Garbage built on the sonic landscapes of My Bloody Valentine, Curve, and Sonic Youth, adding a distinct sense of accessible pop songcraft. Garbage was the brainchild of producers Butch Vig, Duke Erikson, and Steve Marker. Initially, Garbage was an informal jam session between the three producers held in Marker's basement, but they eventually recruited vocalist Shirley Manson, who had previously sang with Angelfish and Goodbye Mr. MacKenzie. 

Vig is a native of Viroqua, WI, who learned to play piano as a child and drums as a teenager. He attended the University of Wisconsin briefly before pursuing a career in music instead. The first band he joined after leaving college was Spooner, who he played drums with. Also in Spooner was Erikson, who sang and played guitar with the band. Marker was a native of New York who moved to Wisconsin to attend college. He became a fan of Spooner and began recording their songs. Vig left Spooner shortly afterwards, but he kept in touch with the band. After a few years, Spooner became Firetown and Vig played drums in the new outfit. 

 
Firetown broke up in the late '80s, without achieving much success. Prior to the formation of Firetown, Vig and Marker bought an eight-track cassette recorder together and set up a makeshift studio in a local warehouse. This studio was dubbed Smart Studios and Vig recorded numerous local punk and alternative bands at the warehouse. By the late '80s, Smart had become one of the hippest recording studios in America. Many records released on Touch & Go, Sub Pop, and Twin/Tone, among other indie labels, were made at Smart. Vig and Smart broke into the big time in 1991, after he produced Nirvana's Nevermind. Nevermind elevated Butch Vig to the status of a superstar producer and for the next two years, he produced numerous American alternative superstars, including Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, and L7. 

After a brief break, Garbage began work on their second album in the summer of 1997. The record, entitled Version 2.0, was released in May the following year, preceded by the single "Push It." Four years later, they issued a sophisticated third album, Beautiful Garbage, and the first single "Androgyny" became a moderate radio hit. Bleed Like Me followed in 2005.

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For The Record:

Members include Duke Erikson (born Douglas Erikson, 1950), guitar, keyboards; Shirley Manson (born August 26, 1966, in Edinburgh, Scotland; married), vocals, guitar; Steve Marker (born 1960, in Nebraska; attended University of Wisconsin at Madison), guitar, bass; Butch Vig (born Bryan Vig in 1957, in Viroqua, WI; attended University of Wisconsin at Madison), drums. Education: attended University of Wisconsin at Madison

Band formed in Madison, WI, 1994; released debut album, Garbage, Almo Sounds, 1995; released Version 2.0, Almo Sounds, 1998; released Beautiful Garbage, 2001; toured with No Doubt, 2002; released Bleed Like Me, 2005.

Addresses: Record company—Almo Sounds, 360 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048-1928. Website—Garbage Official Website. 

Garbage's music also earned accolades despite their lack of pop pretensions. Rolling Stone's Sheffield declared that the band transforms "subcultural energy into pop flash with a fabulously twitchy singer." Cohen declared that Garbage's team of four "have masterminded a confident collection of emotionally sharp-shooting songs." Originally, the Scot and the three producers had no plans to take their project live, but found themselves surprised by the album's overwhelming critical and commercial success. When they made the video for "Vow," "we played live, and after the first take, the crew was clapping," Vig told Dunn.

Discography:

Garbage, Almo Sounds, 1995.

Version 2.0, Almo Sounds, 1998.

Beautiful Garbage, Interscope, 2001.

Bleed Like Me, Geffen, 2005.

Source: Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide; eNotes

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During the early-'90s alternative rock explosion, several female singer/songwriters rose to prominence, but few were as distinctive or as widely praised as Polly Jean Harvey. Over the course of three albums, Harvey established herself as one of the most individual and influential songwriters of the '90s, exploring themes of sex, love, and religion with unnerving honesty, dark humour, and a twisted theatricality.

At the outset of her career, she led the trio PJ Harvey, which delivered her stark songs with bruisingly powerful, punkish abandon, as typified by the 1992 debut effort Dry. Following the noisy, uncompromising follow-up, Rid of Me, the trio fell apart, and PJ Harvey became the sole property of Polly Harvey. Her next record, 1995's To Bring You My Love, became her mainstream critical breakthrough, confirming her status as one of the cornerstone figures of '90s alternative rock.

