Happy Daze | |
---|---|
Compilation album by Various artists | |
Released | 1990 |
Label | Island |
Compiler | Gary Crowley |
Happy Daze is a compilation album of songs linked to the Madchester music genre distributed by Island Records in 1990.
The Madchester sound had been developing during the later 1980s, [1] from its nascent jangly sounds originally showcased on the NME's classic C86 cassette. By 1990, Madchester and related music was becoming more mainstream, but Happy Daze's release helped to crystallise awareness of the new overall Madchester sound by featuring tracks from several different yet converging forces. Although all have the 'Madchester spirit', by no means all the bands were from Manchester: Primal Scream, The Shamen, and The Soup Dragons being Scottish, The Charlatans from Northwich and the Pixies American. Likewise, not every group on the compilation performed the dance rock style typical of Madchester bands: e.g. Ride were a shoegazing band.
This has been seen as a criticism of the album, along with the glaring omission of songs by New Order or The Stone Roses and for not anticipating the imminent arrival of Grunge music. [2] However the album's mythical aura continues to inspire nostalgia in fans of Madchester era music [3] with some bloggers still remembering the 'happy daze of 1989/1990' in a semi-conscious reference to this album. [4]
Primal Scream are a Scottish rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Martin Duffy (keyboards), Simone Butler (bass), and Darrin Mooney (drums). Barrie Cadogan has toured and recorded with the band since 2006 as a replacement after the departure of guitarist Robert "Throb" Young.
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock or "guitar pop rock". In the 1980s, the use of the term "indie" started to shift from its reference to recording companies to describe the style of music produced on punk and post-punk labels. During the 1990s, grunge and punk revival bands in the US and Britpop bands in the UK broke into the mainstream, and the term "alternative" lost its original counter-cultural meaning. The term "indie rock" became associated with the bands and genres that remained dedicated to their independent status. By the end of the 1990s, indie rock developed several subgenres and related styles, including lo-fi, noise pop, emo, slowcore, post-rock, and math rock. In the 2000s, changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the internet enabled a new wave of indie rock bands to achieve mainstream success, leading to questions about its meaningfulness as a term.
Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that developed in the English city of Manchester in the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie dance scene. Indie-dance saw artists merging indie music with elements of acid house, psychedelia and 1960s pop. The term Madchester was coined by Factory Records' Tony Wilson, with the label popularised by the British music press in the early 1990s, and its most famous groups include the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, the Charlatans, James and 808 State. It is widely seen as being heavily influenced by drugs, especially MDMA. At that time, the Haçienda nightclub, co-owned by members of New Order, was a major catalyst for the distinctive musical ethos in the city that was called the Second Summer of Love.
The Charlatans are an English rock band formed in the West Midlands in 1988. The current line-up comprises lead vocalist Tim Burgess, guitarist Mark Collins, bassist Martin Blunt and keyboardist Tony Rogers.
Screamadelica is the third studio album by Scottish rock band Primal Scream. It was first released on 23 September 1991 in the United Kingdom by Creation Records and on 8 October 1991 in the United States by Sire Records. The album marked a significant departure from the band's early indie rock sound, drawing inspiration from the blossoming house music scene and associated drugs such as LSD and MDMA. Much of the album's production was handled by acid house DJ Andrew Weatherall and engineer Hugo Nicolson, who remixed original recordings made by the band into dance-oriented tracks.
Scream may refer to:
Inspiral Carpets were an English rock band, part of the late-1980s/early-1990s Madchester movement. Formed in Oldham in 1983, the band's most successful lineup featured frontman Tom Hingley, drummer Craig Gill, guitarist Graham Lambert, bassist Martyn Walsh and keyboardist Clint Boon.
Bummed is the second studio album by English rock band Happy Mondays, released in November 1988 on Factory Records. During 1987 and early 1988, the band discovered house music and the rave drug ecstasy. Factory producer Martin Hannett was subsequently enlisted to produced the band's next album. Sessions were held at The Slaughterhouse in Driffield over three weeks. The period was noted for heavy drug use by the band and Hannett, with their manager later calling it the first ecstasy-fuelled album. Hannett moved recording to Strawberry, where with the aid of other musicians, added extra instrumentation. Bummed is a Madchester release described as "stiff psychedelic funk" by AllMusic. It was influenced by the 1970 film Performance.
Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches is the third studio album by English rock band Happy Mondays, released on 5 November 1990 by Factory Records. DJ Paul Oakenfold and collaborator Steve Osbourne were previously enlisted by the band to create remixes of some of their songs. The success of these led to the pair producing "Step On", a cover of the John Kongos song, for Happy Mondays. The band went on a tour of the United States, and by the end of which, had started recording their next album with Oakenfold and Osbourne at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, California. They returned to the United Kingdom, where further recording took place at Eden Studios in London until September 1990. Described as a Madchester album, Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches saw a lot of input from Oakenfold and Osbourne, with the former making loops, while the latter handled song arrangements.
