Rather a ‘catch-all’ category that includes many musically diverse bands from the 1980s and 1990s, ‘alternative’ is generally an American term referring to any remotely leftfield and non-mainstream band, whereas ‘indie rock’ originally refers generally to the UK bands recording for smaller, independent labels, again usually meaning non-mainstream bands. Alternative encompasses many sub-styles. To complicate matters, ...
A musical ensemble is a group of two or more musicians who have come together to play music. In theory, an ensemble could contain any number of instruments in any combination, but in practice, certain combinations just don’t work very well, either for musical reasons or because of the sheer practicality of getting particular instruments and players ...
During the mid-1960s, America’s military action in Vietnam was escalating out of control; students around the world were becoming more politically involved, civil rights and feminism were hot issues and the burgeoning youth movement was turning onto the effects of mind-bending drugs. Accordingly, certain strains of popular music melded attitude, experimentation and a social conscience, and ...
Following the release of ‘Hometown Glory’, anticipation for Adele’s first album began to mount seriously. A big moment for Adele was when the producers of BBC2’s Later… With Jools Holland got in touch after viewing her material on YouTube. They invited her to appear on the show, which she did in August 2007 – alongside former Beatle Paul McCartney and ...
As a schoolgirl, Adele had music constantly on the brain. She even persuaded her mother to make her a sequined eye patch to wear to school so she could channel pop star Gabrielle. Adele’s natural musicality saw her take up clarinet and guitar, but her ultimate devotion was reserved for vocals. She used to queue for hours to get ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 2002–present) After fans posted early demos of theirs online and created a Myspace profile for them (before the band themselves were even aware of the site’s existence), Sheffield’s Arctic Monkeys – Alex Turner (vocals), Jamie Turner (guitar), Matt Helders (drums) and Andy Nicholson (bass) – saw their wryly accurate take on northern English life consumed by the public. ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1992–present) Hailing from Northern Ireland, Ash comprise Tim Wheeler, (vocals, guitar), Mark Hamilton (bass) and Rick McMurray (drums). Initially trading as teenagers, their infectious blend of indie rock was captured on their debut album 1977 (1996). They had expanded to a wider palette on Nu-Clear Sound (1998) by which time they had added Charlotte ...
Indie guitarist and producer Bernard Butler (b. 1970) was born in Tottenham, London. After learning violin as a child, he took up guitar at the age of 14, inspired by Johnny Marr, learning Smiths’ guitar parts by watching the band play live. He was also influenced by Bernard Sumner and Aztec Camera’s Roddy Frame. After replying to ...
Coldplay were formed in London in 1996 by four college friends – Chris Martin (born 2 March 1977, vocals), Jonny Buckland (born 11 September 1977, guitar), Will Champion (born 31 July 1978, drums) and Guy Berryman (born 12 April 1978, bass). Their early years were similar to thousands of other struggling young bands in the UK’s capital ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 2002–present) Birmingham’s Editors have become one of the most critically successful bands to come out of Britain in the twenty-first century. Tom Smith (vocals, guitar, piano), Chris Urbanowicz (guitar, synthesizer), Russell Leetch (bass, backing vocals) and Ed Lay (drums) purvey synth-infused indie rock, debut album The Back Room reaching No. 2 in 2005. ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1982–present) Ben Watt (guitar) and Tracey Thorn (vocals, bass) travelled a fascinating road, from the jazz-inflected indie of their self-titled debut in 1984 to the trip hop and drum’n’bass of Walking Wounded in 1996. This crossover was catalyzed by Thorn’s guest appearance on Massive Attack’s Protection in 1994, and DJ Todd Terry’s remix of ‘Missing’, ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1999–present) It was the title track from their third album that brought Gossip and larger-than-life frontwoman Beth Ditto to the world’s attention. The three-piece dance-rock band – the other members being guitarist Brace Paine and drummer Hannah Blilie – released ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ in 2006, which became an indie anthem. Ditto became something of ...
Indie guitarist Graham Coxon (b. 1969) was born in West Berlin, the son of an army bandsman. His early years were characterized by the itinerant army life until the family settled in Colchester in the late 1970s. The young Coxon was a Beatles fan and possessed a talent for art. He began to learn saxophone and then at 12, ...
April California Music Awards Whilst their critical stock may have been low in other territories, it remained high in the Bay Area. This was confirmed when Green Day won eight statuettes at the annual California Music Awards (formerly the Bammies) held in Oakland on 24 April, hosted by Huey Lewis. Warning won Outstanding Album, and Outstanding Punk Rock/Ska ...
(Singer-songwriter, b. 1986) London-based singer-songwriter Jamie T (Jamie Alexander Treays) fared favourably with critics since his debut in January 2007 when his frenetic, garage-cum-indie debut Panic Prevention reached No. 4 in the UK. He released second album Kings & Queens nearly three years later, which did even better. His dry and witty observational lyrics on tracks like ‘Sheila’ ...
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David Bowie
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