Harvey grew up on a sheep farm in Yeovil, England, where she was raised by her quarryman father and her artist mother. As a child, she learned how to play guitar and saxophone, and when she was a teenager, she played in a variety of bands as a sideman.

She formed PJ Harvey in 1991 with bassist Steve Vaughan and drummer Robert Ellis, and the trio recorded its debut record for under $5,000. The band signed with the British indie label Too Pure and released "Dress" that fall. "Dress" became an indie rock sensation, as did its follow-up, "Sheela-Na-Gig," with both singles receiving lavish praise in the U.K. music press.

Although Harvey was a reluctant interviewee, she cannily used the press to her advantage, whether it was through her candid interviews or startling, occasionally disturbingly sexy photo sessions, which subverted traditional concepts of female sexuality.

PJ Harvey's debut, Dry, was released in spring 1992 to considerable praise; it was distributed in America by Island Records. The trio followed it with an extensive tour, culminating with an appearance at that summer's Reading Festival. Shortly after the tour, Harvey moved to London, where she nearly suffered a nervous breakdown due to the extraordinary pressure and expectation surrounding her second album.

The group hired former Big Black frontman Steve Albini (Pixies, Breeders) as the producer of their second album, Rid of Me. Albini imposed his trademark noisy, guitar-heavy sound on the record, which mirrored its harder-edged themes. Rid of Me was a major critical success and expanded Harvey's cult greatly. She supported the album with a tour featuring herself in a fake leopard-skin coat and a feather boa, signaling her developing interest in theatricality.

At the end of the year, Harvey released 4-Track Demos, a collection of her original versions of the songs on Rid of Me. Following the Rid of Me tour, Ellis and Vaughan parted ways with Harvey, and she recorded her third album as a solo artist, augmented by producer Flood, bassist Mick Harvey, and guitarists John Parish and Joe Gore. Harvey developed a richer, bluesier sound with the expanded band, and the resulting record, To Bring You My Love, was hailed as a masterpiece by many critics upon its February 1995 release.

Thanks to considerable press attention, as well as strong support from MTV and modern rock radio for the single "Down by the Water," To Bring You My Love became a moderate hit, entering the U.S. charts at number 40. Harvey spent all of 1995 touring the album, and spent the following year in relative seclusion.

During 1996 she was relatively quiet, only appearing twice on record: once in a duet with Nick Cave on his Murder Ballads album - the pair were reportedly romantically involved - and later on Dance Hall at Louse Point, a collaborative album that found her teaming up with John Parish. Is This Desire? followed in 1998.

Two years later, Harvey reunited with Ellis and Mick Harvey for Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea, which returned to her earlier, more aggressive style and was inspired by her six-month stay in New York City in 1999. The album won the 2001 Mercury Prize, making Harvey the first female winner of that award.

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After extensive touring in support of the album, Harvey split her time over the next two years working on new material and collaborating with likeminded friends and contemporaries. She appeared on Gordon Gano's Hitting the Ground, Giant Sand's Cover Magazine, and John Parish's How Animals Move, but Harvey's most prominent collaboration was with the Queens of the Stone Age side project the Desert Sessions. She performed on more than half of 2003's Desert Sessions, Vols. 9-10, including the single Crawl Home.

That summer, she also performed at the V Festival, previewing tracks from her new album, which she claimed was close to being finished. The album, Uh Huh Her, appeared in summer 2004, coinciding with another string of tour dates, including British and European festival appearances at Glastonbury, T in the Park, the Montreux Jazz Festival, and Spain's La Primavera festival. Stateside, Harvey was scheduled to join the revived Lollapalooza festival for select dates, joining Morrissey and Sonic Youth on the main stage. Upon the cancellation of that festival, however, she mounted a solo tour of the States with select opening acts.

Three years later the ever-evolving musician released White Chalk, her first piano-based album. She then resumed her partnership with John Parish for another collaborative project, A Woman a Man Walked By, which arrived in 2009. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Source: www.artistdirect.com

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The Backstreet Boys were, in many ways, a contradictory band. Comprised entirely of white middle-class Americans, the group sang a hybrid of new jack balladry, hip-hop, R&B, and dance club pop that originally found its greatest success in Canada and Europe, with their 1996 debut album charting in the Top Ten in nearly every country on the Continent. Ironically, success in their native land did not follow until nearly two years later, when teen pop enjoyed a commercial explosion in America. Along with such artists as *NSYNC and Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys rose to the forefront of popular music during the turn of the 21st century, with albums like Backstreet's Back, Millennium, and Black & Blue enjoying worldwide success.