Flipper's Guitar (フリッパーズ・ギター) were a Tokyo-based rock band led by Keigo Oyamada and Kenji Ozawa. The band were influenced by the chirpy sound of British 80s pop and post-punk groups like Haircut 100, Exhibit B, Orange Juice, The Style Council and Aztec Camera, as well as the fashionably eclectic sounds of early 90s Britain, from alternative dance to acid jazz.
14 Iced Bears are a British indie pop band associated with the C86 music scene. Formed in Brighton in 1985, by Robert Sekula and Nick Emery the band featured a shifting line-up of musicians across their seven-year existence, centred on songwriter and vocalist Rob Sekula and guitarist/songwriter Kevin Canham. Their jangly indie pop was characterised by a fuzzy protopunk-influenced guitar sound, and saw them receive modest critical acclaim in Britain's music press as well as prompting disc jockey John Peel to recruit them to record a couple of sessions for his programme on BBC radio. The group released a handful of singles, including "Come Get Me" on the influential Sarah label, and two full-length albums: the eponymous 14 Iced Bears (1988), and Wonder (1991).
"Groovy Train" was the second single released by Liverpool-based group The Farm. It was released in 1990 as the first single from their debut album Spartacus, having been produced by Graham "Suggs" McPherson of Madness and Terry Farley. The single reached no. 6 on the UK Singles Chart, no. 41 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and no. 15 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Baggy was a name given to a British alternative dance genre popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with many of the artists referred to as "baggy" being bands from the Madchester scene.
"Velouria" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, written and sung by the band's frontman Black Francis. "Velouria" was released as a single in July 1990 and was the band's first UK Top 40 hit. It was included as the third track on their album Bossanova released a month later. The song features extensive use of theremin. It featured on the influential 1990 Madchester compilation album Happy Daze.
Some Friendly is the debut studio album by British rock band the Charlatans, released on 8 October 1990 through Beggars Banquet Records imprint Situation Two. After forming in 1988, the band went through a variety of line-up changes, before settling on vocalist Tim Burgess, guitarist John Baker, bassist Martin Blunt, keyboardist Rob Collins and drummer Jon Brookes. The band would write material at a prolific rate, and released their debut single, "Indian Rope", in early 1990. Soon afterwards, they signed to Beggars Banquet and began recording their debut album. Sessions took place between March and August 1990 with producer Chris Nagle at Strawberry Studios in Stockport and The Windings in Wrexham, Wales. Some Friendly is considered an acid-pop, baggy and dance-pop album, taking influence from the psychedelic period of the Beatles.
Between 10th and 11th is the second studio album by British rock band the Charlatans, released on 23 March 1992 through Situation Two, a subsidiary of Beggars Banquet Records. Shortly after the release of their debut studio album Some Friendly (1990), the band started writing new material. After some writing sessions in Birmingham and a tour of the United Kingdom, guitarist John Baker left the band. Mark Collins of Candlestick Park was drafted in; bassist Martin Blunt went through a series of personal issues that led to hospitalization in September 1991. Following this, they began recording their next album at Rockfield Studios in Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales.
Pete Mitchell was a British radio DJ and presenter. He was born in Crumpsall, Manchester. Mitchell was a radio presenter for Manchester's Piccadilly Radio, Key 103, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, Radio X and Absolute Radio, and was one half of duo Pete and Geoff on Virgin Radio. His music documentaries have been aired in the US, Canada, Australia and Asia. He later worked for the relaunched Virgin Radio and wrote for the Radio Times, the Daily Express and Q magazine.
Bez's Madchester Anthems: Sorted Tunes From Back In The Day! is mainly a Madchester compilation album, compiled by Bez and released in 2006.
"Come Home" is a song by English rock band James, first released as a single in November 1989 by Rough Trade. Like the preceding single, "Sit Down", it received little attention initially and led to James parting ways with Rough Trade. After Mercury Records had signed the band to the Fontana label and experienced chart success with "How Was It for You" they re-released "Come Home" on 25 June 1990 in a version remixed by Flood.
MTV's Buzz Bin was a select group of music videos by up and coming artists and bands that the network deemed "buzz worthy", "cutting edge", or "the next big thing". As such, the selected videos received heavy rotation on the channel, and were also featured in special promotional commercials that highlighted the latest Buzz Bin selections, which were sometimes known as Buzz Clips.