Formed in Reading in 1987 by Andrew Sherriff (b. 5 May 1969, Wokingham, England; guitar/vocals), Stephen Patman (b. 8 November 1968, Windsor, Berkshire, England; guitar), Simon Rowe (b. 23 June 1969, Reading, Berkshire, England; guitar), Jon Curtis (bass) and Ashley Bates (b. 2 November 1971, Reading, Berkshire, England; drums), Chapterhouse took the unusual step of rehearsing and gigging for well over a year before recording even a demotape. Initially lumped in with the British acid rock scene of the time, a mistake hardly rectified by the band's early performances supporting the rather laidback Spacemen 3. Chapterhouse eventually escaped from one genre only to find themselves thrust amongst the infamous ÔshoegazerÕ groups of 1991 (with Lush, Moose and Slowdive), so called because of the bandsÕ static live shows and insular music. Bassist Jon Curtis left early on to study, being replaced by Russell Barrett (b. 7 November 1968, Vermont, USA) who also fronted his own garage band, the Bikinis. Chapterhouse eventually signed to the newly-formed Dedicated label, releasing a series of lavishly-acclaimed singles, including Pearl, which reached the UK Top 75, and which revelled in distorted melodies and attracted a healthy following, while the autumn of 1991 saw the band aiming their sights on the anticipatory American market.
Five rail-thin longhairs from Reading, England, Chapterhouse was first linked to the space rock likes of Spacemen 3 and Loop the connection with the former being inextricable during the band's youngest months, thanks in part to vocal support from Sonic Boom. Early on, the two bands also shared the same management and gigged together. As the years transpired, Chapterhouse would eventually be identified as a shoegaze band, thrown in with the so-called "Scene That Celebrates Itself," as alternately championed and ridiculed by the U.K. press. Until their unfortunate slip into an overambitious, ill-fitting, increasingly dance-reliant sound with unconvincing gospel references, Chapterhouse could switch from bliss to dread in an instant, with steady downpours of guitars and buried vocals that were either phased into haunting drones or ecstatic rushes of melodic noise. The band formed in 1987. Drummer Ashley Bates, bassist Jon Curtis, guitarist Simon Rowe, and vocalists/guitarists Stephen Patman and Andrew Sherriff allegedly called themselves Incest early on but made a smart decision to change the name. Long before they laid down their first demos, they rehearsed and honed their live show. One 1988 gig, performed in their home base of Reading, won a supporter in Sonic Boom. The Spacemen 3 member wanted to release the band's music on his Bop-a-Sonic label, but that never materialized. Instead, the band signed with BMG's Dedicated subsidiary home of Cranes, Global Communication, and (ding ding) Spacemen 3 (if only for 1991's Recurring). By the end of 1990, the band replaced the exited Curtis with Russell Barrett and had a pair of four-song singles Freefall and Sunburst released and reviewed with mostly favorable results. A third single, early 1991's Pearl, gained them even more attention, featuring an oft-used John Bonham sample and background vocals from Slowdive's Rachel Goswell. This set the stage for the full-length debut Whirlpool, also released in 1991. While it didn't capitalize on the band's building popularity quite as hoped (the rise of grunge made sure the group didn't have more than a small, if rabid, cult following stateside), they were able to stir up a couple low-charting singles and a sizeable fan base in England. After the Mesmerise single closed out 1991, the band went silent for over a year before reappearing with 1993's Blood Music. "She's a Vision" and "We Are the Beautiful" were successive, successful singles; the album from which they came otherwise sunk. It was accompanied by a slew of remixes, many of which came from Global Communication. (Initial copies of Blood Music meaning most of the copies that are floating around, since it wasn't a blockbuster came with a bonus disc of nothing but remixes.) The band was then laid to rest, anthologized in 1996 by the handy double-disc Rownderbout compilation. Sherriff continued to work with electronic music with the Bio.com and Bionic projects; Barrett later became part of Inner Sleeve; Rowe joined former Slowdive members in Mojave 3; Bates went trip-hop for 4AD's Cuba.
