It wasn't all Oasis and Blur. Number 2 - Space

-


Space are another band who had constant airplay in the 90s, but now seems to have disappeared from a lot of people's recollection of those times.
They were a regular feature on TFI Friday, appearing throughout the decade, with performances and appearances in filmed sketches.
Their music incorporated elements of electronica, sampling, hip-hop, techno, post-punk, ska, lounge music, and even film scores, to showcase the diverse tastes of the band members.  Critics in the music press often labelled their style "queasy listening" due to the "sometimes unsettling and of their lyrics and themes."

The band from Liverpool, and formed in 1992 initially as a trio, featuring Tommy Scott (vocals, bass, guitar), Jamie Murphy (vocals, guitar) and Jamie Island (drums), who was later replaced by Andy Parle in 1993. Keyboard player Franny Griffiths joined the line-up a year later, and the band signed to Gut Records.

The hits of their you may remember are "Female of the Species", which was the theme tune to 90's TV show Cold Feet,  "Me and You Versus the World", "Neighbourhood", "Avenging Angels" and "The Ballad of Tom Jones", the last one a duet with Cerys Matthews of Catatonia.

Their first two albums, Spiders (1996) and Tin Planet (1998), achieved great success and both went platinum in the UK.

Space experienced several lineup changes over the years, with Scott being the only consistent member. 

Work on their third album, Love you more than Football, was troubled, and it was eventually shelved once the band were released from their contract with Gut.
They finally disbanded in 2005, following low sales and a lukewarm reception of their fourth album Suburban Rock N' Roll  (2004), although it was still acclaimed by their hardcore fans.
Tommy Scott went on to form The Drellas, which in 2011 morphed into the second incarnation of Space after Griffiths (and briefly Murphy) joined the group.

Space have continued to perform live and release studio albums, including the brilliantly named Attack of the Mutant 50ft Kebab (2014) and Give Me Your Future (2017).
In 2019, twenty years after it was recorded, Love You More than Football was officially released as part of a career-spanning Anthology boxset. 

The band's seventh album, Music for Pleasure Music for Pain, was released in 2021

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wet Leg said, "Eat shit, Oasis." Here's why that's a good thing.

-
Image
Wet Leg recently replaced Oasis' Time Flies' greatest hits from the top of the album chart with the release of their second album, Moisturiser.  On their Instagram page, Wet Leg's singer Rhian Teasdale was shown holding a copy of their new album and a dumb and dumber style Oasis t-shirt pictured above. On their stories, they posted, "Yay, eat shit Oasis hehe."     Here's why that's a good thing.  Bands should trash everything that has gone before them. They should rip apart the legend of the older people and show them as out-of-touch, show how their music is of now, and show that everything that went before is dated and dead.       Oasis did it themselves back in the '90s, to their musical peers.       The Sex Pistols mocked musicians and bands they felt were archaic, as well as the monarchy and establishment figures.      The Clash sang, in their song London's Calling, "phoney Beatlemania has bitten ...
Read more

Hey Dude... It's Kula Shaker! Psychedelic guitars, numerology, and controversy...

-
Image
In September 1995 Kula Shaker were joint winners of the In The City contest, along with Placebo. This resulted in a record contract with Columbia Records. Crispian Mills, the band's frontman, has a strong interest in Indian culture, mysticism, and numerology, which heavily influenced the band's creative process.  The band name "Kula Shaker" is derived from the name of a ninth-century Indian emperor and holy man, King Kulashekhara, according to Wikipedia. The band's frontman, Crispian Mills, suggested the name as it is considered lucky in Indian culture Their first single "Tattva" was released in January 1996, but it entered just outside the UK Top 75, at number 86.  This was followed in April by the band's second single, "Grateful When You're Dead", which this time entered the top UK Top 40, (going in at No. 35).  The public began to take notice of the band, and they gained more airplay and sudden exposure when t...
Read more

"Hey Dad, watch this.." 6 books about Britpop to get you through a summer holidays.

-
Image
There is still time to squeeze in a holiday before the sun sets on summertime. If you are like me, you'll need a few books to get you through the long hours spent on a sun lounger, in between the moments the kids say, "Hey dad, watch this." And then doing something they've already shown you a thousand times that day... Here are six of the best books about Britpop you might choose to pack or download.  1. "Uncommon People: Britpop and Beyond in 20 Songs" by Miranda Sawyer: Miranda Sawyer uses 20 songs to explore the Britpop era, offering insights into the artists, their music, and the culture of the 90's.  2. "Britpop!: Cool Britannia And The Spectacular Demise Of English Rock" by John Harris: An encyclopedic look at the Britpop scene, covering its rise and decline. It delves into the cultural context of the bands that defined the era.   3. "Coal Black Mornings" by Brett Anderson: This is...
Read more