Joyriders Gazette

The Blur "Life" trilogy. The three albums recorded in the 90s before they changed direction with their self-titled album.  First came Modern Life is Rubbish, then Parklife, and then finally The Great Escape. Originally, Blur wanted The Great Escape’s title to contain ‘Life’, like the two albums which preceded it, but they were running out of time to make a decision, and so The Great Escape was quickly chosen. The Great Escape featured Country House, which is possibly one of Blur’s best-loved tracks and the victor from the Oasis vs Blur battle.   The Universal, and its amazing Clockwork Orange-style video. There is the song Dan Abnormal – an anagram of Damon Albarn – one of the most autobiographical songs on the record. And then one of my favourites from the album Ernold Same, which I still cannot believe features then-MP, and future Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone as lead performer!!  Of the trilogy, this album just might be my favourite. 

Faster was the first song released on the Manic Street Preachers' 3rd studio album the holy bible.  It's a song that critics always name as one of their favourite Manics songs, but why did the band receive 25,000 complaints, a record number at the time, when they performed it on Top of the Pops?  Emily Mackay named it as the 5th best Manic Street Preachers song at The Guardian. Mackay opined "Its darkly rushing chorus is a perfect example of how Bradfield's music lifted Edwards' lyrics into something that, though harsh, was also full of an almost joyous energy, a mile-a-minute thrill and a sense of limitless audacity."  James Forryan of HMV selected the song as one of the band's 5 highlights, who regarded it as among the best examples of Edwards' "peak of his powers as lyricist." The controversy was not because of the song, but because of their appearance on Top of the Pops promoting the song.  James Dean Bradfield tol...

One of the unanswered mysteries of the 90s for me is why wasn't Shed 7 a bigger band than they were?  They are always spoken of favourably now for those of us who remember that time if music keenly.  But why weren't they bigger in the 90s? Don't get me wrong, people like them in the 90s, but they were not many people favourite band. Third favourite maybe, but never quite at the top of the pile.  They had the hits. Thumping great singalong tunes like going for gold, disco down, getting better, chasing rainbows to name just a few.  So what was the issue?  Was there something amiss with the band itself?  The initial press attention was highly positive reviews of their live shows, coupled with complimentary comparisons to The Smiths.  In March 1994, an article by Dave Simpson of MelodyMaker, stated that "...Shed Seven's beautifully posed, epic music is different. Not so much New Wave of New Wave as post-Smiths, they're taking the in...

Pulp caused a media storm in 1995 with the release of their single Sorted for E's & Wizz.  The song was first performed at the Glastonbury Festival in 1995, where Jarvis Cocker explained his inspiration. "'Sorted for E's and Wizz' is a phrase a girl that I met in Sheffield once told me...she went to see The Stone Roses at Spike Island and I said 'what do you remember about it?' And she said: 'Well there were all these blokes walking around saying 'Is everybody sorted for E's and wizz?' And I thought it was a good phrase."  It was single sleeve artwork though, which caused controversy.  It included origami instructions on how to fold a paper into a "wrap" often used for drugs. The Daily Mirror newspaper ran a front-page story with the headline written by Kate Thornton, "Ban This Sick Stunt!", and "Chart stars sell CD with DIY kids' drugs guide."  Which of course was nonsense, ...

Maxi Jazz's face dominates the screen, and his voice booms out over the crowd, lasers shooting overhead, "Let me dream of making mad love to my girl on the heath, Tearing off tights with my teeth..." Faithless handle Maxi's absence well. Respectfully. No one can replace him on these anthems, which we have grown up hearing, so no one does. He is there on the screen, looking down on us all, reciting the words burnt into all our souls from opaque nights 30 years ago, like a monolith to our collective lost youth. It seems fitting to be hearing it stood there on the grass, as I'm sure the first time I heard it was in a field or barn somewhere in Essex in late 1995.  This time, it's in front of the stand on Newmarket race course as part of their Newmarket Nights sessions. It's a weird mixture of spectators, some who have been there all afternoon, dressed in suits, and dresses, there for the racing, and Faithless is their after-party. Then those of ...

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...

Anticipation has been growing since Oasis' tour tickets went on sale at the end of last August.  Earlier this year Absolute Radio declared this a Britpop summer, and it certainly does seem to have become just that. Oasis' tour has also brought amazing performances from Cast and Richard Ashcroft.  During a wander through Carnaby Street yesterday there were bucket hats as far as the eye could see, lining up to enter the Oasis merch pop-up store.  Even bloody Tesco has started selling Britpop Summer t-shirts!!! Every little bandwagon helps!  But the summer has to end soon, and then what?  Well, several of our favourite acts have announced new tracks, albums, and tours Here are some of the bands releasing new music: Pulp brought out a new album,"More" and also performed their not-at-all-secret secret performance at Glastonbury. Saint Etienne have released a couple of tracks from their new album "International". The...

