Glastonbury
Muse
Muse started out as a band under a number of names including Gothic Plague, Fixed Penalty, and Rocket Baby Dolls. After winning a battle of the bands type competition, it changed its name to Muse and started playing gigs in London and Manchester.
In 1998, Muse signed a deal with America’s Maverick Records. This opened the doors to other deals in Europe and Australia but in the age of indie music, Muse was keen to maintain creative control.
To support the release of its first album, Showbiz, the band toured with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters and the festival circuit in Europe.
By now, Muse gained a reputation for its energetic live performances and fusion of progressive and alternative rock. Matthew Bellamy’s style has also become a trademark for the band as he uses falsetto vocals and pitch-shift guitar effects. NME Magazine described Muse’s style as “every guitar here sounds like it’s from the future, every flourish and movement scored and orchestrated with celestial vision.”
Its second album Origin of Symmetrywas well-received by critics but Maverick Records wanted to make some changes with the songs due to their reservations over lead singer, Bellamy’s vocal style. The band refused and jumped ship to the loving arms of Warner. By 2006, the album was rated in Q Magazine’s fan poll of the 100 greatest albums ever.
Stockholm Syndrome was released as a download only single to give fans a taste of what was to come on the next album. It proved to be one of the most popular download singles ever. Absolution, Muse’s third album, debuted at #1 in the UK charts and yielded a top ten hit Time is Running Out.
In 2004, the band started picking up awards for “Best Alternative Act” and “Best Live Act” and headlined the Glastonbury Festival. In 2006, Muse released its fourth album entitled Black Holes and Revelations. It was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize but narrowly missed out to the Arctic Monkeys. The most notable single from the album was Supermassive Black Hole which ended up being featured on the video game, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
By 2008, Muse was the headline act for the V Festival and members Bellamy, Dominic Howard (drums) and Christopher Wolstenholme (bass) received Honorary Doctorates of Arts from the University of Plymouth.
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Muse released Resistance in 2009. It was the first album that proudly claimed a self-production. On its release, it topped the album charts in 19 countries and reached #3 in the US.
The song United States of Eurasia from its 2009 release was available for download but only after it was unlocked in a clever worldwide treasure hunt, consisting of USB keys with song data hidden in seven major cities.
Now a regular headliner for festivals and an arena sell-out, Muse successfully capitalised on the indie movement by not backing down to record label management whims and integrating new technology in not only its musical style but also in its promotion.
Juanita Appleby
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Status Quo
Status Quo are an English rock band, who have had 60 chart hits, more than any other UK act, with an impressive 22 Top 10 entries. The band started life as the Scorpions in 1962, containing original members Francis Rossi and Alan Lancaster, who were then schoolboys, at Sedgehill Comprehensive School, Catford. Since these fledgling beginnings, there have been numerous line-up changes, until the moniker Status Quo stuck in 1970.
Rick Parfitt joined the band around the time the band took on a psychedelic direction, with 'Pictures of Matchstick Men' released in January 1968, reaching No.7 in the charts.
This turned out to be Status Quo’s only hit in the States. However, after the 2nd album ‘’Spare Parts’’ failed to chart, the band ditched the psychedelic sound in favour of a more rockier sound, and opted for a jeans/tshirt look that was their trademark in the 1970’s.
During the 1970’s, the band reached dizzy heights thanks to their lively gigs and constant touring, with hits such as ‘Down down’ (1975- and their only No.1), ‘Rockin’ all over the world’ (1977) and ‘Whatever you want’ (1979).
Status Quo are fondly remembered for opening Live Aid at Wembley 1985, with the crowd-friendly ‘’Rockin’ all over the world’’.
The 1990’s saw falling sales for the band, and Rick Parfitt underwent quadruple by-pass surgery in 1997, but went on to make a full recovery.
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In September 2005, Rossi and Parfitt made cameo appearances in the iconic soap opera, Coronation Street, where they played a gig at a wedding, and in 2007, they were watched by 63,000 people at Wembley Stadium at ‘The Concert for Diana’.
Their latest studio album ‘In search of the Fourth Chord’ was released on the band’s own Fourth Chord label in September 2007 in the UK, this was critically well-received but only moderately successful.
In December 2008, the band released their first Christmas single: ‘It’s Christmas Time’, their 75th single, which reached No.40 in the charts, and 2009 saw Status Quo play to an enthusiastic crowd at Glastonbury Festival.
Status Quo have appeared on Top Of the Pops more than any other group - 106 times- and have sold a momentous 118 million records worldwide. Status Quo continue to tour.
Wendy Gabriel
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Starsailor
Starsailor are an English rock band who formed in Wigan in 2000. They have had a number of Top 10 hits and 4 charting albums. The band consisted of singer James Walsh, bassist James Stelfox, drummer Ben Byrne and guitarist Barry Westhead. Walsh’s singing style was influenced by Jeff Buckley and his 1994 album 'Grace'.
The band received a glowing review from an NME journalist at a gig in 2000 and their performance at Glastonbury in 2000 led to a bidding war amongst record companies before the band signed for EMI in 2000. Their first single, 'Fever' was released in 2001 and featured on their debut album, 'Love Is Here' which went to No. 2 in the UK chart. In March 2001 the band embarked on a sellout UK tour. Their second single, 'Good Souls' was released in April and featured a cover of Van Morrison’s, “The Way Young Lovers Do” as a B-Side. Their third single from the album was 'Alcoholic' which reached No. 10 and their fourth single 'Lullaby' made No.36.
