Cecil | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Voy (2000–2001) |
| Origin | Liverpool, England |
| Genres | British rock |
| Years active | 1993–2002, 2016–present |
| Labels | Parlophone |
| Past members | Jay Bennett Patrick Harrison Anthony Hughes Ally Lambert Ste Williams |
Cecil were an English rock band from Liverpool. They released two albums, Bombar Diddlah (1996) and Subtitles (1998). They gained a small degree of commercial success in the UK charts, with their singles, "Hostage in a Frock" (1997) and "The Most Tiring Day" (1998). [1]
The band formed in Liverpool in 1993. The members were Ste Williams (vocals), Patrick Harrison (Guitar), Ally Lambert (drums), Anthony Hughes (guitar and keyboards), and Jay Bennett (bass).
The band took part in a "Battle of the Bands" sponsored by the Liverpool Echo. The band signed a management contract with Raymond Coffer, then later signed with the record label Parlophone (EMI). [2]
They released their first single "No Excuses" with Parlophone in October 1995, which reached No. 89 in the UK singles chart. [1]
The band spent the end of 1995 and most of 1996 playing concerts in much of the United Kingdom. They played with bands including The Levellers, Skunk Anansie, Feeder, The Wildhearts and Paw. They also played in music festivals at Donington and T in the Park. Their support show with The Wildhearts in 1996, was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 as part of their then "Sound City" series of concerts, [3] playing after Feeder at the Leeds Town and Country Club, which later closed in 2000 then became a music venue again from 2008 as the Leeds O2 Academy.
Just before this concert, they released their second single "My Neck" in March, which was backed with an acoustic track and a piano version of the single, giving a hint of the direction they were heading in for the recording of their second record. The single charted at No. 93 in the United Kingdom. [1]
Also in 1996, their first album, Bombar Diddlah, was getting good reviews. [4] It was produced by Barrett Jones who in 1995 had co-produced the Foo Fighters' first album. [5]
Cecil spent most of 1997 writing songs and touring with the band Mansun. The changes in their sound and production could particularly be heard in the sound of Williams's vocals. By the end of 1997, their new sound could be heard in their new releases "Red Wine at Dead Time" which charted at No. 84 in June 1997, [1] and the late 1996 limited edition single "Measured" which was not produced in enough quantities to chart within the top 200. [1]
Their second album in 1998, "Subtitles", was also produced by Barrett Jones [5] and charted at No. 132 in November of that year; despite being more melodic and well received in reviews [6] it did not sell as well as hoped. [7] Before the release of the album, "Hostage in a Frock" became their first official hit single in October 1997, by charting within the top 75 at No. 68 before "The Most Tiring Day" made No. 69 in March 1998. [1]
The band spent the next few years writing and touring sporadically, finally relocating to the United States, in Seattle, Washington, in 2001 to work with Jones on a third album. After a productive two-month stint, straight after the 11 September attacks, the band went back home to write more songs and booked to go into Stone Gossard's (Pearl Jam) Studio Litho with Jones to record the rest of the third record. [2] This never happened after being dropped from their label, although "Raise a Glass" from the Seattle sessions has appeared on their MySpace module. [8]
Cecil were renamed Voy in 2000, working with Mansun producer Mike Hunter [9] to produce 2 EPs also released on Parlophone. [10] Voy later became Fridge Mountain Fires in 2005, [11] during which incarnation they played The Zanzibar Club in Liverpool for BBC's Liverpool Music Week. [12] Ste and Patrick formed a new band, Takotsubo Men, in 2014, and used PledgeMusic to fund their first release. [13]
Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley. The band consists of Kelly Jones, Richard Jones, Adam Zindani, Jamie Morrison and touring member Tony Kirkham (keyboards). The group previously included the late Stuart Cable (1992–2003) and then Javier Weyler (2004–2012) on drums. Stereophonics have released twelve studio albums, including eight UK number one albums. A successful compilation album, Decade in the Sun, was released in November 2008 and charted at number two on the UK Album Chart.
The Wildhearts are an English rock band, formed in 1989 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band's sound is a mixture of hard rock and melodic pop music, often described in the music press as combining influences as diverse as the Beatles and 1980s-era Metallica. The Wildhearts achieved several top 20 singles and two top 10 albums in Britain, though they also faced difficulties with record companies and many internal problems often relating to drugs and depression. Much of the band's early career was affected by bitter feuds with their record company, East West.
The Lightning Seeds are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1989 by Ian Broudie, formerly of the bands Big in Japan, Care, and Original Mirrors. Originally a studio-based solo project for Broudie, the Lightning Seeds expanded into a touring band following Jollification (1994). The group experienced commercial success throughout the 1990s and are well known for their single "Three Lions", a collaboration with David Baddiel and Frank Skinner which reached No. 1 in the UK in 1996 and 2018, with a re-worked version also reaching the top spot in 1998.
