Following on from part 1, I’m looking back at the indie / Britpop compilation album ‘Shine 5′. Shine was a mid-late 90′s indie compilation series. There were ten Shine albums, but the 1996 released 5th installment was the one I played over and over and over.
What happened to the 41 bands featured on the album? Let’s take a look at the bands from CD2.
Oasis
The band that defined UK music in the 1990′s. Legions of loyal fans and huge album sales to match. They dominated the Britpop genre and continued to be a significant part of the music scene until an acrimonious split in 2009. Don’t Look Back In Anger was Oasis at their commercial peak. For me it was 1994′s Definitely Maybe that soared the highest. The raw, rampant energy and blistering guitar riffs of Oasis’ first album was never matched once their sound became more produced and ‘bigger’.
Pulp
Pulp are a funny one. It is obvious how huge they were, and 1995′s Different Class is widely considered to be a seminal album. But their music never really resonated with me and I’m apathetic towards the band and the track Sorted For E’s & Whizz. Pulp haven’t made new music since 2001, but are now back together. Jarvis Cocker also presents an excellent radio show on BBC 6 Music.
Menswear
One of the random indie bands that vanished along with Britpop. Their track Being Brave is a dreary and uninspiring one that just about has a catchy enough chorus to have been a success. They folded after their second album flopped in 1997. Guitarist Simon White did pretty well though, going on to manage Bloc Party, Hudson Mohawke, Cassius, Digitalism and Phoenix.
Radiohead
They transcended the indie genre, and even before Britpop had faded they were already evolving their sound beyond it. All eight of their albums are surprising, exciting and moving but The Bends, OK Computer and In Rainbows are timeless greats. It was Fake Plastic Trees that featured on Shine 5, but almost any song from their 1995 masterpiece could have been included. Happily they are still going strong and are planning to tour in 2012. I hope to attend.
Gene
Gene were the darlings of NME and Melody Maker in 1995 and did manage to produce some reasonable indie songs with the requisite catchy chorus to jump up and down to, as Sleep Well Tonight testifies. Lead singer Martin Rossiter was a bit of a celebrity for a while. He gained some notoriety for headbutting Dennis Pennis creator Paul Kaye after an escalating dispute. The band eventually faded with the scene and folded in 2004 after declining sales.
Suede
One of the highest profile bands of the indie scene, Suede backed up their fame with fantastically orignal music. Guitarist Bernard Butler left during their peak, but this didn’t stop Suede going on to produce one of my favourite albums of the 90s – Coming Up. Their first three albums were all very good, but 1994′s Dog Man Star is considered their masterpiece. It was one of the album’s singles The Wild Ones that featured on Shine 5. Suede are still going, but it’s safe to say they are passed their best.
Northern Uproar
The epitome of generic indie music, this forgetful band predictably folded in 1998. Town isn’t an awful song, but it’s totally uninspiring. The band surprisingly made a comeback in 2007 and are still going today, mainly playing at ‘Britpop nostalgia’ gigs.
The Stone Roses
The band that started it all. Oasis tried to emulate them and even early Blur didn’t sound a million miles away. With just one album in 1989 they laid the foundations for a whole new UK music scene. Virtually all their songs are seminal, but it was One Love that Shine 5 featured. The long-awaited reunion is finally on. 2012 will see The Stone Roses play live again.
Mansun
Despite seeing a couple of quite poor gigs I really liked Mansun. Attack of the Grey Lantern was their big selling indie release. It included the singles Wide Open Space, Stripper Vicar and and Take It Easy Chicken. But their 1998 album Six is arguably a more interesting and complex record. Mansun’s next two albums didn’t fare as well and they disbanded in 2003. Mansun were another inspiration for late 90′s underground sensation ‘Inertia’ and the picture below shows us butchering playing Wide Open Space to another sell out crowd.
Lush
Initially a shoegaze band, Lush moved into Britpop as can be heard in the song Single Girl. Tragically it was the 1996 suicide of drummer Chris Acland that ultimately finished the band. After a long period of grieving, the band continued for a short time with a new drummer but then split up in early 1998. Bassist Phil King went on to play for The Jesus and Mary Chain.
