I have loved Supergrass since 1995. Probably around the same time as I found oasis. Great Band. Seen them twice & met Gaz Coombes back in 2000. Only got to shake his hand but still!
Supergrass are an English rock band from Oxford. The band consists of brothers Gaz (guitar and lead vocals) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Danny Goffey (drums and backing vocals), and Mick Quinn (bass and backing vocals).
The band rose to prominence during the Britpop era in the mid-90s with their hit "Alright". The band's youthful image and music (two of the band members were still teenagers when the band formed) came as a contrast to the more serious bands such as Oasis, Blur and Suede. The band's main musical influences are Buzzcocks, T.Rex, the Jam and The Kinks. They combined these influences with traits of the pop-punk era, characterized by fast, three-chord, guitar-based, catchy tunes. On their own the band's jubilance and musicality have influenced many new artists as Arctic Monkeys, The Coral, The Fratellis, Kaiser Chiefs and The Vines. Troy Carpenter, co-director of Nude as the News describes the band as "a fun-loving rock group whose undeniable musical talent is sometimes overshadowed by the sheer ebullience of its music.
Their first albums I Should Coco (1995) and In It for the Money (1997) were a blend of British pop and pop punk. Their eponymous Supergrass or the X-Ray Album (1999) was a new direction to darker lyrics, but again preserving the pop-sensibility. As the band have grown up as musicians their latest albums feature more musical sophistication than their first efforts. The band's fourth album Life on Other Planets (2002) was a retreat to the poppines of the early days, while still developing their sound. The band then released their first compilation of singles Supergrass is 10 (2004) commemorating their first decade as a band. Their fifth album Road to Rouen (2005) featured more orchestral and darker material than before, with many pointing as a reason the death of Coombes' mother. The band are preparing their sixth album Diamond Hoo Ha for March 2008 release.
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 1
on drums. Danny Goffey is the son of former BBC Top Gear presenter and motoring journalist Chris Goffey. 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. The brother of Gaz, Rob Coombes, a keyboard player, expressed interest and also started working with the band and was featured on most of the band's first three albums. However, he wasn't introduced as a band member until almost a decade later and the band's early material is credited to Supergrass and Rob Coombes.
Britpop years and height of fame: 1994–1998
Their first gig was at Jericho Tavern, Oxford to record company A&R people who attended following publicity generated by recording an acclaimed demo at Sawmills Studio in Cornwall. In mid-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 in possession of Cocaine. The limited release of 250 copies sold out quickly, 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.
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 February 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 achieved a half-a-million sales in the UK and 990,000 worldwide. 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 "
Britannia" mood of the time and was in contrast to more serious or cynical Britpop bands such as Blur or Suede.[citation needed] 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. 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. In 1996 they released the single "Going Out" 'which was a success peaking at #5 in the UK charts and sold more than 100,000 units.
Having taken a short break in 1996, Supergrass returned to Sawmills Studios to work on In It For The Money (released 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. Subsequent releases, "Sun Hits The Sky" and "Late In The Day" reached #10 and #18 respectively.
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).
Later albums and musical growth: 1999–2004
The band again took a short break before returning in 1999 with the single "Pumping on Your Stereo". The promo video, produced in conjunction with the Jim Henson's Creature Shop, 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 which featured layered x-ray images of the band members' heads. 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". 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.
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." 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.
In June 2004 they issued the "greatest hits" compilation Supergrass Is 10 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the band's formation. The record entered the UK album chart at number 4 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, they built a new studio for the sessions in the French countryside. 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 was alleged that Goffey and girlfriend, Pearl Lowe had engaged in wife-swapping with Law and his then-wife, Sadie Frost.
Recent years: 2005–present
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. It reached #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 make the top 75 altogether (bouncing in at #111), though it was only released as a 7" vinyl and a digital download. The band toured the world in an extensive schedule for about an year from August 2005 to September 2006, visiting Japan, South America, USA and Europe.
The band recorded their sixth studio album from March to November 2007 in Berlin and New York. The album titled Diamond Hoo Ha is expected in March 2008. They will release their first single "Diamond Hoo Ha Man" - first released as a free song on band's MySpace - on 14 January 2008 on strictly limited edition 7" vinyl. Bassist Mick Quinn suffered two broken vertebrae and a broken heel while sleepwalking out of a first floor window in September in France. While he is recovering to the full extent, this prevented him from playing several shows in November and December on which he was filled by the youngest sibling of Gaz and Rob - Charly Coombes on keyboard bass. This also led Danny and Gaz performing for a couple of shows as a duo Diamond Hoo Ha Men.
On December 1, 2007, "The Night Shines Like Fireflies - A Portrait of Supergrass in Berlin" was released by photographer Greg Allum. Limited to 2000 copies this book features fly on the wall documentary images of the band working on their 6th album in Hansa Studios. Available from the photographer's website.
Danny Goffey has embarked on a solo project between Supergrass engagements, called "Van Goffey" which saw tracks being released via "MySpace" in August 2006, the first three being "Crack House Blues", "I Feel so Gaye" and "Natalie Loves the F". His first solo album Van Goffey Lives will be released early next year. He also is drummer on the charity football song Born In England by a collective of musicians called Twisted X.which charted at number 8 in the UK Charts in 2004. Danny Goffey was also a drummer in the 2004 charity single Band Aid 20, along with members of Radiohead and The Darkness.
In 2007, while Mick Quinn is still recuperating from his injury, Danny Goffey and Gaz Coombes are performing as a duo Diamond Hoo Ha Men, the name taken from the forthcoming Supergrass single
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supergrass
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