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Paul Edward Draper is the former singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist in Chester rock band Mansun.
The band's debut album, 'Attack of the Grey Lantern', reached number one in the UK album charts in its first week of release and included the hit singles "Egg Shaped Fred', 'Wide Open Space', 'She Makes My Nose Bleed' and 'Taxloss'.
Before the release of the band's second album, Mansun released the non-album track 'Closed For Business' (7EP) which went Top 10 in the UK singles charts. The 7EP also featured the Howard Devoto penned 'Everyone Must Win' which would be the first of two collaborations between Mansun and Devoto; the band's 9EP would later feature a Devoto track, 'Railings', with vocals by both Devoto and Draper.
In September 1998 the band released their second album, 'Six'. With references to Dr Who, Winnie The Pooh and The Prisoner, the album was as much of a lyrical journey as a musical journey. It is now widely considered to be the band's best and most enduring album. 'Six' spawned the huge hit 'Legacy' as well as 'Being A Girl', 'Negative' and the Arthur Baker edit of 'Six'.
After a short writing hiatus, the band released their third album, 'Little Kix' in the Summer of 2000. The lead single, 'I Can Only Disappoint U' charted at number 8 in the UK singles chart and was followed by 'Electric Man' and 'Fool'.
Mansun decided to disband in May 2003 which was followed by a fan petition asking for the release of the fourth album sessions which the band had been working on at the time of the split. Word got back to EMI and Paul Draper set to work on mixing the tracks to a releasable level. This culminated in the 3CD release, 'Kleptomania' in 2004, which had disc one full of songs destined for the band's fourth album, and two other discs of B-sides, demos, outtakes, unreleased songs and live tracks. A single, 'Slipping Away' was released as a 7" and digital download to promote 'Kleptomania'.
In 2006, EMI put out the band's final release, 'Legacy: The Best of Mansun' which included all of Mansun's singles as well as classic songs such as 'The Chad Who Loved Me'. A special edition of the CD also included a DVD with rare footage of the band and an interview with Paul Draper and Dominic Chad conducted by Steve Lamacq.
Since the demise of Mansun, Paul has worked with both new and established artists. He co-wrote and played guitar on Skin's album 'Fake Chemical State' including the songs 'Alone In My Room' and 'Just Let The Sun'. He has also worked as a producer for the up-and-coming Catherine Anne Davies and You Animals (formerly Komakino).
Paul is now focusing on his own solo project and is currently writing and recording. A new track will be made available through his website's mailing list before the end of 2008.
You can join up to Paul's official mailing list for instant access to his blogs, downloads and news by visiting his official site at pauldraper.info. Alternatively, just enter your email address into the form below:
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