Starclub

Starclub was an early 1990s rock band from England.

The band

• Owen Vyse – Vocals, guitar, Hammond organ, keyboards
• Steve French – Guitar, backing vocals
• Julian Taylor – Bass, backing vocals
• Alan White – Drums

History

Vyse, French and Taylor grew up playing music together in Maidstone in Kent, and were known then as The Shoes. They were heavily influenced by The Beatles and formed a quartet with Alan Ware on drums. The highlight of this incarnation, while they attended Oakwood Park Grammar School for Boys and Maidstone Grammar School, was playing to a sellout crowd in the local theatre called The Hazlitt.

The Shoes continued to play gigs, mainly in London, until Island Records offered them a deal. Their new name tipped its hat to the famous Star-Club venue in Hamburg, which had been synonymous with The Beatles. Starclub's eponymous 1993 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.

Starclub's single "Hard to Get" was a radio hit in the United States, reaching No. 10 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart.^[1]

After the album lost its funding, the band was unexpectedly dropped by Island.

Drummer Alan White played with Oasis from 1995 through 2004, performing on four studio albums, two compilation albums and one live album during his tenure with the band. White has since been inactive save for a 2008 live performance as guest drummer for Trio Valore, his brother Steve White's band.

Owen Vyse formed the band Paint with Julian Taylor (currently of Wolfman) and Alan White (who was replaced by Tam Johnstone when he left to join Oasis). Paint recorded for the Sacred record label, but distributor Sony pulled the single before its release for unknown reasons. Vyse also played with Echo & the Bunnymen, and wrote 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 guitarist Steve French and Gin Blossoms vocalist Robin Wilson released an eponymous 2006 album as The Longshadows.

Reviews

"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.

Albums

• Starclub
• Produced by Chris Hughes

CD (CID9995):

1. "Hard To Get" (Owen Vyse)
2. "Let Your Hair Down" (Vyse)
3. "Call My Name" (Vyse, Steve French)
4. "Forever" (Vyse)
5. "All Falls Down" (Vyse)
6. "World Keeps Turning" (Vyse)
7. "Bad Machine" (Vyse)
8. "We Believe" (Vyse)
9. "The Question" (Vyse)
10. "The Answer" (Vyse)
11. "Pretty Thing" (Vyse)

Singles

• "Let Your Hair Down"

7" (IS532):

1. "Let Your Hair Down"
2. "World Like You"

12" (12IS532):

1. "Let Your Hair Down"
2. "Meditation"
3. "World Like You"

CD (CID532):

1. "Let Your Hair Down"
2. "Meditation"
3. "World Like You"

• "Hard To Get"

7" (IS540):

1. "Hard To Get"
2. "Only Woman"

12" Picture Disc (12ISP540):

1. "Hard To Get"
2. "Only Woman"
3. "Rules Of Life"
4. "Pretty Thing"

CD (CID540):

1. "Hard To Get"
2. "Only Woman"
3. "Rules Of Life"
4. "Pretty Thing"

References

External links

• Starclub profile on AllMusic.com
• Starclub album review on AllMusic.com