The core of the Backstreet Boys was comprised of cousins Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell, both of whom hailed from Lexington, KY. The two began singing in local church choirs and festivals while they were children, performing doo wop and R&B songs in the style of Boyz II Men. Two of the group's other members, Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean, were natives of Orlando, FL, who met each other -- as well as transplanted New Yorker Nick Carter -- through auditions for local commercials, theater, and television. At one audition, the three discovered that they shared an affection for classic soul and could harmonize well together. Inspired, they formed a vocal trio. Shortly thereafter, Richardson moved to Orlando, where he became a tour guide at Disney World and concentrated on music at night. Eventually, he met Dorough, Carter, and McLean through a co-worker, and the four decided to form a group, naming themselves after an Orlando flea market. Littrell was later invited to join, thus turning the group into a quintet. 

With the help of Louis J. Pearlman (who would later rise to mogul status on the strength of his teen pop acts), the Backstreet Boys secured management from Donna and Johnny Wright, the latter of whom had managed New Kids on the Block during the 1980s. The Wrights put the group out on the road and enlisted several A&R reps to attend the performances, which eventually resulted in a contract with Jive Records in 1994. Jive set the Backstreet Boys up with producers Veit Renn and Tim Allen, who helped shape the group's eponymous album. Released throughout Europe in late 1995, the record enjoyed considerable success, spending several weeks in the Top Ten in most Continental countries where it charted. In the U.K., the Backstreet Boys were named Best Newcomers of 1995 at the Smash Hits Awards thanks to their international hit single "We've Got It Goin' On." After scoring another European hit with "I'll Never Break Your Heart," the group released its album in Canada. Despite the Backstreet Boys' popularity in Europe and Canada, "We've Got It Goin' On" stalled in the lower reaches of the U.S. charts in 1995. 

Combining their international singles with new tracks (which also formed the centerpiece of that year's European-only album Backstreet's Back), the American version of Backstreet Boys finally jump-started the group's success at home. "Quit Playin' Games (With My Heart)" and "As Long as You Love Me" proved to be popular singles, with the former track climbing to platinum status. The album continued to spin off hits well into 1999, with "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)," "I'll Never Break Your Heart," and "All I Have to Give" all landing on the charts. Both the former and the latter were platinum Top Five hits, and the album eventually sold an astounding 14 million copies in America alone. 

In the meantime, the group saw its share of turmoil as Littrell underwent surgery in early 1998 to correct a congenital heart defect. Additionally, the Boys became embroiled in lawsuits against Pearlman and the rest of their management over royalties. When the dust settled, Pearlman remained the group's manager -- though the rest of the team was fired -- and the Boys began work on their follow-up album. Millennium was released in the summer of 1999 and debuted at number one, with first-week sales topping one million copies. Buoyed by songs like "I Want It That Way," "Larger Than Life," "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely," and "The One", Millennium shattered a number of records, including the highest amount of shipments in one year and the most copies sold during an album's inaugural week. The group released its Christmas Album before the end of the year, by which time Millennium was well on its way to sales of 12 million copies in the U.S. On an international level, the album eventually sold more than 40 million units. 

Once again, the group struck immediately after its previous album stopped producing hits, issuing Black & Blue in fall 2000. More Top 40 singles followed, including "The Call" and "Shape of My Heart", and Black & Blue followed its predecessor by selling over one million copies during its first week. A popular tour supported the album, but after seven years of nonstop touring and recording, the band agreed it was time for a break. Brian Littrell became a father while Kevin Richardson tried his hand at Broadway and took a starring role in the musical +Chicago. Nick Carter released his solo album Now or Never in 2002, Howie Dorough did charity work for the Dorough Lupus Foundation in honor of the sister he had lost to the disease, and A.J. McLean made headlines with his stint in rehab. 

In 2004, the Backstreet Boys re-formed and began work on a new album. The result, Never Gone, was released in June 2005 to platinum sales, followed by Unbreakable in 2007. The latter was the first album not to feature all five original members, as Kevin Richardson had quietly exited the group in 2006. It was also the group's first album not to go platinum, a fact that seemingly cemented the end of the Backstreet Boys' heyday. 