I've seen the Charlatans twice now. Once in Valencia in 1995, and once completely by accident in 2008, when they played for just under an hour in the basement of Virgin Megastore in Oxford Street. On both occasions, they captivated the audiences in front of them, leaving the thousands watching in Valencia feeling as enthused and connected to the band as the lucky hundred or so who had seen them in the grey bunker-like basement room in London.  But it could have been so different if lead singer, Tim Burgess had not joined the band back in 1989. Tim Burgess spoke to James Simpson in The Guardian about joining the Charlatans, and how their first hit "The Only One I Know" came about.  I was in a band called the Electric Crayons and we managed to get a gig supporting the Charlatans. They had a different singer, Baz Ketley, then. I ended up jumping on stage and singing one of their songs. Shortly after that, I got a call from the band. They didn’t ask me to audition...

I was clearing out an old box of the collected debris of my youth a few years ago.  Amongst the poor school reports, Star Wars bubble gum cards, and pogs, was this wonderful compilation tape, Happy Daze, Volume 1. In 2019 it was sadly beyond all repair, the tape mangled, and wound around its plastic cassette carcass. Not even a pencil could help rewind and repair that carnage (youngsters, ask your parents). As I looked at the tape I remembered the sadness I had felt as I had retrieved the tape carefully from the stereo of my first car, a blue Ford Escort Mark 2, back in 1992. I carefully retrieved its guts from the inside of the car stereo, but to no avail, it had played for its last time. Before its demise, the tape had been played every day since the summer of 1990. Other than "World in Motion" by New Order, the Happy Daze cassette had been my summer soundtrack. The first camping trip with my friends, the journeys to and from gigs, and unmedicated nights out, ha...

"Girl from Mars," a song by the band Ash turned 30 years old on July 31, 2025.  A song the band wrote and recorded while still at school.  In April 1994, when the band members were 17 years old, they signed with Infectious Records.  Because they were under 18, their parents had to sign the contract on their behalf, and they also needed permission from their school headmaster, Jack Ferris. Tim Wheeler, the bands singer and guitarist, wrote "Girl From Mars" at 16, inspired by a TV listing for a similarly titled film, and a recent breakup with his first girlfriend.  He spoke about it  in an interview with Dave Simpson of The Guardian in 2020. "I’d broken up with my first girlfriend, which was very intense, first love. I’d always been a happy child but for the first time was experiencing teenage angst, which I poured into the song. Aged 17, I was already nostalgic for those happier times. The previous summer, I’d gone on a family holiday...

Parklife is one of the most important Britpop singles of the 90s. But to quote Michael Caine in Alfie "What's it all about?" According to Graham Coxon in an interview with the Guardian in 2012: "A lot of people thought it (Parklife) was a celebration of Englishness, but it was actually very sarcastic. The 'Parklife' single wasn't about the working class, it was about the park class: dustbin men, pigeons, joggers – things we saw every day on the way to the studio (Maison Rouge in Fulham). It epitomised what Blur were about – having fun and doing exactly what you want to do. Damon Albarn said he took a lot of inspiration from London Fields, a 1989 novel by Martin Amis. In the August 2005 issue of Q magazine, he explained: "London Fields inspired 'Parklife.' That book changed my outlook on life." Damon wasn't comfortable singing the verses. He thought it would be better to get in a celebrity, so Coxon suggested the actor Phi...

Over the years, Sir Peter Blake has created a number of iconic album covers, including one of the most recognisable album covers of all time: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, by The Beatles. He created the album cover for 1995's platinum-selling album Stanley Road. The album's cover features a conceptual painting of a young Paul Weller holding an image of his adult self.  After Ian Dury's death in 2000, a tribute album was released, a re-recording of “New Boots” by guest artists under the title of “Brand New Boots and Panties”. Peter Blake did a painting of Ian for the front cover. Two album covers for The Who, Face Dances (1981)  and the more recent WHO (2019) He created the artwork for the Band Aid single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" And the poster for Live Aid in 1985 And he also designed this variation of the BRIT award, for the 2012 ceremony. ...

Some consider Stanley Road to be the best album in Weller's solo career, with its strong collection of songs, and collaborations from several notable collaborators, including Noel Gallagher, who appears playing acoustic guitar on "I Walk on Gilded Splinters", and Steve Winwood (formerly of the Spencer Davis Group and Traffic), who performs on the songs "Woodcutter's Son" and "Pink on White Walls". Weller is also joined by long-time collaborators Steve Cradock (co-founder of Ocean Colour Scene) and Steve White (the Style Council). The album's cover collage was created by the artist Peter Blake, co-designer of The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's album artwork. It features a conceptual painting of a young Paul Weller holding an image of his adult self.  In an interview with Lois Wilson from The Independent in 2005 he said of the album: "Initially I wanted to call the album Shit or Bust, because that's how I f...

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 "Fem...