starr (bass) and Sean Kinney (drums), cut their teeth on a winning blend of metal and acoustic numbers before being remarketed as a ‘grunge’ act after Nirvana’s huge success. Their second album Dirt (1992) won acclaim and huge sales, a position cemented by Jar Of Flies EP (1994) and an eponymous third album (1995). Despite spawning imitators, they ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 2001–07) Formed from various seminal rock groups of the heaviest ilk, Audioslave – Chris Cornell (vocals), Tom Morello (guitar), Brad Wilk (drums) and Tim Commerford (bass) – make a racket honed through experience gained in the likes of influential acts Rage Against The Machine and Soundgarden. Perhaps too dry to be taken in one sitting, their eponymous debut still served up ‘Cochise’ (2002), a track so immediately energizing that ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1992–present) Formed in 1992 by Gavin Rossdale, (guitar, vocals), Dave Parsons (bass), Nigel Pulsford (guitar) and Robin Goodridge (drums), Bush were playing UK dives when signed by American label Interscope. The grunge-powered sound of their debut album Sixteen Stones (1994) received heavy rotation on American radio – with equally healthy sales – after the breakthrough ‘Everything Zen’ single. Hard touring and hard sounding Razorblade Suitcase (1996) produced by Steve ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1992–present) Formed in Georgia, USA by Ed Rowland (guitar, vocals), brother Dean Rowland (guitar), Ross Childress (guitar), Will Turpin (bass) and Shane Evans (drums). Helped by the ripple effect of the Seattle grunge movement, their hook-laden 1994 single ‘Shine’ became an American hit securing a willing audience for the band’s intense but melodic rock. Hints, Allegations And Things Best Left Unsaid (1993) and eponymous second album (1995) are the ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1995–2004, 2009–present) One of the biggest post-grunge rock acts, formed in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1995, Scott Stapp (vocals), Mark Tremonti (guitar, vocals), Brian Marshall (bass) and Scott Phillips (drums) self-financed their debut album My Own Prison (1998). This collection of powerful rock tunes and genuinely spiritual lyrics went on to spawn a record four US No. 1 singles including ‘One’ and ‘What’s This Life For’. Human Clay (1999) and ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1992–present) Feeder – Grant Nicholas (guitar, vocals), Taka Hirose (bass) and Mark Richardson (drums, left 2009) – formed in London, but are a Welsh/Japanese/English hybrid. It was not until third album Echo Park (2001) that their brand of bombastic, yelping yet highly singalong rock was noticed by the masses. The suicide of first drummer Jon Lee in early 2002 cast a grim light on subsequent material, but by 2005’s ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1995–present) Foo Fighters, the post-Nirvana project of Dave Grohl with Taylor Hawkins (drums), Nate Mendel (bass) and Chris Shiflett (guitar) saw the drummer-turned-singer storm the charts again and again with an honest, workaday approach to rock that was, more often that not, humorously handled. Thankfully too, Grohl could write a melody, and this meant his new band made countless radio hits rather than imitating the obscure punk that had ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1994–present) Butch Vig, Steve Marker and Duke Erikson were already successful producers and musicians – Vig producing Nirvana’s Nevermind (1991) – before they recruited Scottish singer Shirley Manson to form Garbage. Pristine intelligent rock of eponymous solo album (1995) spawned monster international single ‘Stupid Girl’. Follow up Version 2.0 (1998) was more electronic but an equally compelling set. Beautiful Garbage (2001) and subsequent Bleed Like Me (2005) shows that, ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1989–2002) Hole formed in LA with Eric Erlandson (guitar), Jill Emery (bass) and Caroline Rue (drums). As lead singer, Courtney Love was an arresting presence delivering lyrics whose concerns raged from sleaze to sex. Early singles and debut album Pretty On The Inside (1991) won UK and US followings. By Live Through This (1994) Love’s husband, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, was dead and a media circus in full swing. ...
‘The Middle’, 2002 Where many bands imploded, or just did not have the legs for it, Jimmy Eat World survived the mid-1990s grunge scene. ‘The Middle’ was the second single from their 2001 Bleed American album, and it proved to be a worldwide smash, and their biggest single to date. Once linked with grunge, now linked – in the media at least – to emo, Jimmy Eat World still continue to ...
Grunge guitarist Kim Thayil (b. 1960) was born in Seattle, Washington. He was inspired to play guitar by Kiss, subsequently backtracking to the music which inspired them – The New York Dolls, MC5, The Stooges and The Velvet Underground. He bought his first guitar, a Guild S-100, which he would use throughout his career, and formed his first band in high school. While studying philosophy at the University of Washington, he ...
Arguably the most important alternative guitarist of the 1990s, Kurt Cobain (1967–94) was born in Aberdeen, Washington. His parents divorced when he was seven, which had a traumatic effect on Cobain, tainting the remainder of his life. From an early age, he showed a keen interest in music, singing along to Beatles’ songs on the radio. Given a guitar for his fourteenth birthday, he taught himself to play along to ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1989–2009) Formed in Pennsylvania, Live – who pulled their name out of a hat – comprise Chad Taylor (guitar), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass), Chad Gracey (drums) and Ed Kowalczyk (vocals). Local shows soon won a following for their blend of rock with a spiritual message that suggested a 40-watt U2. Their debut album Metal Jewelry (1991) won a wider indie fanbase whilst Throwing Copper (1994) saw them enjoy US chart ...
Alternative-rock guitarist Mike McCready (b. 1966) was born in Pensacola, Florida. His family moved to Seattle soon afterwards. He was 11 when he bought his first guitar and began to take lessons. In high school, McCready formed a band that disintegrated after they were unsuccessful in obtaining a record contract in Los Angeles. Disillusioned, he did not pick up a guitar again for several months until inspired to resume playing by ...
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David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
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