Mansun were an English alternative rock band, formed in Chester in 1995. The band comprised vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Draper, bassist Stove King, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dominic Chad, and drummer Andie Rathbone.
"Beetlebum" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It was released on 20 January 1997 as the lead single from the band's eponymous fifth album, Blur (1997). Written about Blur frontman Damon Albarn's experiences with heroin, the song features Beatles-influenced music and a mood that Albarn described as "sleepy" and "sexy". Despite fears of the song's uncommercial nature, the single debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Blur's second track to top the chart. It has since appeared on several Blur compilations.
"Song 2" is a song by English rock band Blur. The song is the second song on their eponymous fifth studio album. Released physically on 7 April 1997, "Song 2" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, number four on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, and number six on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, becoming one of their biggest U.S. hits.
The Departure was an English rock band from Northampton, formed in October 2003. Their debut album, Dirty Words, was released 13 June 2005 by Parlophone. A second album, Inventions, was expected to be released in early 2008, but was not. The band split up on 30 January 2008.
Little Kix is the third album by English alternative rock band Mansun, released on 14 August 2000 and was the band's last studio album to be completed and released before their dissolution in 2003. It was promoted by three singles, and peaked at #12 on the UK Albums Chart.
Six is the second album by English alternative rock band Mansun, released in September 1998 via Parlophone. It was released in the UK and Europe on 7 September 1998, and in the US on 20 April 1999, with an alternative running order, different artwork, and the re-recorded single version of the title track. In an interview prior to the release of Six, Paul Draper stated that the "interlude" "Witness to a Murder " was included to separate the album into two parts as a tribute to old-style vinyl albums.
Attack of the Grey Lantern is the debut album by English alternative rock band Mansun released on 17 February 1997 via Parlophone. The album spent a total of 19 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number one.
Paul Edward Draper is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer, formerly the frontman of the rock band Mansun.
Legacy: The Best Of Mansun is the first official 'best of' collection from Mansun. It collects all the bands Parlophone lead-EP tracks and selected album tracks which were compiled by Paul Draper and Dominic Chad. It was released as a standard CD, special edition CD and DVD set featuring all the bands promo videos and digital download. In Japan the compilation included two bonus tracks.
Danny McCormack is an English singer and bassist.
"Se a vida é " is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 12 August 1996 as the second single from their sixth studio album, Bilingual (1996). The song is based on "Estrada Da Paixão" by African-Brazilian band Olodum, which Pet Shop Boys heard during the South American leg of their Discovery tour in 1994. The band shares songwriting credits with Pet Shop Boys.
"Legacy" is a song by English rock band Mansun. It was released as a single in 1998 from the group's album, Six, and was the lead track on Eight EP. It follows a similar template to many of the group's other hits and was also their highest-charting single, peaking at No. 7 in the UK Singles Chart.
¡Chutzpah! is the eighth studio album by British rock band The Wildhearts. Recorded at producer Jacob Hansen's studio in Ribe, Denmark, it was released on 31 August 2009 by Backstage Alliance. The album was the band's final studio release for ten years as well as the last to feature bassist Scott Sorry, who left in 2012. ¡Chutzpah! reached number 53 on the UK Albums Chart and was the band's first album since 1997's Endless, Nameless to top the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart.
Post-Britpop is an alternative rock subgenre and is the period in the late 1990s and early 2000s, following Britpop, when the media were identifying a "new generation" or "second wave" of guitar bands influenced by acts like Oasis and Blur, but with less overt British concerns in their lyrics and making more use of American rock and indie influences, as well as experimental music. Bands in the post-Britpop era that had been established acts, but gained greater prominence after the decline of Britpop, such as Radiohead and the Verve, and new acts such as Travis, Keane, Snow Patrol, Stereophonics, Feeder, and particularly Coldplay, achieved much wider international success than most of the Britpop groups that had preceded them, and were some of the most commercially successful acts of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The following is a comprehensive discography of the English alternative rock band Mansun.
"Egg Shaped Fred" is a song by the English alternative rock band Mansun. The song was written by band-leader Paul Draper. It was produced by Draper, mixing and engineering by Ronnie Stone with assistance from the group's long-term collaborator Mike Hunter. Released in 1996 the song was the group's major label début for Parlophone and their third release overall. It was released as One EP, using the band's own numbering system. The EP was their first to enter the UK Top 40 peaking at #37."Egg Shaped Fred" was remixed and extended for inclusion on Mansun's debut album Attack of the Grey Lantern in 1997.
"Taxloss" is a song by the English alternative rock band Mansun. The song was written by band-leader Paul Draper. It was produced by Draper and mixed by Mark 'Spike' Stent during sessions for the group's debut studio album. The song was edited down from over seven minutes to four and a half minutes released as a single in April 1997, the fifth single from the group's debut album, Attack of the Grey Lantern, and their sixth on a major-label. The single charted in the top twenty at #15 on the UK Singles Chart and continuing the group's run of four consecutive top twenty singles.
| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
