Supergrass

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

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

Biography

(1991-1993) Early years and The Jennifers

Main article: The Jennifers

Supergrass' origins lie in the band The Jennifers, (not to be confused with the American band of the same name), formed at Wheatley Park School, which featured a 16-year-old Coombes on vocals and Goffey (then 18) on drums. Danny Goffey is the son of former BBC Top Gear presenter and motoring journalist Chris Goffey. The Jennifers began building a reputation in the Oxford indie music scene, influenced by Buzzcocks, the Jam, The Kinks, the Who, and including traits of the pop-punk era, characterized by fast, three-chord, guitar-based, catchy tunes. Live performances included the Jericho Tavern. The band enjoyed enough success to release one single in 1992, "Just Got Back Today", on Nude Records before they disbanded. Allegedly, before the split, Goffey and Coombes had agreed to continue to work together in the future.

When Coombes began working at the local Harvester he befriended 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, while Goffey continued on drums and Coombes took both vocals and guitar, thus forming Theodore Supergrass. They soon did away with the prefix.

(1994-2000) Britpop and the height of fame

Though, technically, Supergrass played their first live shows to a herd of cows next to Quinn's house, their first proper gig was at Jericho Tavern, Oxford to record company A&R people who attended following publicity generated by recording an acclaimed demo at Sawmills Studios in Cornwall. In the summer of 1994, Supergrass issued their debut single "Caught By The Fuzz" on the small independent local label Backbeat Records. The song recounts a friend's experience of being arrested by police on possession of Cocaine. The limited release of 250 copies sold out immediately, 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.

File:In It For The Money.jpg

From left: Coombes, Goffey and Quinn on the cover of 1997's In It For The Money

Supergrass' profile began to rise quickly, helped along by praise from their more experienced Britpop peers Blur and Elastica. Their singles soon began to chart highly. "Mansize Rooster", released in winter 1995, peaked at #20 in the UK 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 chart at Number 1. It has since gone platinum in the UK. The name of the album is thought to be influenced by Cafe Coco on Oxford's Cowley Road, a frequent hang out of the Group.

The album was praised for its joyous, fun attitude which seemed to sum up the "Cool Britannia" mood of the time and was in contrast to more serious or cynical Britpop bands such as Blur or Suede. This was summed up by the success of the album's fourth single, the double A-sided "Alright"/"Time", which stayed in British Top Three for a month (peaking at number 2) and pushed the album to number one. The sprightly anthem "Alright" was released to the radio and music channels receiving much airplay. It recounts the bandmembers' love of marijuana and celebrated their youth. After three months I Should Coco was released in the U.S where "Caught by the Fuzz" received heavy MTV and radio play.

Supergrass soon found themselves one of the leading bands of Britpop. They 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 making them one of the country's premier live attractions. In 1996 they released the single "Going Out" 'which was a success peaking at #5 in the UK charts.

Having taken a short break in 1996, Supergrass returned to Sawmills Studios to work on In It For The Money (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 #2. And the subsequent releases, "Sun Hits The Sky" and "Late In The Day" reached #10 and #18 respectively, Supergrass' popularity remained great. Some feel In It For The Money was overlooked slightly as the Britpop scene in general was in something of a shambles in 1997 and the charts were dominated by Oasis, Radiohead who released the groundbreaking Ok Computer and The Verve.

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).

The band again took a short break before returning in 1999 with the single "Pumping on Your Stereo", which was accompanied by another memorable promo video. Produced in conjunction with the Jim Henson's Creature Shop, it 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 eponymous third LP Supergrass (September 1999), nicknamed the "X-Ray album" because of its cover. The following spring the record was released in the U.S. Once more, the album was recorded at Sawmill 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"[1]. 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.

(2001-present) Later years

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 #9 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." [2]. 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.

File:Supergrass.gif

Supergrass, featuring Rob Coombes, from left to right: Mick Quinn, Danny Goffey, Gaz Coombes, Rob Coombes

In 2004 they issued the "greatest hits" compilation Supergrass Is 10 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the bands formation. The record entered the number 4 in the UK album chart and has since gone gold in the UK. However, they 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 Sawmill Studio, then they had to endure the building of a special studio for the sessions. Setbacks continued when the Coombes brothers lost their mother. However, perhaps most bizarrely Goffey became targeted by the tabloid newspapers due to a sex scandal involving actor Jude Law when it emerged that Goffey and girlfriend, Pearl Lowe had engaged in wife-swapping with Law and his wife, Sadie Frost.

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. The record was highly acclaimed and well received by most fans of the band; it reached a respectable #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 chart altogether, largely due to only being released as a 7" vinyl and a digital download. From August 2005 to September 2006, the band supported the new album on a successful world tour, proving they still have a strong fanbase - one of the few bands of the britpop era to achieve lasting success into the new millennium.

After having finished their supporting tour, they finished recording their sixth studio album with Nick Launay in Berlin, on June 13th, and it was taken to Los Angeles to be mixed. So far in 2007, they are due to perform alongside the Arctic Monkeys at the Lancashire County Cricket Ground in July, appeared in a special Comic Relief edition of Top Gear (called Top Gear of the Pops) with guest member Adrian Edmondson, debuted four new songs at Guilfest 2007, and are due to play the inaugral Welsh music festival Fflam later this year.

Influence on other musicians

Some of the musicians that have cited the band as an influence include: Arctic Monkeys, The Fratellis, Gay Dad, Kaiser Chiefs, The Kooks, The Libertines, Little Barrie, Switches, The Vines.

Discography

Main article: Supergrass discography

1. I Should Coco (1995) - UK #1
2. In It for the Money (1997) - UK #2
3. Supergrass (X-Ray Album)(1999) - UK #3
4. Life on Other Planets (2002) - UK #9
5. Road to Rouen (2005) -UK #9
6. TBR (2008)

External links

• http://www.supergrass.com - Run by the record label
• http://www.childrenofthemonkeybasket.com/ - Run by the band
• The Strange Ones - Fansite
• Supergrass Official MySpace