Terrorvision
At the time I remember liking Perseverance by the Bradford based band. But it seems a little cartoonish now. Terrorvision are still going today and have made 7 albums over an 18 year career. Perhaps best known for their 1999 single Tequila.
Levellers
Levellers are a punk/folk band that have been going since 1988. Despite knowing little about them, I’m assured by a friend who is a fan that Hope Street is not one of their better songs. Levellers have made 13 albums and are still regularly touring.
60ft Dolls
Active from 1993 – 1998, 60ft Dolls were hardcore/grunge inspired and only produced two albums. Talk To Me is not a bad rock/indie song and they were also a decent live act. The band recorded two sessions for John Peel’s BBC Radio 1 show, in 1996 and 1998, and appear in the top 125 Peel sessions of all time.
Audioweb
One of the most interesting bands to appear on the album. Audioweb found success as a rock/reggae/electronica band in an era that was all about indie guitar music. They only made two albums but some of their output such as Into My World and Policeman Skank was refreshingly unique. Their music seems so out of place on this album, but I’m glad they were on it or I might never have heard of them. Since the band split bassist Sean McCann has played for Ian Brown and Badly Drawn Boy, Robert Maxfield has drummed for Ian Brown, guitarist Robin File has been working with Finley Quaye and singer Martin Merchant is the vocalist on the theme tune for ‘Rastamouse’!
Eggman
This side project by the Boo Radleys singer/guitarist Sice Rowbottom produced just one album, First Fruits. Not Bad Enough is a delightfully mellow and autumnal song that makes me want to track down the entire album. After the Boo Radleys split in 1999 Rowbottom walked away from music for several years. He eventually went on to form a new band called Paperlung.
Whipping Boy
Whipping Boy are an Irish band who have been active since 1988 and released three albums. They split in 1998 but briefly came back in 2005. They officially reformed last year with a new lineup. Twinkle is a great song full of emotion and powerful driving guitar.
Folk Implosion
This was one of the random songs on the album that I really loved. I’d never heard of Folk Implosion when I bought Shine 5 and haven’t come across them since, but Natural One has got a soulful and slightly dark sound. It is years since I heard or even thought about this song and hearing it again transported me back to my teenage bedroom. The song was featured on the soundtrack to the 1995 film Kids, but does not appear in the film itself. The band was sporadically active until 2004 but since then has not been.
Salt
Swedish rockers Salt were pretty much a one hit wonder. Their grungy track Bluster was the only one of their singles that charted. But the song brings back great memories for the same reasons as Natural One. It was by far the heaviest rock song on Shine 5, and around this time my tastes began moving away from indie towards rock and metal. The song nicely bridged the two periods of my life. Salt appear to have disbanded after their 1997 follow-up album sold disappointingly.
Garbage
Garbage are one of the bands who were successful in the Britpop era but outlived it and are still doing well today. They have made 5 studio albums and 1995′s Queer is a solid single from the heyday of their success. Perhaps Manson’s biggest contribution to music is drummer Butch Vig’s production. He is responsible for producing some legendary albums such as Nirvana: Nevermind, The Smashing Pumpkins: Siamese Dream, Sonic Youth: Dirty and Foo Fighters: Wasting Light.
It has been great fun rediscovering these old tracks, many of which I have not listened to for well over a decade. Aside from how music has changed it’s apparent how much the format and accessibility also has. These days I would never dream of either buying a CD or buying any sort of compilation album. Is that because now I’m 31 not 16? Or is it just the changing times?
Shine 5 CD2 track listing
- Oasis : Don’t Look Back In Anger
- Pulp : Sorted For E’s & Whizz
- Ash : Oh Yeah
- Menswear : Being Brave
- Radiohead : Fake Plastic Trees
- Gene : Sleep Well Tonight
- Suede : The Wild Ones
- Northern Uproar : Town
- Stone Roses : One Love
- Mansun : Take It Easy Chicken
- Lush : Single Girl
- Terrorvision : Perseverance
- Levellers : Hope St.
- 60ft Dolls : Talk To Me
- Audioweb : Into My World
- Eggman : Not Bad Enough
- Whipping Boy : Twinkle
- Folk Implosion : Natural One
- Salt : Bluster
- Garbage : Queer