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::: POPSCENE Playlist 18.09.2009 :::
THIS CITY Romantic TESCO CHAINSTORE MASCARA Just The Weight You Are THIN LIZZY Jailbreak MEW Beach MUSIC FOR YOUR HEART Another Day, Another Dawn VICTORIAN ENGLISH GENTLEMENS CLUB Love On An Oil Rig VICTORIAN ENGLISH GENTLEMENS CLUB Periscope Envy BIS Eurodisco CHOIR OF YOUNG BELIEVERS Hollow Talk COMPRESSIONS For A Fact STARSHY Memories Chat Linger OPERATION MAKEOUT Daylife HAPPY Pigeons MODEST MOUSE I've Got It All [Most] KATSEN Island In An Island CHAPTERHOUSE Rain --------------------------------------------------------------------- WEBSITE : www.popscenewithjalal.com MYSPACE SITE : www.myspace.com/popscenewithjalal ---------------------------------------------------------------------
POPSCENE with J*A*L*A*L Fridays at 18:00 hrs CET Radio Weser [Bremen/Germany] 92.50 FM [antenna] / 101.85 FM [cable]
::: POPSCENE Playlist 19.06.2009 :::
CATS ON FIRE Lay Down Your Arms LOVVERS OCD Go Go Girls CHAPTERHOUSE Greater Power JESSICA LEA MAYFIELD We've Never Lied SONIC YOUTH Sacred Trickster LORD CUT-GLASS Even Jesus Couldn't Love You LORD CUT-GLASS Look After Your Wife DEEP PURPLE Fireball 6 DAY RIOT O Those Kids UNDERLINE THE SKY Sweet 16 DUKE GARWOOD Havin Had You HOUSEMARTINS Hopelessly Devoted To Them ROYAL BANGS Russia Goodbye JARVIS COCKER Angela RINOCEROSE Week-End Of Sin [with Mark Gardner] CLINIC Nicht --------------------------------------------------------------------- WEBSITE : www.popscenewithjalal.com MYSPACE SITE : www.myspace.com/popscenewithjalal ---------------------------------------------------------------------
We were being and knowing That two were one, and we were three In twelve sided cosmos, drifting by I wasn’t seeing I was feeling And wasn’t being, doing, two were one And when I looked to it Nothing but the corner of my eye Then we were three, and being Being and doing I hadn’t known that two were one We were that same one, and being When I know, I feel I see that two were one We were three and being Drifted through twelve sides And we were being Knowing that two were one And falling there on clouds like stars We were three and known We were one, I don’t know I was being, doing, but I knew That two were one And clouds flow down Drifting, we know, and see Doing, and knowing we were three And knowing two were one That two were one.
POPSCENE with J*A*L*A*L Fridays at 18:00 hrs CET Radio Weser [Bremen/Germany] 92.50 FM [antenna] / 101.85 FM [cable]
::: POPSCENE Playlist 04.07.2008 :::
RAMBLIN' AMBASSADORS Speed Wobble DIRTY PRETTY THINGS Tired Of England CHAPTERHOUSE It Won't Be Wrong SPILLS Testing VANILLA SWINGERS The Town WIRE Perspex Icon WIRE All Fours ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK The Last Waltz EARLY YEARS The Computer Voice PISKIE SITS Sonic Oof DANCE ME PREGNANT Hugs And Kisses SUPERSTAR Superstar GREEN PEPPERS The Long Road ZUTONS Always Right Behind You PRAM Beluga BELLRAYS Find Someone To Believe In --------------------------------------------------------------------- WEBSITE : www.popscenewithjalal.com MYSPACE SITE : www.myspace.com/popscenewithjalal ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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POPSCENE with J*A*L*A*L Fridays at 19:00 hrs CET OK Radio Bremen [Germany] 92.50 FM [antenna] / 101.85 FM [cable]
::: POPSCENE Playlist 08.02.2008 :::
CLINIC Free Not Free MONDO FUMATORE Teenage Cat CHAPTERHOUSE Breather SCHOOL Kiss You In The Snow CASS McCOMBS Lionkiller JUST JOAN'S Virgin Lips JUST JOAN'S These Boots Are Made For Stalking YELLOW MOON BAND Maybach JEFFERSON AIRPLANE Lather ALLY KERR Mystery Star LES FAUVES How Our Dildo Can Change Your Life VOLUNTARY BUTLER SCHEME Laundry MAE-SHI Boys In The Attic ECHOBOY Kit And Holly LIGHTSPEED CHAMPION Everyone I Know Is Listening To Crunk ACCIDENTAL Brand New World AMYCANBE 24 Hours SPEEDWAY Entertainment --------------------------------------------------------------------- WEBSITE : www.popscenewithjalal.com MYSPACE SITE : www.myspace.com/popscenewithjalal ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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