In 2009, Backstreet Boys released their seventh studio album entitled 'This Is Us'. It featured a number of artists including Ne-Yo and T-Pain. They released their second greatest hits compilation in early 2010 called 'Playlist: The Very Best Of The Backstreet Boys'.

For The Record:

Members include Nick Carter (born January 28, 1980 in Jamestown, NY; son of Robert and Jane Carter), vocals; Howie Dorough (born August 22, 1973), vocals; Brian Littrell, (born February 20, 1975 in Lexington, KY; son of Harold and Jackie Littrell), vocals; A. J. McLean (born January 1, 1978 in West Palm Beach FL), vocals; and Kevin Richardson, (born October 3, 1972 in Lexington, KY), vocals.

Awards: MTV Europe Viewers Choice 1996.

Addresses: Home—Orlando, FL. Manager—Donna and Johnny Wright, Wright Stuff Management, 7380 Sand Lake Road, Suite 350, Orlando, FL 32819.

From Europe the Backstreet Boys' popularity spread throughout the world—Japan, Australia, Canada, South-east Asia. Their first album, Backstreet Boys, released in April 1996, sold over eleven million copies and was certified platinum in 26 different countries. Backstreet Boys: The Video was also a number-one seller in Canada for three months. The group toured overseas for 18 months and their concerts recalled the days of High Beatlemania, complete with crowds of crazed teenage girls, narrow escapes out back Windows, and screams so loud the music was barely audible. At home in Florida, foreign fans wait in the parking lots outside the apartment houses where the Backstreet Boys live, hoping for autographs. German fans have torn up their lawns for a blade or two of souvenir grass. Yet back in Orlando, the Backstreet Boys pass everywhere in the city unrecognized.

In 1997 the United States was the final frontier for the Backstreet Boys. As 1998 approached and the band prepared for its second U.S. tour, it was looking forward to seeing whether America had taken to them to the degree everyone else had. "I think the (U.S.) market is more ready for a group like us now," Howie Dorough told USA Today. "I think at the time we released our first record, alternative, grunge and urban were hot. Now we feel that pop music is starting to come back a little bit." Their album was finally released in the United States in August 1997, nearly a year and a half after the rest of the world heard it for the first time. They included some of their newer songs on the American version, songs that were used on their second international album, Backstreet's Back. Jive promoted the album heavily, concentrating on its key female audience. Free Backstreet Boys cassettes were distributed with J.C. Penney makeup, at cheerleader camps, and with books in the teen romance series, "Love Stories." "The Backstreet Boys have made a great choice in selecting their music. When you listen to it you'll know why they are probably going to be the next new thing," wrote Christina Psoros, a 12-year-old reviewer for Newsday.

The Backstreet Boys were also working on broadening their musical foundations. Ali members of the group took up songwriting—though in December 1997 no Backstreet Boys penned number had made it onto a record—and all were learning how to play instruments. In addition, they have focused more attention on dancing, which has become a major part of their stage show. 

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Source: artistdirect.com, eNotes, Wikipedia

With their fusion of heavy metal, funk, hip-hop, and progressive rock, Faith No More has earned a substantial cult following. By the time they recorded their first album in 1985, the band had already had a string of lead vocalists, including Courtney Love; their debut, We Care a Lot, featured Chuck Mosley's abrasive vocals but was driven by Jim Martin's metallic guitar. Faith No More's next album, 1987's Introduce Yourself, was a more cohesive and impressive effort; for the first time, the rap and metal elements didn't sound like they were fighting each other.

In 1988, the rest of the band fired Mosley; he was replaced by Bay Area vocalist Mike Patton during the recording of their next album, The Real Thing. Patton was a more accomplished vocalist, able to change effortlessly between rapping and singing, as well as adding a considerably more bizarre slant to the lyrics. Besides adding a new vocalist, the band had tightened its attack and the result was the genre-bending hit single "Epic," which established them as a major hard rock act.

Following up the hit wasn't as easy, however. Faith No More followed their breakthrough success with 1992's Angel Dust, one of the more complex and simply confounding records ever released by a major label. Although it sold respectably, it didn't have the crossover potential of the first album. When the band toured in support of the album, tensions between the band and Martin began to escalate; rumors that his guitar was stripped from some of the final mixes of Angel Dust began to circulate.

