The Auteurs

Last updated

The Auteurs
Origin London, England
Genres
Years active1991–1999
Labels Hut Records
Past members Luke Haines
Alice Readman
Glenn Collins
James Banbury
Barny C. Rockford

The Auteurs were a British alternative rock band of the 1990s, [2] and a vehicle for songwriter Luke Haines (guitar, piano and vocals). [3] Several bands influenced by the Auteurs have taken their names from the band's songs. The Polish band Lenny Valentino took its name from the Auteurs' song on their album Now I'm a Cowboy and the Minneapolis based band Valet took its name from the song "Valet Parking" from New Wave.

Contents

History

Formerly a member of the Servants, [4] Haines created the Auteurs with his then-girlfriend Alice Readman on bass guitar, [5] former classmate Glenn Collins on drums, [6] and later added James Banbury on cello. [3]

The Auteurs demo tape and gig led to the band gaining a recording contract with Hut. [7] Their first single "Show Girl" was praised by the British music magazine Melody Maker and the album New Wave (1993) was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize. [8] The Auteurs later became associated with the Britpop movement. [3] However this association was not liked by Haines, who frequently made derogatory remarks about his peers. After New Wave, the band remained on the fringes of the music scene. Drummer Glen Collins was replaced by Barny C. Rockford, after being headhunted from Out of My Hair by producer Phil Vinall. Their next album Now I'm a Cowboy (1994), built on the themes of New Wave and contained Haines' best known song, "Lenny Valentino". [8] Demonstrating, again, their difference from their musical peers, the band's next release was The Auteurs vs. μ-Ziq , Auteurs songs remixed by producer µ-Ziq (aka Michael Paradinas). In interviews at the time Haines claimed he found contemporary techno and house music more interesting than most Britpop bands. [9] In 1996, The Auteurs released After Murder Park , produced by Steve Albini, and it included "Land Lovers", "Unsolved Child Murder", and "Buddha". [8] The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios following a year during which Haines had spent most of his time in a wheelchair after jumping off a wall. [8] Haines made the Baader Meinhof album as a solo artist under the name Baader Meinhof, using some musicians from the Auteurs. [8] The Auteurs supported Baader Meinhof at a London show in Camden's Dingwalls. The last Auteurs record, How I Learned to Love the Bootboys , was released in 1999. [10] Alice Readman left the band around the time of the last album, and was replaced by various musicians for live/touring purposes.

Post-Breakup

Haines worked as one third of the art-pop band Black Box Recorder. In 2001 he released the soundtrack album to the film Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry , rapidly followed by his first solo album proper, The Oliver Twist Manifesto . 2003 saw him release Das Capital , a collection of re-recorded Auteurs era songs, with a couple of new tracks, apparently intended as closure for that band.

Banbury went on to record an album with Paul Morley under the name Infantjoy, [11] entitled Where the Night Goes [12] featuring a vocal performance by Sarah Nixey [13] of Black Box Recorder singing a version of Japan's "Ghosts". An Infantjoy album – With – was released in 2006 with collaborators including Tunng, Isan and Populous. [14]

In January 2009, Haines released a book entitled Bad Vibes, [15] which serves dually as an autobiographical account of his years with the Auteurs, and as a record of the Britpop movement of the 1990s. Throughout the book, he never refers to James Banbury by name, referring to him simply as "the Cellist", although he is named in full in the acknowledgements. Banbury later worked with Pete Davis under the name Dadahack. Their debut album TAP3 was a hybrid cassette/mp3 playing device and was released in April 2010.

In 2014, British independent label 3 Loop Music re-released all of the Auteurs' albums (along with Haines' "Baader Meinhoff" album) as expanded editions which featured b-sides, demos, radio session tracks, live recordings and remixes. New Wave and Baader Meinhoff were also re-released by the label on heavyweight 180gsm vinyl. [16]

Members

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

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<i>How I Learned to Love the Bootboys</i> 1999 studio album by The Auteurs

How I Learned to Love the Bootboys is the fourth and final album by British rock band the Auteurs. It was released on 5 July 1999 through Hut and Virgin Records. Following their third studio album After Murder Park (1996), Haines started the Baader Meinhof and Black Box Recorder projects. He regrouped with the Auteurs to start work on a concept album under the name ESP Kids, though sessions halted as Black Box Recorder worked on their debut album England Made Me (1998). The Auteurs re-started recording their next album in January 1998 at RAK Studios in London; Hut and Virgin were not happy with the lack of single-sounding songs. After writing "The Rubettes", the band finished recording in April 1998. How I Learned to Love the Bootboys is a glam rock album that takes atmospheric influence from England Made Me.

<i>New Wave</i> (The Auteurs album) 1993 studio album by The Auteurs

New Wave is the 1993 debut album by British alternative rock band The Auteurs. In 2014, British independent record label 3 Loop Music re-released the album on 180gsm Vinyl and as a 2CD Expanded Edition which included b-sides, rarities, radio session tracks and the original 4-track demos that led to the band's signing with Hut Records.

<i>Now Im a Cowboy</i> 1994 studio album by The Auteurs

Now I'm a Cowboy is the 1994 second album by British alternative rock band The Auteurs. On 2 June 2014 Now I'm a Cowboy was reissued alongside After Murder Park and How I Learned to Love the Bootboys. The reissue features unreleased songs and liner notes written by Luke Haines. It was released through 3 Loop Music.

<i>After Murder Park</i> 1996 studio album by The Auteurs

After Murder Park is the third album by British alternative rock band The Auteurs, released in March 1996. The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and produced by Steve Albini. In 2014, British independent record label 3 Loop Music re-released the album as a 2CD Expanded Edition which included b-sides, alternate versions, radio session tracks and live recordings.

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<i>Das Capital</i> (album) 2003 studio album by Luke Haines

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References

  1. ↑ Louise Wener, "Review: Bad Vibes by Luke Haines", The Guardian, 17 January 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  2. ↑ Hodgkinson, Will. "The Auteurs: Now I am a Cowboy". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 35–36. ISBN   1-84195-017-3.
  4. ↑ "Luke Haines". FRACTURED AIR. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ↑ "Put out more flags". www.newstatesman.com. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  6. ↑ "The Auteurs". Toppermost. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  7. ↑ "The Fall Of The Outsider: Luke Haines". Clash Magazine. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 66. ISBN   1-85227-745-9.
  9. ↑ "Britpop songs – 10 of the best". the Guardian. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "The Auteurs - How I Learned To Love The Bootboys | Album Reviews". musicOMH. 4 July 1999. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  11. ↑ "Infant Joy". Michael Putland. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  12. ↑ "Where The Night Goes | Simon Corder" . Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  13. ↑ Corder, Simon. "Sarah Nixey | Simon Corder" . Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  14. ↑ "CD: Infantjoy, With (Service AV)". the Guardian. 15 October 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  15. ↑ Wener, Louise (18 January 2009). "Review: Bad Vibes by Luke Haines". the Guardian. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  16. ↑ Wener, Louise (18 January 2009). "Review: Bad Vibes by Luke Haines". the Guardian. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  17. 1 2 3 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 34. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
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