Louise Wener

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Louise Wener
TGE 2023 Day 2 - Sleeper (52893269272).jpg
Wener in 2023
Background information
Birth nameLouise Jane Wener
Born (1966-07-30) 30 July 1966 (age 58)
Origin Gants Hill, London, England
Genres Indie rock, Britpop
Occupation(s)Singer, writer
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active
  • 1993–1998, 2017–present (music)
  • 1998–present (writing)

Louise Jane Wener (born 30 July 1966) [1] is an English writer, singer, songwriter and guitarist of the band Sleeper.

Contents

Life

Born in Gants Hill, London, Wener is the younger daughter of Donald Wener, an Inland Revenue tax inspector from East Ham who had served in the RAF, and Audrey ( née Dixon), a bank clerk and former nurse. Her elder sister was the writer Sue Margolis. Their brother Geoff managed Sleeper after attending Cambridge University. [2] [3]

Wener attended Manchester University, where she met Jon Stewart, which led to the formation of Sleeper. [4]

Sleeper recorded three full-length albums prior to splitting: Smart , The It Girl and Pleased to Meet You . After the band split up in 1998, Wener began a writing career, [5] and has written four novels: Goodnight Steve McQueen, The Big Blind (also known as The Perfect Play), The Half Life of Stars, and Worldwide Adventures In Love. Her autobiography, Different for Girls: My True-life Adventures in Pop (also known as Just For One Day: Adventures in Britpop), was published in June 2010. Wener co-wrote a BBC Radio 4 drama series, Queens of Noise, with Roy Boulter of The Farm. It ran for two five-programme series in the 10.45 AM Woman's Hour drama slot, focusing on the rise of a fictional indie band, Velveteens. [6]

In addition to writing herself, Wener has taught novel-writing. With her partner, Sleeper drummer Andy Maclure, she formed another band, Huge Advance, although they only played in and around their residential suburb of Crouch End. [7] By 2011, she and Maclure had married and moved to Brighton, where Maclure teaches at a music college. [8] They have a son and a daughter. Wener has written an article about motherhood for The Guardian . [9]

Sleeper reformed in 2017 to play in four British cities in July and August as part of the Star Shaped Festival. [10] They went on to headline an eleven-date tour in 2018. [11] The band have since recorded two new albums: The Modern Age , [12] [13] released in March 2019, and This Time Tomorrow, released in December 2020.

In 2021, Wener teamed up with the Greater Manchester indie band The Lottery Winners to record "Bad Things", an R&B-laced indie-pop track from the Leigh band's eight-track EP Start Again (with "Bad Things" being credited to The Lottery Winners featuring Sleeper, rather than featuring Louise Wener). [14] [15] [16]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

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<i>Smart</i> (Sleeper album) 1995 studio album by Sleeper

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The It Girl is the second studio album by English Britpop band Sleeper, released in May 1996. It was their most successful album, selling over 300,000 copies in the UK alone. The album was released internationally; the US version has a different track listing along with alternative photos in the liner booklet. It was recorded in London over the winter of 1995 and 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What Do I Do Now?</span> 1995 single by Sleeper

"What Do I Do Now?" is a 1995 song by English Britpop band Sleeper, written by the band's vocalist and guitarist Louise Wener. It was the first single to be released from their second album The It Girl which followed in May 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sale of the Century (song)</span> 1996 single by Sleeper

"Sale of the Century" is a song by Britpop band Sleeper, written by the band's vocalist/guitarist Louise Wener and drummer Andy Maclure. In Europe, "Sale of the Century" was the second single to be released from their second album The It Girl in 1996 and became the group's first top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nice Guy Eddie</span> 1996 single by Sleeper

"Nice Guy Eddie" is a song by English Britpop band Sleeper, written by the band's vocalist and guitarist Louise Wener. It was the third single to be released from their second album, The It Girl. It peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statuesque</span> 1996 single by Sleeper

"Statuesque" is a song by Britpop band Sleeper, written by the band's vocalist and guitarist Louise Wener. "Statuesque" was the fourth and final single to be released from Sleeper's second album The It Girl and became the group's last top twenty hit on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swallow (song)</span> 1994 single by Sleeper

"Swallow" is a song by English Britpop band Sleeper, written by the band's vocalist and guitarist Louise Wener along with band guitarist Jon Stewart, and produced by Paul Corkett. "Swallow" was released as the band's debut single and the follow-up to their debut extended play release, Alice in Vain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delicious (song)</span> 1994 single by Sleeper

"Delicious" is a 1994 song by English Britpop band Sleeper, written by the band's vocalist and guitarist Louise Wener along with band guitarist Jon Stewart, and produced by Ian Broudie of the Lightning Seeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inbetweener (song)</span> 1995 single by Sleeper

"Inbetweener" is a song by English Britpop band Sleeper, written by the band's vocalist and guitarist Louise Wener. It was the third single to be released from their debut album Smart in 1995. It was their breakthrough single, crashing daytime radio playlists and reaching number 16 on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vegas (Sleeper song)</span> 1995 single by Sleeper

"Vegas" is a pop-rock song performed by English Britpop band Sleeper, written by the band's vocalist and guitarist Louise Wener. In March 1995, it was released as the fourth and final single from Sleeper's debut album, Smart, where it followed the success of "Inbetweener" by peaking within the UK top 40. The single release of "Vegas" was backed with a number of specially recorded B-sides, including a cover of the Pretenders "Hymn to Her".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lottery Winners</span> British indie band

The Lottery Winners are an indie pop band from Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. The band was formed in 2008 by Thom Rylance (vocals/guitar), Robert Lally (guitar/vocals), Katie Lloyd (bass/vocals), and Joe Singleton (drums).

"She's a Good Girl" is a song by Britpop band Sleeper, written by the band's vocalist and guitarist Louise Wener. "She's a Good Girl" was the first and lead-in single for Sleeper's third album Pleased to Meet You and became the group's seventh top forty hit on the UK Singles Chart.

References

  1. Different for Girls, Wener, Louise; Ebury Press 2010, p.6. ISBN   9780091936518
  2. Vincent Graff. "Sue Margolis obituary | Books". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  3. "Obituary: Sue Margolis - The Jewish Chronicle". 22 June 2019. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  4. Stratton, Jon (15 April 2016). Britpop and the English Music Tradition. Routledge. ISBN   9781317171225.
  5. Wener, Louise (6 July 2002). "My life as a pop star". The Guardian . Retrieved 6 February 2008.
  6. "15 Minute Drama". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  7. "Britpop stars: Where are they now?". Virgin Media . 2009. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  8. Jones, Alice (2 July 2011). "Beyond Britpop: Whatever happened to the class of '95?". The Independent .
  9. Wener, Louise (5 April 2006). "What's wrong with being a mother?". The Guardian . Retrieved 4 April 2009.
  10. "Sleeper To Play First Gig In 19 Years At Star Shaped Festival 2017". Radio X. 15 February 2017.
  11. "Sleeper kick off national tour in Liverpool next spring". Getintothis. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  12. Murray, Robin (5 December 2018). "Sleeper Share New Single 'Look At You Now'" . Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  13. Trendell, Andrew (1 May 2018). "Sleeper are back with a UK tour and their first new album in 21 years". NME . Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  14. "Modern Age Music Song of the Day: The Lottery Winners - Bad Things (Feat. Sleeper)". 22 February 2021.
  15. "NEW MUSIC ALERT: The Lottery Winners release new single featuring Sleeper". 18 February 2021.
  16. "See: The Lottery Winners feat. Louise Wener – 'Bad Things': A sweet pop drop with sadness in its heart". 18 February 2021.