Elastica
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- For the theory relating to large scale deformations of elastic structures, see Elastica Theory.
| Elastica | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | London |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock Britpop |
| Years active | 1992—2001 |
| Label(s) | Deceptive Records DGC Records Atlantic Records Wichita Recordings |
| Associated acts | Suede Me Me Me Spitfire |
| Former members | |
| Justine Frischmann Annie Holland Justin Welch Donna Matthews David Bush Sheila Chipperfield Paul Jones Sharon Mew |
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Elastica were a British alternative rock band, who played punk rock-influenced music. They were best known for their 1995 album Elastica which produced singles that charted in the U.S. and the UK.
Contents |
[edit] History
Elastica was formed in mid 1992 by ex-Suede guitarist Justine Frischmann and ex-Spitfire and Suede drummer[citation needed] Justin Welch. By the autumn of that year, bassist Annie Holland and guitarist Donna Matthews (ex-Darling Buds)[citation needed] were added. After initially rehearsing, recording and gigging under names such as Vaseline and Onk, the band settled on the name Elastica in early 1993 because of legal threats from The Vaselines.
Their first single was 1993's "Stutter", which benefited from the promotional efforts of BBC Radio 1 DJ and Deceptive Records label boss Steve Lamacq who had discovered the band earlier in the year. In 1994 Elastica released two UK Top 20 singles, "Line Up" and "Connection", and performed on numerous radio shows. In addition Frischmann's relationship with Blur's Damon Albarn made tabloid headlines, thus creating further buzz about the band.
Elastica's first LP, Elastica, was released in March 1995 and entered the UK charts at #1, becoming one of the fastest selling debut albums in UK history at the time.[1] The album was preceded by their fourth single "Waking Up" which went to #13 on the UK Singles Chart, their highest placing yet.
The band became subject to controversy when several bands sued them for plagiarism. Specifially, the post-punk band Wire (whom Elastica counted as one of their main influences) claimed that many of the band's melodies were taken from Wire compositions. Notably, Wire's "I Am the Fly" has a chorus similar to Elastica's "Line Up" and the intro synthesiser part in Elastica's "Connection" (later also repeated on guitar) is lifted from the guitar riff in Wire's "Three Girl Rhumba" and transposed a semitone. The judgment resulted in an out-of-court settlement for which Wire received no compensation[citation needed]. The Stranglers also passed comment that Elastica's "Waking Up" bore a marked resemblance to their song "No More Heroes".[1]
In the United States "Connection" and "Stutter" received airplay on modern rock radio and also both charted on the pop charts, as did their self-titled debut (which was later certified gold). After performing at the 1995 Glastonbury Festival, the band joined the Lollapalooza tour continuing an almost solid year of constant gigging. Citing exhaustion, original bassist Annie Holland quit the band in early August of 1995 and was replaced for the remainder of the tour by session bassist Abby Travis. Holland was not permanently replaced until the arrival of Sheila Chipperfield in the spring of 1996. Also around this time keyboardist David Bush (ex-The Fall) was added to the line-up.
After playing more shows and demoing new material in the first half of 1996, Elastica entered the studio in the later part of the year to begin work on their second album. By late 1998, guitarist Donna Matthews had left the band. She was replaced by guitarist Paul Jones and keyboardist Sharon Mew. Also around this time Chipperfield was replaced with a returning Annie Holland.
As a tribute to the 'lost years' of the band a self-titled six-track EP appeared in August 1999 collecting a variety of recordings from a multitude of aborted sessions. This EP marked the first new material from the band in over four years. After re-recording most of these songs in mid 1999, along with new compositions, the band played their first set of shows in years. Their second proper album, The Menace, was released in April 2000. After the release of a farewell single "The Bitch Don't Work" in 2001, the band announced their amicable break-up.
[edit] Members
[edit] Official members
- Justine Frischmann - vocals and guitar
- Donna Matthews - guitar and vocals (1992-1998)
- Annie Holland - bass (1992-1995, 1999-2001)
- Justin Welch - drums
- David Bush - keyboards (1996-2001)
- Sheila Chipperfield - bass (1996-1998)
- Paul Jones - guitar (1998-2001)
- Sharon Mew - keyboards and vocals (1999-2001)
[edit] Guest/touring members
- Abby Travis - bass (touring, 1995-1996)
- Damon Albarn - keyboards (1995, 1999) (credited under the anagrammatical pseudonym "Dan Abnormal" on Elastica and as "Norman Balda" on The Menace)
- Antony Genn - keyboards (touring, 1995-1996)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio Albums
| Year | Album Details | Peak Chart Positions | Certificates | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [2] |
CAN [3] |
NZ [4] |
SWE [5] |
US [6] |
|||
| 1995 | Elastica | 1 | 31 | 20 | 34 | 66 | |
| 2000 | The Menace
|
24 | — | — | — | — | |
[edit] Compilations/EPs
- Elastica 6 Track EP (23 August 1999)
- The Radio One Sessions (29 October 2001)
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | Peak Chart Positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [2] |
CAN [10] |
US [11] |
US Mod[11] | US Main[11] | |||
| 1993 | "Stutter" | — | — | — | — | — | Elastica |
| 1994 | "Line Up" | 20 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Connection" | 17 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995 | "Waking Up" | 13 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Connection" [A] | 175 | 9 | 53 | 2 | 40 | ||
| "Stutter" [A] | — | — | 67 | 10 | — | ||
| "Car Song" | — | — | — | 33 | — | ||
| 2000 | "Mad Dog God Dam" | 44 | — | — | — | — | The Menace |
| 2001 | "The Bitch Don't Work" | 87 | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
- A ^North American release.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "[http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/artist_profile/elastica.htm Artist Profile Elastica]". http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/artist_profile/elastica.htm. Retrieved on 11 May 2009.
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 180. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Elastica Canadian position". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.9038&volume=61&issue=13&issue_dt=May%2001%201995&type=1&interval=36&PHPSESSID=drnjutdtte48eld29pvr5ca4c2. Retrieved on 19 February 2009.
- ^ "New Zealand album positions". charts.org.nz. http://charts.org.nz/search.asp?cat=a&search=Elastica. Retrieved on 22 February 2009.
- ^ "Swedish album positions". swedishcharts.com. http://swedishcharts/search.asp?cat=a&search=Elastica. Retrieved on 22 February 2009.
- ^ "US Billboard: albums". billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=36709&model.vnuAlbumId=424769. Retrieved on 22 February 2009.
- ^ "Elastica British Certificate". British Phonographic Industry. http://bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=18793. Retrieved on 22 February 2009.
- ^ "Canadian Certificates". CRIA. http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php. Retrieved on 22 February 2009.
- ^ "US Certificates". RIAA. http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH. Retrieved on 22 February 2009.
- ^ "Canadian Single Positions". RPM. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.9224&volume=61&issue=17&issue_dt=May%2029%201995&type=1&interval=36&PHPSESSID=drnjutdtte48eld29pvr5ca4c2. Retrieved on 29 April 2009.
- ^ a b c "US Single Positions". www.allmusic.com. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jxfexqe5ldfe~T51. Retrieved on 29 April 2009.
