| Silver Sun | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Camden, London |
| Genres | Indie, power pop, alternative rock, sunshine rock, pop punk |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | Polydor, Invisible Hands |
| Members | |
| James Broad - Lead vocals, guitar Richard Buckton - Bass, piano, vocals Paul Smith - guitar Jason Panudy - drums, vocals |
|
| Past members | |
| Richard Sayce - drums | |
Silver Sun are an English indie power pop band, who formed in 1995 in Camden, London.[1] They are best known for their use of The Beach Boys-esque backing vocals.
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They were initially called Sun..! and released their first EP under that name.[1] They were forced to alter the name soon afterwards, and chose 'Silver' after The Beatles' original name, 'The Silver Beetles'. The single "Lava" was their first under the new name. Groups such as Super Furry Animals also wrote music in a similar style at the time, although the US bands Weezer and Jellyfish are a closer match.
Their eponymous debut album was released in 1997, and was characterised by strong vocal harmonies and energetic choruses. It was also the first album to be co-produced by Nigel Godrich, who went on to produce Radiohead and Paul McCartney. The song "Golden Skin" was featured on the soundtrack to the 1990s British comedy film, Shooting Fish.
The band toured extensively during 1997 and 1998, headlining and supporting Sleeper, James, Gene, Mansun and Ash. They also played Glastonbury, Reading, Lowlands and the V Festivals in 1997.
The band's second album Neo Wave was released the following year and was produced by Al Clay. It contained their biggest hit "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late", a cover of the Johnny Mathis ballad which the band originally recorded for fun during a B-side recording session. The EP release also contained a version of Rush's "Xanadu" which the band condensed into a four minute pop song, as well as a cover of My Bloody Valentine's "You Made Me Realise".[1]
In 1999, the band were dropped by Polydor Records and spent some time out pursuing other projects. Richard Buckton wrote tracks with producer Pete Woodroffe for Spice Girl Mel C amongst others. Paul Smith took time out to gain a degree in sound technology. Richard Sayce formed the group Malibu with wife George, and James Broad continued writing further Silver Sun material.
The band released a third album, Disappear Here, in 2005, this time on the Invisible Hands label. This album was remarkable in that lead singer Broad was the sole artist to appear on the recordings, having played all musical instruments and sung all of the vocals. In spite of this, the full original line-up played at the accompanying gigs.
In a more recent rare foray into the mass-media, their song "Last Day" was used on the Hollyoaks soundtrack on 24 January 2006, the band having signed a deal with the programme in 1997 allowing them to use material.
Their fourth album, Dad's Weird Dream, was released in Japan on 11 September 2006. However, the decision was taken to remix it for the UK market, where it was released on 4 December 2006. One track, "Fallen" was remixed by Nigel Godrich, working with the band for the first time since their debut, and was available as an iTunes exclusive EP. Unlike its predecessor, the entire original line-up has participated in the recording, although Sayce is only credited with backing vocals, as the band used programmed drums for the album.
In June, 2009, Broad uploaded "The Pain Don't Come So Easy," which he describes as a "new Silver Sun song," to YouTube under his user name, "lordmelbury." In December of that year, he released a new track, "Access," as a digital only download on iTunes.
In June, 2011, a promotional video for Broad's online tee shirt company, Old Skool Hooligans, was uploaded to YouTube. It's a cover of Steely Dan's "Barrytown," and while neither Broad's name nor the Silver Sun moniker appear on the posting, it's clearly done in the Silver Sun style.
Between August and October, 2011, James Broad posted four songs on his SoundCloud page, under the user name "lordmelbury," and these, too, are in the Silver Sun style.
| Releases | ||
|---|---|---|
| ↙Studio albums | 4 | |
| ↙Compilation albums | 2 | |
| ↙EPs | 2 | |
| ↙Singles | 10 | |
| Year | Information | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart [2] | ||
| 1997 | Silver Sun
|
30 |
| 1998 | Neo Wave
|
74 |
| 2005 | Disappear Here
|
– |
| 2006 | Dad's Weird Dream
|
– |
| Year | Information | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | ||
| 1997 | You Are Here
|
– |
B Is For Silver Sun
|
– |
| Year | Information | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[3][2] | ||
| 1996 | Sun..! EP
|
142 |
| 1998 | Too Much, Too Little, Too Late
|
20 |
| Year | Title | Album | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[2] | |||
| 1996 | "Lava" | Silver Sun | 54 |
| 1997 | "Last Day" | 48 | |
| "Golden Skin" | 32 | ||
| "Julia" | 51 | ||
| "Lava" (re-release) | 35 | ||
| 1998 | "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" | Neo Wave | 20 |
| "I'll See You Around" | 26 | ||
| 2004 | "Bubblegum" | Disappear Here | – |
| 2005 | "Immediate" | – | |
| 2007 | "Fallen" | Dad's Weird Dream | – |