other songwriter and vocalist. Mould launched a solo career with Workbook (1989), which surprised many. His characteristic wall-of-guitars sound, which was to see him hailed as the godfather of grunge, was largely replaced by a more reflective, acoustic ambience. Black Sheets Of Rain (1991) returned him to familiar guitar-heavy terrain, which continued in Mould’s new band Sugar ...
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, ...
were doing little that The Pixies hadn’t already attempted over a cult four-album career, though the group’s talismanic 1991 album Nevermind was greeted by media overkill. Indeed, the grunge phenomenon eventually found itself suffering from many of the ailments that it had seemed like curing. Seattle Stars Third-rate imitators were soon crawling out of the woodwork, though the credentials ...
had the most far-reaching impact on the latter-day rock scene. Merging dissonant early 1970s heavy metal guitars with the hostile attitude, alienated lyrics and in-your-face music of punk, grunge first rose to prominence thanks to bands such as Soundgarden, Mudhoney and Green River, and then reached its apotheosis with the more melodic approach of Nirvana and Pearl ...
(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 ...
and the quality of their material saw Suede hailed by the music press as ‘the best new band in Britain’ before they had recorded anything. Suede spearheaded a shift from grunge towards a more British sound, which would culminate in the Britpop phenomenon of the mid-Nineties. Since the early days of Suede, Butler has been associated primarily with his ...
(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 ...
, 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 ...
(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 ...
Blur on signing to indie label Food in 1990. Their first album Leisure (1990) was derivative of both the Madchester and shoegazing scenes. Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993) reacted against grunge and American culture by celebrating Englishness. The two-million-selling Parklife (1994) helped to popularize what was soon dubbed ‘Britpop’. The theme continued on the oddly lacklustre The Great Escape (1995). Coxon’s ...
‘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 ...
veering from thoughtful to angst, often in the same song, such as ‘Creep’, a slow-burning hit around the world with Yorke’s self-loathing lyrics contrasting with Greenwood’s scratchy, grunge guitar. The Bends (1995) refused to conform to the expected follow-up and was instead a low-key album of melancholic grandeur with Yorke’s vocals set against dense guitar arrangements. But they ...
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 ...
Hailed as one of hard rock’s greatest rhythm guitarists, Malcolm Young (b. 1953) was born in Glasgow, Scotland. When he was 10, the family emmigrated to Sydney, Australia, where Malcolm and younger brother Angus were taught to play guitar by elder sibling George, a member of The Easybeats. Malcolm founded AC/DC with Angus in 1973. ...
Thriller, selling 15 million copies worldwide and spawning five hit singles including ‘Enter Sandman’ and ‘Nothing Else Matters’. Whilst touring this set around the world for over two years grunge changed the points on the American music railroad. It was not until 1996 that a new Metallica album Load was released. As equally commercial and compelling as Metallica, some ...
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David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.