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For their second album, 'Silence is Easy' they teamed up with Phil Spector but things proved difficult with him and he only produced 2 of the tracks on the album. The title track from the album was the bands highest ever single placing reaching No.9 in the UK. The album had limited success and dropped out of the Top 40 quite quickly. In autumn 2003 the band commence a full UK tour culminating at London’s Brixton Academy.
They released their third album, 'On the Outside' in 2005 which was claimed to be a return to form and charted at No. 13 in the UK. The album yielded 3 singles, 'In the Crossfire', 'This Time' and 'Keep Us Together'.
Their fourth album, 'All the Plans' was released in March 2009 and charted at No. 26.
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Jarvis Cocker stage invader comes forward
Jarvis Cocker got a taste of his own medicine, as his stage was invaded during his Glastonbury set last week. Just as the former Pulp frontman was about to kick off his track 'Homewrecker', a fan grabbed the microphone from him.
The admirer shouted: "Without this man, Britpop would have been s***. He gave it integrity, which no-one else did."
Primal Scream
Formed in 1984 and winners of the first ever Mercury Music Prize for 1991's ‘Screamadelica’, Primal Scream have influenced a generation of fans over their 20 year career. Fronted by former Jesus & Mary Chain's Bobby Gillespie with Andrew Innes (guitar), Robert Young (guitar), ex-Felt keyboardist Martin Duffy (keyboards) and Stone Roses bass guitarist Robert 'Mani' Mounfield, they signed to Alan McGee's Creation Records in 1985.
The band's 1987 debut LP ‘Sonic Flower Groove’ was influenced by The Byrds, Velvet Underground and the C86 scene. The album set the tone for a musical style that would define the following decade and pave the way for bands like the Stone Roses and The Happy Mondays.
Their follow-up album ‘Primal Scream’ witnessed a musical progression for the band, but it was 1991's Mercury Music Prize winning ‘Screamadelica’ which became their landmark release, changing the face of British pop music with its mix of dance, dub, techno, acid house and rock.
They returned in 1994 with ‘Give Out but Don't Give Up’ which featured the hit single 'Rocks', but with 1997's ‘Vanishing Point’ they created a more complex dynamic sound of the indie-genre, re-establishing the group as a major force in British rock.
Two Top Ten albums followed; 'XTRMNTR’ in 2000 and ‘Evil Heat’ in 2002, flaunting a greater electronic feel. Evil Heat also featured guest appearances by Kate Moss and Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant. In 2003 they released their ‘Dirty Hits’ collection, a retrospective of their career to date.
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In June 2005, Primal Scream played a controversial set at the Glastonbury Festival, throughout which Gillespie was playfully abusive to the crowd and was alleged to have made Nazi salutes during the song "Swastika Eyes".
They released ‘Rock City Blues’ in June 2006, which reached number five in the charts, and featured hit single ‘Country Girl’. A live DVD of the album’s tour followed in 2007.
On July 21 2008, Primal Scream released a new album called ‘Beautiful Future’, and are still going strong to this day.
Carly Page
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Hawkwind
I remember my friend Peter Barton a record plugger at United Artists records raving to me about Hawkwind and giving me a white label of Silver Machine to play at gigs which always went down well.
My reward was tickets for their Space Rituil Show at the Greasy Truckers Truckers Party at the Round House, later at the Rainbow and again at the Santa Monica Civic in LA.
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Originally the Pretty Things guitarist Dick Taylor was brought in to produce the 1970 debut album ‘Hawkwind’. From there the space sound emerged - ‘In Search of Space’ - created the stage show where you strapped in and took off with an array of visual images from light show by Liquid Len to dancers Stacia and Miss Renee.
In 1975, the band recorded the album ‘Warrior on the Edge of Time’. Lemmy left to form Motorhead named after the last song he had written for Hawkwind.
With new vocalist Robert Calvett the band released ‘Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music’ in 1976 and after a period broke to reform in late 1979. They later headlined at Glastonbury, the Stonenhenge Free Festival, Reading Festival, Donington Monsters of Rock. They continued to release albums in the 90’s and a 30th Anniversary concert at the Brixton Academy witnessed 20 members past and present taking part in a 3 hour set.
Hawkind continue to tour.
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Gong
Gong, even though they have a bizarre band name, are a successful progressive rock band formed by Australian musician, Daevid Allan. They formed in 1967, after Allan, then a member of Soft Machine, was denied entry into the UK due to a visa complication.
He remained in France, where he and a London born professor, Gilli Smyth, began the band now known as Gong.
They apparently found saxophonist Didier Malherbe living in a cave in Deya, before the band were invited back to France to record the soundtrack to Jerome La Perrousaz movies. Following this, they were signed to independent label BYG, and signed up for two albums (Magick Brother, Mystic Sister and Bananamoon).
The next feat for the band was playing at the first ever Glastonbury festival, and were subsequently one of the first acts to sign up to Virgin Records. By 1971, a regular line-up had established itself, and Gong released their ‘Camembert Electrique’ album, priced at just 49p. How times can change. Sadly though, it was barred from entering the charts due to it being so cheap!
Between 1973 and 1974 the band released their ‘Radio Gnome Trilogy’. Following this in 1975, Allan refused to go on stage, claiming there was a ‘wall of force’ stopping him. He later left the band, along with Smyth. The band continued to tour with a new line-up, eventually morphing into Pierre Moerlen’s Gong, taking their main influences from the jazz genre.
Although not as recognised as they were n previous years, there are many space-rock wannabe bands keeping the Gong spirit going.
Carly Page
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