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As the band was recording its fifth album in early 1994, it was confirmed that Martin had been fired from the band. Faith No More recorded King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime with Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance. During tour preparations he was replaced by Dean Mentia. Mentia only lasted for the length of the King for a Day tour and was replaced by Jon Hudson for 1997's Album of the Year. Upon the conclusion of the album's supporting tour, Faith No More announced they were disbanding in April 1998. Patton, who had previously fronted Mr. Bungle and had avant-garde projects with John Zorn, formed a new band named Fantômas with Melvins guitarist Buzz Osbourne, Mr. Bungle bassist Trevor Dunn, and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. Roddy Bottum continued with his band Imperial Teen, who released their first album, Seasick, in 1996. A posthumous Faith No More retrospective, Who Cares a Lot, appeared in late 1998.

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Hardcore punk revivalists AFI (A Fire Inside) originally formed in 1991 when their members; vocalist Davey Havok, guitarist Markus Stopholese, bassist Vick, and drummer Adam Carson, were attending high school in Ukiah, CA. Vick was replaced by Geoff Kresge after several months, and the band played a few local gigs and released a split 7" titled Dork with fellow Ukiah natives Loose Change (a band that incidentally included future AFI member Jade Puget). An EP titled Behind the Times was released as well. The bandmembers then split up to attend different colleges, with Kresge temporarily moving to New Jersey to join Blanks 77, and all assumed East Bay's AFI was defunct. However, the band reconvened during a holiday break from school to play a one-off reunion show, and audience response was so positive that the bandmembers decided to quit school and concentrate on music full-time.

A couple of singles preceded a record deal with the Nitro label, which issued the band's second album, Very Proud of Ya, in 1996. Two LPs followed in 1997, a re-release of their 1995 debut, Answer That and Stay Fashionable, and Shut Your Mouth & Open Your Eyes,and personnel shifts ensued; Kresge was the first to leave, being replaced by Hunter Burgan, and Stopholese departed in favor of ex-Redemption 87 guitarist Jade Puget, who then shared songwriting duties with Havok. The new lineup recorded an EP titled A Fire Inside in 1998, and issued a noticeably more mature full-length in 1999, Black Sails in the Sunset. 1999 also saw the release of the All Hallow's EP before The Art of Drowning followed a year later. Though already owning a fiercely loyal core base of fans, the latter album saw the band's music being received by an even larger audience, due in part to the moderate success of the single "Days of the Phoenix".

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In the new millennium, AFI hooked up with Jerry Finn and Garbage's Butch Vig for some recording. The end result was the ambitious Sing the Sorrow, released in March 2003, their major-label debut for DreamWorks that showcased the band's significant growth from their early hardcore days. This album also showcased Havok's ability in nursing degrees of dark wave into the sound of the band with his melodic and dark vocals.The record also marked AFI's crossover into the mainstream as their fan base considerably grew, national news publications praised them, and several singles found airplay on MTV. Working again with producer Jerry Finn (Blink-182, Green Day), the band's next record was their most labor-intensive to date, resulting from two years of detailed songwriting. Decemberunderground, album number seven, surfaced on June 6, 2006, on Interscope. The album was an instant success, debuting at number one on the Billboard charts. AFI kept the momentum going on the road nationwide that summer, followed by a string of overseas dates in October. While on tour, Havok and Puget dedicated their spare time to a side project that would become Black Audio, which they debuted in early 2007. AFI went on to release I Heard a Voice: Live from Long Beach Arena later that same year. 

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For The Record:

Members include Adam Carson (born c. 1974), drums; Davey Havok (born David Marchand on November 20, 1975, in Rochester, NY), lead vocals; Hunter (born c. 1976; joined group, 1997), bass; Geoff Kresge (group member, 1991-97), bass; Jade Puget (born Jade Puget Smith c. 1974; joined group, 997), guitar; Markus Stopholese (group member, 1991-97), guitar. 

Group formed in Ukiah, CA, 1991; released debut album Answer That & Stay Fashionable on Wingnut, 1995; four albums on NIT, 1996-2000; signed with Nitro/DreamWorks Records; major label debut, Sing the Sorrow, 2003. 

Awards: California Music Awards (CAMA), Outstanding Group, Outstanding Rock Album, and Outstanding Debut on a Major Label, 2004. 

