Supergrass

For the witnesses who betray information about associated criminals, see Supergrass (informer).

Supergrass

Supergrass are an English alternative rock band from Oxford. The band consists of brothers Gaz (guitar and lead vocals) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Danny Goffey (drums and backing vocals), and Mick Quinn (bass and backing vocals).

The band released their first single "Caught by the Fuzz" in October 1994 on the Parlophone label. The single reached number 43 in the UK Singles Chart, but failed to chart in the US. Supergrass followed up with their debut full-length album I Should Coco in May 1995. The album reached number one in the UK where it stayed for three weeks. The album lead the band to four newcomer awards in the same year the album was released. "Alright" was released from the album which reached number two in UK Singles Chart. This is the highest chart position the band have gained with a single except for "Richard III" from the In It for the Money album. Both albums were included in the book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". In It for the Money which was the first album to be produced entirely by Supergrass peaked at number two in the UK album charts. Their third self titled album Supergrass, often referred to as "the X-ray" album due to the picture on the sleeve peaked at number three in the UK albums chart. Their fourth album, Life On Other Planets was the first to include Rob Coombes as an official member of the band, who until then was employed on session and touring basis. The album peaked at number nine in the UK album charts.

In 2004 the band released a singles compilation entitled Supergrass Is 10 to celebrate ten years since the band formed. This was available on CD and DVD format. The DVD version featured a documentary film in which the band members recall moments during their career in the group. This also shows behind the scenes footage of recording sessions and live performances. Road to Rouen is the fifth studio from the band and was difficult for the band due to personal reasons including Danny Goffey's tabloid ordeal and the death of the Coombes' mother. This album also peaked at number nine in the UK album charts. Diamond Hoo Ha is the sixth album from the band and only peaking at number 19 in the UK album charts this release makes it their lowest charting album to date. The track "Diamond Hoo Ha Man", one of the songs debuted at Guilfest, was distributed as the first single on a limited vinyl release, restricted to 1000 copies.

History

Formation and The Jennifers: 1991–1993

Supergrass' origins lay in the band The Jennifers, which featured a then 16-year-old Gaz Coombes on vocals and Danny Goffey on drums, who was at the time 18 years old. The band played gigs at various venues around Oxfordshire, often pubs and clubs. One pub the band played at was the Jericho Tavern in Oxford. The band enjoyed enough success to release one single in 1992, "Just Got Back Today", on Nude Records before they disbanded. Gaz referred to this point in time as follows; "There was a feeling that something was going to happen. All the early gigs were packed and people were getting very excited. Our families and friends kept badgering us for autographs saying, we want them now because they'll be worth something when you're famous. There was a lot of interest from majors, a lot of big money offers flying around."

Before the split of The Jennifers, Goffey and Coombes made a pact to continue to work together in the future. Mick Quinn recounted one performance he saw in an Oxfordshire village hall of the two of them; "The only lighting they had was two strobes where were on throughout the whole show. They played stuff like Dinosaur Jr covers and Danny kept doing these crap drum rolls."

When Coombes began working at the local Harvester he befriended aforementioned co-worker Mick Quinn, another alumnus of Wheatley Park School (though significantly older than Goffey and Coombes) and local would-be musician who had been playing with small-time local bands and recording tapes at home but with little success. The two realised they had a common interest in music and Coombes invited Quinn to come and jam with himself and Goffey. In February 1993 Quinn officially joined the band on bass guitar, while Goffey continued on drums and Coombes took both vocals and lead guitar, thus forming Theodore Supergrass. Danny claims that the name was his idea and says; "Although the others will dispute it, it was me. We were Theodore Supergrass and the idea was the band would be a little black character, and we wouldn't ever have to do interviews. We'd get the questions in advance, script the answers and then animate Theodore Supergrass answering them. But it cost too much money." They soon removed the prefix and decided to keep the band name as just Supergrass.

The brother of Gaz, Rob Coombes, a keyboard player, expressed interest and also started working with the band and was featured on most of the band's first three albums. However, he wasn't introduced as a band member until almost a decade later. The band's early material is credited to "Supergrass and Rob Coombes". Their first gig was at the Jericho Tavern, Oxford in front of record company A&R people who attended, following publicity generated by recording an acclaimed demo at Sawmills Studio in Cornwall.

