For the club in Hamburg, see Star-Club.
| Starclub | |
|---|---|
| Origin | England |
| Genres | Alternative rock |
| Years active | 1991–1994 |
| Labels | Island |
| Members | |
| Owen Vyse Steve French Julian Taylor Alan White |
|
Starclub was an early 1990s rock band from England.
Contents |
Little is known about Starclub. Vyse, French and Taylor grew up playing music together in Maidstone in Kent known then as 'The Shoes'. They were heavily influenced by the beatles and formed a 4 piece band with Alan Ware on drums. Perhaps their highlight in this incarnation was playing to a sell out crowd in the local theatre called the Hazlitt. All 4 were bright students, attending Oakwood Park Grammar school for boys and Maidstone Grammar School.
They continued to play gigs mainly in london until Island Records offered them a deal. Their new name tipped its hat to the Beatles where the 'Star-Club' venue in Hamburg had become synonymous with the Liverpool band. Starclub's 1993 eponymous album was recorded with several different drummers, but Alan White was recruited as a full time member and would tour with the band that year.
After the album lost its funding, the band was dropped unexpectedly by Island Records. Owen Vyse would form the band Paint with Julian Taylor (currently of Wolfman), and Alan White (who would leave to join the band Oasis, and was replaced by Tam Johnstone). Paint recorded for the Sacred record label, but the distributor, Sony, pulled the single before its release for unknown reasons. Vyse has since played with Echo & the Bunnymen, and written and recorded with other artists for film and TV, including the movies Still Crazy and The Crush and the Channel 4 series The Young Persons Guide to Becoming a Rockstar.
Starclub's single "Hard to Get" was a radio hit in the United States, reaching #10 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart.[1]
"Britain's Starclub has a similarly expansive view of the pop-rock world, though its not nearly as fond of Top 40 novelties. Vibrant guitars, sweeping harmonies and an occasional funk groove are more to its liking. Because lead singer Owen Vyse sounds a lot like Paul Rodgers, comparisons with the British bands Free and Bad Company are inevitable, but Starclub's new self-titled album (on Island) is eclectic enough to make the reference moot.
"Producer Chris Hughes, who's worked with Paul McCartney and Tears for Fears, helps create a spacious environment, allowing the band to display its considerable songcraft amid showering harmonies and alternately soaring and raunchy guitars on the album's catchiest tunes — the romantic ballad "Call My Name," the rousing weekend anthem "Hard to Get" and the sultry shuffle "Let Your Hair down." — Washington Post, Wednesday 3 March 1993.
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