Addresses: Contact—P.O. Box 4522, Berkeley, CA 94704. Booking—Leave Home Booking, 1400 S. Foothill Dr. Ste. 34, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, phone: (801) 582-4111, fax: (801) 582-4112. Website—AFI Official Website: http://www.afireinside.net.

Souce: G. Cooksey

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Formed in 1992, the alternative brit pop outfit Ash have continued to deliver great music and sold 8 million records in the process. Consisting of Tim Wheeler (lead vocals, guitar), Mark Hamilton (bass guitar) and Rick Murray (drums), all from Downpatrick Northern Ireland, Ash have recently decided to only release singles online rather than release the singles from new albums.

Ash released their three time platinum album in 1995 entitled ‘1977’ relating to the year Tim and Mark were born. ‘1977’ included the hits ‘Girl from Mars’, ‘Kung Fu’ and ‘Angel Interceptor’ with ‘Goldfinger’ and ‘Oh Yeah’ reaching in the UK top ten. The record remains a classic, with the band occasionally dedicating their gigs to the breakthrough album by performing the full playlist.

With their new found fame, and after touring with Weezer, the band decided to add another guitarist to the tightly knitted group as they felt she would give them a new option when writing new material. Charlotte Hatherley was added after she left the band Nightnurse as Ash knew she could play the guitar, the piano and she would be a useful backing vocalist. The resulting album ‘Nu-Clear Sounds’ released in 1998 went double platinum with Ash touring non stop due to their high status. This however led to Tim to go AWOL in 1999 as the stress of touring through the two albums took its toll on the singer.

Tim returned during the filming of the single ‘Numbskull’ but times were hard for the band. They were near bankruptcy and the album to be released was said to be their last. The record ‘Free All Angels’ released in 2001 however, went platinum five times and went to number one in the album chart. The record featured the hits ‘Burn Baby Burn’, ‘Sometimes’, ‘There’s A Star’, the cover ‘Candy’ and the top ten hit ‘Shining Light’, which won the best contemporary song at the Ivor Novello awards. The record discarded claims the band were on the verge of splitting as Q magazine named them number two on 50 bands you need to see before you die.

After releasing their fourth studio album ‘Meltdown’, Charlotte left the band in 2006 as it became clear the original members wanted a three piece set. As a result, there are many songs from the three albums Ash released with Charlotte that they cannot perform live due to the complex guitar rifts Ash cannot master with just one guitarist.

Ash released their last studio album in 2007 with ‘Twilight of the Innocents’ before coming up with A/Z tour idea in the autumn of 2009. This involved the band to tour Britain by playing in a town that starts with the relevant letter such as A-Aldershot B-Bradford and so on. This resulted in the band playing in small venues when they visited Ventnor in the Isle of Wight and Zennor in Cornwall.

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Ash are now using new technology to their advantage by mimicking the A/Z idea with the release of upcoming singles. The unique idea helped the band release a single every two weeks for a whole year. The thinking behind releasing their next 26 singles through their website and not have an album release sees the band taking advantage of the rise of online single sales. A decline of album sales in the last 15 years shows how Ash are using their brains to get the best out of the modern era.

The Northern Irish band have rocked for nearly 20 years and with no signs of quitting just yet, the alternative outfit continue to push boundaries and come up with new concepts to their tours and their music.

For The Record:

Members include Mark Hamilton (born on March 21, 1977), bass; Charlotte Hatherley (born on June 20, 1977; joined group, 1997), guitars, vocals; Ride McMurray (born on July 11, 1975), drums; Tim Wheeler (born on January 4, 1977), guitars, vocals.

Formed group in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, 1992; signed with La La Land Records, 1994; released single "Jack Names the Planets," 1994; signed with Infectious Records, released Trailer EP, 1994; released 1977, 1996; released Live at the Wireless on own Death Star Records, 1997; released Nu-Clear Sounds, 1998; released Free All Angels, 2001.

Addresses: Record company—Infectious Records, London, England,  Website—Ash Official Website.

Source: Dean Woodhouse, 

Christina Fuoco

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The Bee Gees were an English band formed of a trio of brothers – Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb. The band are most famous for the work they did in the 1960s and 1970s initially as a harmonic soft rock group before becoming the foremost stars of the disco era. Their distinctive harmonies were instantly recognizable from Robin’s clear vibrato and Barry’s falsetto, during their disco days.