Britpop years and height of fame: 1994–1998

In mid-1994, Supergrass issued their debut single "Caught by the Fuzz" on the small independent local label Backbeat Records. The song recounts lead singer and guitarist Gaz Coombes' experience of being arrested by police in possession of a controlled substance. The limited release of 1000 copies sold out quickly, thanks in part to support from John Peel on his Radio One show. The Parlophone label signed the band and re-released the single in the autumn of the same year. It achieved the rare feat of both NME and Melody Maker "Single Of The Week" status in the same week.

"Mansize Rooster", released in February 1995, peaked at number 20 in the UK Single Charts and "Lenny" just made it into the top 10. "Lenny" was followed soon afterwards by the band's debut album, I Should Coco (May 1995), which entered the UK Album Charts at number one. It achieved a half-a-million sales in the UK and 990,000 worldwide. NME reviewer Steve Sutherland gave the album a nine out of ten rating, writing, "These freaks shall inherit the earth." The album's fourth single, the double A-side release "Alright"/"Time", stayed in British Top Three for a month, peaking at number two.

Supergrass followed I Should Coco with 18 months of heavy touring, appearing at festivals such as Scotland's T In The Park and the Glastonbury Festival. After Performing in Rio's Hollywood Rock Festival in April 1996, Supergrass met the infamous train robber Ronnie Biggs, and apparently said to him, "I was frightened for my life when I heard there was a supergrass in the area." A photograph of Ronnie Biggs and Gaz together was subsequently included in the music video for their single release of the same year, "Going Out". "Going Out" was a success peaking at number five in the UK charts and sold more than 100,000 units. Having taken a short break in 1996, Supergrass returned to Sawmills Studio to work on In It For The Money (released April 1997), produced by the band themselves with John Cornfield. The album was a critical and commercial success, it also has since gone platinum in the UK. But some were confused by the darker sound. The single, "Richard III" reached number two. Subsequent releases, "Sun Hits the Sky" and "Late In The Day" reached numbers 10 and 18 respectively.

Later albums and musical growth: 1999–2004

The band again took a short break before returning in 1999 with the single "Pumping on Your Stereo". The promo video, produced in conjunction with the Jim Henson's Creature Shop, featured the band with comical "muppet" bodies. The single generated welcome publicity following their time out of the limelight, as did a small sold-out tour scheduled around the single release, the final night of which was at Shepherds Bush Empire as part of MTV's "Five Night Stand" festival. The single and the tour were followed by their third LP Supergrass (1999). The following spring the record was released in the U.S Once more, the album was recorded at Sawmills Studio with longtime associate Cornfield producing. Supergrass was well received critically and commercially and it has since gone platinum in the UK, but did not reap the same level of success as its predecessors. Critics claimed the album was "hit and miss" which showed up particularly as the "also-rans are surrounded by songs that are as great as anything Supergrass has ever recorded". Their next single, "Moving", proved popular and reached the Top Ten in the UK. And their third single, "Mary" entered the Top 40. There followed a long hiatus.

After three years out of the limelight, the band returned with Life on Other Planets (September 2002). Though the record was not as commercially successful as Supergrass' first three albums - failing to make the Top Three in the UK album chart - given their extended absence, the album's highest placing at number nine was respectable. However, the critical response to the album was generally very positive, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine from allmusic claiming "The world is a better place for having Supergrass in it." . It has since gone gold in the UK. Life on Other Planets was also notable as it was the first Supergrass album to recognise Rob Coombes as an official member. For the band's first three albums, Supergrass officially consisted of Gaz Coombes, Goffey and Quinn although Rob Coombes contributed to many of the band's songs and videos, and toured with them. Tracks recorded before this were often credited to "Supergrass and Rob Coombes". The band followed Life on Other Planets with another extended three-year hiatus, devoting to touring and personal engagements. In June 2004 they issued the "greatest hits" compilation Supergrass Is 10 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the band's formation. The record entered the UK album chart at number four and has since gone gold in the UK.

Recent years and continuing development: 2005–present

The band couldn't celebrate the decade with a new album, as the recording of their fifth studio album was subject to much turbulence. Deciding to depart from Sawmills Studio, they built a new studio for the sessions in the French countryside. Setbacks continued when the Coombes brothers lost their mother. As a result, the band's fifth album, Road to Rouen, was delayed and was not released in Europe until August 2005, and the following month in North America. It reached #9 on the UK charts and has since gone silver in the UK. "St. Petersburg", the first single supporting the album, made a disappointing debut at #22 in the UK singles chart. The second single, "Low C", also underperformed, entering outside the top 40, and third single, "Fin" failed to make the top 75 altogether (charting at number 111), though it was only released as a 7" vinyl and digital download. The band toured the world in an extensive schedule for about a year from August 2005 to September 2006, visiting Japan, South America, USA and Europe.

