Spacemen 3 - Spiritualized

Spacemen 3 : A History

Spacemen 3 were an English space rock band who formed in 1982 and whose career spanned from the post-punk to Acid House eras. The group consisted of the core of Jason Pierce and Peter Kember (Pierce sometimes credited as J. Spaceman and Kember usually known as Sonic Boom), who formed the group in Rugby, Warwickshire having met at the local art college. Other members of what would become a fluid line-up over the years included Pete Bain (Bassman), Natty Brooker, Sterling Roswell (Rosco), Will Carruthers and Jonny Mattock. After several years of local gigs and club nights, they recorded their first album in 1986 on Glass Records. Sound Of Confusion was not successful commercially but it attracted a loyal fanbase; its follow-up, The Perfect Prescription, expanded the group’s core of fans and is generally considered their masterpiece.

In 1989 Playing With Fire, which expanded on the psychedelic and drone themes of the earlier albums, was released. Its second single, ‘Revolution’, reached #1 on the UK indie charts. But soon after, a combination of personnel changes, drug problems and inter-band tension (especially between Kember and Pierce) began to break the band apart. Recurring, released in 1991 was their last proper album, though its recording reflected the split between Pierce and Kember as each recorded their own side of the album in different studios, with a cover of Mudhoney’s ‘When Tomorrow Hits’ to separate them . It was their most popular release, but by its release Kember and Pierce had already formed new bands, Spectrum and Spiritualized, respectively. The final conflict that contributed to the split was Pierce’s decision to release a cover of The Troggs’ ‘Any Way That You Want Me’, as the first Spiritualized single, which Kember had been wanting to cover for years.

Since the break up there have been a stream of semi-legitimate albums, early demos and live recordings, many of which have been issued by the Kember-affiliated Space Age Recordings. Highlights include Dreamweapon: An Evening of Contemporary Sitar Music, a 45 minute drone piece performed in front of a live audience, Forged Prescriptions, a collection of The Perfect Prescription demos and alternate versions.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Spacemen 3″.

Albums

* Sound Of Confusion (1986)
* The Perfect Prescription (1987)
* Performance (1988)
* Playing With Fire (1989)
* Recurring (1991)

Live, Demo, or Unofficial Albums

* Taking Drugs (To Make Music To Take Drugs To) (1990) (”Sound of Confusion” demos)
* Dreamweapon: An Evening of Contemporary Sitar Music (1990) (A live drone Performance)
* Losing Touch With Your Mind (1991) (A collection of alternate versions)
* For All The Fucked Up Children (1995) (A collection of very early demos)
* Spacemen Are Go! (1995) (A live album culled from “Playing with Fire”-era live shows)
* Revolution Or Heroin (1995) (Another collection of outakes and alternate versions)
* Forged Perscriptions (2004) (Perfect Perscription-era demos and alternate versions)

Spiritualized : A History

Spiritualized are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Jason Pierce, who often goes by the alias J. Spaceman, after the spectacular demise of his Spacemen 3 outfit. The membership of Spiritualized changes from album to album, with Pierce being the only constant factor.

The first Spiritualized release was a space rock-esque cover of The Troggs’ ‘Any Way That You Want Me’ in 1990, a record which heralded the official split of Spacemen 3 following contractual wrangles over the band’s name. Of the final Spacemen 3 line up, bassist Will Carruthers, drummer Jonny Mattock and session guitarist Mark Refoy joined Pierce in the first phase of Spiritualized (for the debut LP, Lazer Guided Melodies), alongside his then girlfriend Kate Radley. None of the original line up remains - Carruthers now records under the name Freelovebabies, Mattock played for a spell in The Breeders (and later Lupine Howl), Refoy formed Slipstream and Radley married Richard Ashcroft of The Verve. A later cohort of Spiritualized backing musicians formed Lupine Howl following summary dismissal by Pierce.

The style of Spiritualized is perhaps best described as psychedelic rock, especially earlier albums like Lazer Guided Melodies and Pure Phase, which also incorporated elements of the shoegazing style made popular by My Bloody Valentine’s influential 1991 album, Loveless. The landmark Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space showed influences from African-American gospel and blues beginning to creep in, and wall of sound influences from Phil Spector and Brian Wilson began to predominate, which came to a head on Let It Come Down. Amazing Grace favoured a more stripped down sound with the gospel, blues, and soul influences heavier than ever.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Spiritualized”.

Albums

Lazer Guided Melodies
Fucked Up Inside
Pure Phase
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Live at Royal Albert Hall
Let It Come Down
Complete Works Vol. 1
Amazing Grace
Complete Works Vol. 2