The majority of the Bee Gees hits were co-written by the brothers and they also wrote and produced hits for an array of other artists. They began their musical career in Australia where they achieved chart success before returning to the UK and gaining international fame under producer Roger Stigwood. It has been estimated that the band have sold in excess of 200 million records which makes them one of the best selling artists of all time. In 1997 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where their citation reads, “Only Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and Paul McCartney have outsold the Bee Gees”.

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The second British single the Bee Gees released, “New York Mining Disaster 1941”, was issued to radio stations with a white label and just the song title. Many DJs assumed it was a new Beatles track and began playing it on heavy rotation. This helped the track climb into the Top 20 of the UK and US charts. Their next single, “To Love Somebody” was also a Top 20 hit and has been covered by Gram Parsons, Janis Joplin, Nina Simone, Michael Bolton, The Animals and Rod Stewart.

Their first album, “Bee Gees 1st” peaked at No. 7 in the US and No. 8 in the UK and the follow up, “Horizontal” produced No.1 single “Massachusetts”. They released their third album, “Idea” in 1968 which was another Top 20 hit on both sides of the pond. 1969 saw Robin leave the band as he felt Barry was being favoured as the frontman. The band continued without him and released, “Cucumber Castle” but after poor sales Barry and Maurice split and it seemed like the end for the Bee Gees.

The band reunited in 1970 and after success with singles, “Lonely Days” and, “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” the band faltered. They went to the US to work with soul music producer Arif Mardin who encouraged them to work with soul music and produced disco tracks, “Jive Talkin” and “Nights on Broadway” which featured Barry’s first attempts at singing falsetto.

Then came their work on the “Saturday Night Fever soundtrack” which came to be a major turning point in their career. They had worldwide No.1 singles with, “How Deep Is Your Love”, “Stayin’ Alive” and “Night Fever” and the album soundtrack became a best seller with over 40 million copies sold.

In 2003 Maurice died suddenly from a strangulated intestine and the remaining brothers decided to retire the name and have worked independently, releasing recordings with other artists, only sometimes coming together to record.

For The Record:

Group comprised of brothers Barry (given name, Douglas; born Isle of Man, England, September 1, 1947), and Robin and Maurice (twins; born Manchester, England, December 22, 1949) Gibb; sons of Hugh Gibb (a bandleader). Began performing in England in 1955 under various names, including the Rattlesnakes, the Bluecats, and Wee Johnny Hays and the Bluecats; family moved to Brisbane, Australia, 1958; began performing as the Bee Gees (for Brothers Gibb), 1958; signed first recording contract with Festival Records, 1962; hosted own TV show in Australia during 1960s; international recording artists, 1967—.

Awards: Grammy Award for best pop vocal performance by a group, for single "How Deep Is Your Love?," 1977, and for album of the year, best pop vocal performance by a group, best producer of the year, and best arrangement for voices, all 1978, all for album Saturday Night Fever.

Addresses: Office—Kragen, 1112 N. Sherbourne Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90069. Record company—Warner Bros. Records, 3300 Warner Blvd., Burbank, CA 91505.

Discography:

First, Atco, 1967.

Horizontal, Atco, 1968, Polydor, 1987.

Idea, Atco, 1968, Polydor, 1987.

Rare, Precious and Beautiful, Atco, 1968.

Best, Atco, 1969, RSO, 1987.

Odessa (double album), Atco, 1969.

Odessa (condensed), 1969.

Rare, Precious and Beautiful, Vol 2, Atco, 1970.

Cucumber Castle, Atco, 1970.

Two Years On, Atco, 1970, RSO, 1989.

Melody (soundtrack), Atco, 1971.

Trafalgar, Atco, 1971, RSO, 1989.

To Whom It May Concern, Atco, 1972.

Life in a Tin Can, RSO, 1973.

Best, Vol. 2, RSO, 1973, reissued, 1987.

Mister Natural, RSO, 1974.

Main Course, RSO, 1975, Polydor, 1988.

Children of the World, RSO, 1976, reissued, 1989.

Gold, Vol. 1, RSO, 1976.

Here at Last... Live (double album), RSO, 1977.

Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack), RSO, 1977.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (soundtrack; double album), RSO, 1978.

Spirits Having Flown, RSO, 1979, reissued, 1989.

Greatest Hits (double album), RSO, 1979.

Liviní Eyes, RSO, 1982.

E.S.P., Warner Bros., 1988.

One, Warner Bros., 1989.

This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com

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