The band recorded their sixth studio album Diamond Hoo Ha between January and November 2007 in Berlin and New York, released in March 2008, although it leaked around late February. In September 2007, bassist Mick Quinn suffered two broken vertebrae and a broken heel while sleepwalking out of a first floor window in September in France. The band toured in the summer and autumn 2007, headlining Guilfest among others and debuting new material, with the youngest sibling of the Coombes brothers Charly, replacing Quinn on keyboard bass on the later dates. Since Quinn's return, Charly has remained with Supergrass, playing second guitar, percussion & singing backup vocals for them on the Diamond Hoo Ha tour. They released their first single "Diamond Hoo Ha Man" - first as a free live song on the band's website - on 14 January 2008 on strictly limited edition 7" vinyl. In February 2008, the video of their second single "Bad Blood" was released on the band's official web-sites and the single followed on 17 March. The band embarked on a British tour during March, April and June, covering some Netherlands dates as well. A tour in USA, mostly supporting the Foo Fighters is expected in July. On 6 July 2008, the band is performing alongside Neil Young at a one day festival at the Hop Farm near Tonbridge, Kent and on 7 August 2008, at Fairport's Cropredy Convention near Banbury in Oxfordshire.

Other projects

During 1998, Coombes and Quinn were invited to play on Dr John's Anutha Zone album (they appear on the track "Voices In My Head"), whilst Goffey contributed to the debut album by Lodger (which also featured his partner Pearl Lowe and members of the band Delicatessen).

Danny Goffey has also embarked on a solo project between Supergrass engagements, called "Van Goffey" which saw tracks being released via "MySpace" in August 2006, the first three being "Crack House Blues", "I Feel so Gaye" and "Natalie Loves the F". He also is drummer on the charity football song Born In England by a collective of musicians called Twisted X, which charted at number 8 in the UK Charts in 2004. Danny Goffey was also a drummer in the 2004 charity single Band Aid 20, along with members of Radiohead and The Darkness.

In 2007 and 2008, while Mick Quinn was still recuperating from his injury, Danny Goffey and Gaz Coombes were performing as a duo Diamond Hoo Ha Men, the name taken from the forthcoming Supergrass single (see above). They have been appearing in character as Duke Diamond and Randy Hoo Ha to play gigs at small venues. Gigs to date included an appearance at the Apple Store on London's Regent Street, which featured Mick Quinn's first appearance in the band since his injury. He appeared on stage introduced by Gaz as Biff Hymen. A rockumentary called Glange Fever directed by Simon Hilton is to be released sometime in 2009. The film follows the Diamond Hoo Ha Men band members Duke Diamond and Randy Hoo Ha as they go on a small tour of the country.

Discography

Main article: Supergrass discography

• I Should Coco (1995)
• In It for the Money (1997)
• Supergrass (X-Ray Album) (1999)
• Life on Other Planets (2002)
• Road to Rouen (2005)
• Diamond Hoo Ha (2008)

Awards

Year	Ceremony	Award	Result
1995	Ivor Novello Awards	Best Contemporary Song (Alright)	Won
1995	Mercury Prize	Best Album (I Should Coco)	Nominated
1995	NME Awards	Best New Band	Won
1995	Q Awards	Best New Act	Won
1996	BRIT Awards	British Breakthrough Act	Won
1996	Silver Clef Awards	New Music	Won
1998	BRIT Awards	Best British Video (Late In The Day)	Nominated

Further reading

• True, Everett. Supergrass: The Illustrated Story. 1996. ISBN 0-600-589-773.
• Holorny, Linda. "Supergrass". 1996. ISBN 0-7119-5497-6
• Allum, Greg. The Night Shines Like Fireflies: A Portrait of "Supergrass" in Berlin. 2007. ISBN 0-954-670-922

External links

• Official website - Run by Parlophone
• Children of the Monkey Basket - Run by the members of Supergrass.
• The Strange Ones - Supergrass information archive.
• YouTube - Official Supergrass channel on YouTube.
• Template:MySpace.
• Supergrass at Bebo.
• [1] Sentimentalist Magazine