Monaco (band)

Monaco
Origin Greater Manchester
England
Genres Alternative rock, post-punk, indie rock, alternative dance, house
Years active 1995–2000
Labels Polydor (1996–1999)
Papillon (2000)
Associated acts Joy Division, New Order, Revenge
Past members Peter Hook
David Potts

Monaco was a side project of New Order bassist Peter Hook. Together with David Potts, the only remaining member of Revenge, the band was formed in 1995. The group is best known for the 1997 single "What Do You Want From Me?" and the album from which it was taken, Music for Pleasure, which sold over half a million copies. Hook and Potts currently work together in The Light.

Follow-up album failures

In 1999, Polydor Records rejected Monaco's follow up album, the self-titled Monaco, due to the radically changing trends in music at the time in a money saving move reducing their artists to the more popular music. Papillon Records agreed to pick up the album, though the planned single release of "I've Got A Feeling" was recalled in the UK due to sample clearance issues. Despite favorable reviews, the album was released with almost no promotion at all; it is now sought after as a collector's item and fetches fairly high prices on sites like Amazon.com and eBay.

Break-up, reunions and The Light

In 2000, tensions mounted in the studio, partly due Potts' dissatisfaction with the band's failure to depart from a New Order-like sound, and partly due to Potts' workload. Following what Potts called "a disastrous gig" at the Eclipse festival, Hook and Potts had a major argument. They both took a break, and after letting things cool down, they met and decided it was best to split up Monaco. Potts eventually went on to form RAM and has been nurturing a solo career; meanwhile Hook reunited with New Order, playing with them until 2007, and formed Freebass in 2007.

After the success of the Revenge reissues in 2005, Hook announced that he and Potts were working on similar Monaco reissues for release sometime in 2007, nevertheless as of now, it hasn't been materialised yet.

In March 2007, Hook and Potts performed Monaco songs together at the Hard Rock Cafe in Manchester under the name "Hooky & Pottsy". Original Monaco drummer Paul Kehoe also played along with Hook's son Jack. In October 2007, the same line up performed again as Monaco at the Ritz in Manchester which raised money for Oxfam.

In July 2013 it was announced that David Potts would be the new guitarist for The Light, Hook's new band, formed in 2009. [1][2]

Discography

Albums

Year Album details Chart positions
U.K.
[3] [4]		 SWE
[5]
1997 Music for Pleasure
  • Released: 1 June 1997
  • Label: Polydor
 11 33
2000 Monaco
  • Released: 21 August 2000
  • Label: Papillion/Chrysalis:EMI
 84 –

Singles

Title Release date UK Singles Chart[3] U.S. Modern Rock U.S. Hot 100 Airplay Australia
[6][7]		 Album
"What Do You Want From Me?" February 1997 11 24 61 75 Music for Pleasure
"Sweet Lips" May 1997 18 - - 131 Music for Pleasure
"Shine" September 1997 55 - - - Music for Pleasure
"I’ve Got a Feeling" (withdrawn in the UK) July 2000 - - - - Monaco
"See-Saw" (limited vinyl 12" only release) March 2001 - - - - Monaco

References

  1. ↑ "Peter Hook and The Light featuring Rowetta". 24hourservicestation. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Peter Hook the Salford Studio and Hac Records Launch". Salford Star. May 21, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 374. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. ↑ "UK Chartlog". zobbel.de. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  5. ↑ "swedishcharts.com - Discography Monaco". © 2006-2010 Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  6. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  7. ↑ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry (submitted to charts.mail@aria.com.au), received 2014-06-17". imgur.com. Retrieved 2015-03-09.

External links