Elastica

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For the theory relating to large scale deformations of elastic structures, see Elastica Theory.
Elastica

Background information
Origin London, England
Genre(s) Alternative rock
Britpop
NWONW
Years active 1992—2001
Label(s) Deceptive Records
DGC Records
Atlantic Records
Wichita Recordings
Associated acts Suede
Me Me Me
Spitfire
Klang
Beauty School
Former members
Justine Frischmann
Annie Holland
Justin Welch
Donna Matthews
David Bush
Sheila Chipperfield
Paul Jones
Mew

Elastica was an English alternative rock band, who played punk rock-influenced music. They were best known for their 1995 album Elastica which produced singles that charted in the U.S. and the U.K.

Contents

[edit] History

Elastica was formed in mid-1992 by ex-Suede guitarist Justine Frischmann and ex-Spitfire and Suede drummer Justin Welch. By the autumn of that year, bassist Annie Holland and guitarist Donna Matthews (ex-Darling Buds) were added. After initially rehearsing, recording and gigging under names such as Vaseline and Onk, the band settled on the name Elastica in early 1993.

Their first single was 1993's "Stutter", which benefited from the promotional efforts of BBC Radio 1 DJ and Deceptive Records label boss Steve Lamacq who had discovered the band earlier in the year. In 1994 Elastica released two UK top 20 singles, "Line Up" and "Connection," and performed on numerous radio shows. In addition Frischmann's relationship with Blur's Damon Albarn made tabloid headlines, thus creating further buzz about the band.

Elastica's first LP, Elastica, was released in March of 1995 and entered the UK charts at #1, becoming one of the fastest selling debut albums in UK history at the time.[citation needed] The album was preceded by their fourth single "Waking Up" which went to #13 on the UK singles chart, their highest placing yet.

The band became subject to controversy when several bands sued them for plagiarism. Specifially, the post-punk band Wire (whom Elastica counted as one of their main influences) claimed that many of the band's melodies were taken from Wire compositions. Notably, Wire's "I Am the Fly" has a chorus similar to Elastica's "Line Up" and the intro synthesizer part in Elastica's "Connection" (later also repeated on guitar) is lifted from the guitar riff in Wire's "Three Girl Rhumba" and transposed a semitone (the judgment resulted in an out-of-court settlement for which Wire received no compensation). The Stranglers also passed comment that Elastica's "Waking Up" bore a marked resemblance to their song "No More Heroes"[citation needed].

In the United States "Connection" and "Stutter" received airplay on modern rock radio and also both charted on the pop charts, as did their self-titled debut (which was later certified gold). After performing at the 1995 Glastonbury Festival, the band joined the Lollapalooza tour continuing an almost solid year of constant gigging. Citing exhaustion, original bassist Annie Holland quit the band in early August of 1995 and was replaced for the remainder of the tour by session bassist Abby Travis. Holland wasn't permanently replaced until the arrival of Sheila Chipperfield in the Spring of 1996. Also around this time keyboardist David Bush (ex-The Fall) was added to the lineup.

After playing even more shows and demoing new material in the first half of 1996, Elastica entered the studio in late '96 to begin work on their second album. By late 1998, guitarist Donna Matthews had left the band. She was replaced by guitarist Paul Jones and keyboardist Mew. Also around this time, Chipperfield was replaced with a returning Annie Holland.

As a tribute to the "lost years" of the band, a self-titled 6 track EP appeared in August 1999 collecting a variety of recordings from a multitude of aborted sessions. This EP marked the first new material from the band in over 4 years. After re-recording most of these songs in mid-1999, along with new compositions, the band played their first set of shows in years. Their second album proper, The Menace, was finally released in April 2000. After the release of a farewell single "The Bitch Don't Work" in 2001, the band announced their amicable breakup.

[edit] Members

[edit] Official members

[edit] Guest/touring members

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums/EPs

[edit] Singles

Year Song UK Singles Chart US Hot 100 US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock Album
1993 "Stutter" - - - - Elastica
1994 "Line Up" 20 - - - Elastica
1994 "Connection" 17 - - - Elastica
1995 "Waking Up" 13 - - - Elastica
1995 "Connection" (US release) - 53 2 40 Elastica
1995 "Stutter" (US release) - 67 10 - Elastica
1995 "Car Song" - - 33 - Elastica
2000 "Mad Dog God Dam" 44 - - - The Menace
2001 "The Bitch Don't Work" 87 - - - Non-album single

[edit] References

 This article does not cite any references or sources. (August 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

[edit] External links