Elastica

Elastica
Elastica in 2000
Background information
Origin London, England
Genres
Years active 1992–2001
Labels
Associated acts
Past members

Elastica were an English alternative rock band that played punk rock, post-punk and new wave-influenced music.[1] They formed in 1992, and are best known for their 1995 album Elastica, which produced singles that charted in the United Kingdom and the United States, including their highest charting US Hot 100 hit "Connection". They split amicably in 2001, roughly a year after releasing their second LP.[2]

History

Elastica logo

In mid-1992, ex-Suede band members Justine Frischmann and Justin Welch decided to form a group. By the autumn of that year, bassist Annie Holland and guitarist Donna Matthews were added. After initially gigging under names such as "Onk", the band settled on the name "Elastica" in October 1992. Elastica released their first single, "Stutter," in October 1993, which benefited from the promotional efforts of BBC Radio 1 DJ and Deceptive Records label boss Steve Lamacq, who had discovered the band earlier in the year. In 1994, Elastica released two UK Top 20 singles ("Line Up" and "Connection") and performed on numerous radio shows. In addition, Frischmann's relationship with Blur frontman Damon Albarn made tabloid headlines.[3]

Elastica's first LP, Elastica, was released in March 1995, and entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 1;[3] it became the fastest-selling debut album since Oasis' Definitely Maybe.[4] This record was held for over ten years when it was surpassed by the Arctic Monkeys' debut record in 2006.[5] The album was preceded by their fourth single "Waking Up" which went to No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart, their highest placing therein.[3]

The band became subject to controversy when several bands sued them for plagiarism. Specifically, the post-punk band Wire (whom Elastica counted as one of their main influences) claimed that many of the band's melodies were taken from Wire compositions, as well as by The Stranglers. Notably, Wire's "I Am the Fly" has a chorus similar to Elastica's "Line Up" and the intro synthesizer part in Elastica's "Connection" (later also repeated on guitar) is lifted from the guitar riff in Wire's "Three Girl Rhumba" and transposed a semitone, and The Stranglers also passed comment that Elastica's "Waking Up" bore a marked resemblance to their song "No More Heroes". The disputes were resolved by out-of-court settlements.[3][4]

In the US, "Connection" and "Stutter" received airplay on modern rock radio and also both charted on the pop charts, as did their debut album (which was later certified gold). After performing at the 1995 Glastonbury Festival, the band joined the Lollapalooza tour continuing an almost solid year of constant gigs. Citing exhaustion, original bassist Annie Holland quit the band in early August 1995 and was replaced for the remainder of the tour by session bassist Abby Travis. Holland was not permanently replaced until the arrival of Sheila Chipperfield in the spring of 1996. Also around this time keyboardist David Bush (ex-The Fall) was added to the line-up.[3]

After playing more shows and demoing new material in the first half of 1996, Elastica entered the studio in the later part of the year to begin work on their second album. By late 1998 Matthews had left the band. She was replaced by guitarist Paul Jones and keyboardist Sharon Mew. Also around this time Chipperfield was replaced with a returning Annie Holland.[3]

As a tribute to the "lost years" of the band, a self-titled six-track EP appeared in August 1999, collecting a variety of recordings from a multitude of aborted sessions. This EP marked the first new material from the band in over four years. After re-recording most of these songs in mid-1999, along with new compositions, the band played their first set of shows in years. Their second proper album, The Menace, was released in April 2000. After the release of the farewell single "The Bitch Don't Work" in 2001, the band announced their amicable break-up.

Post break-up

In 2005, Frischmann emigrated to Boulder, Colorado and studied art. By 2008, she had started working as an artist, later moving to the San Francisco Bay Area.[6][7][8] Matthews is a pastor in Totnes and according to a recent BBC 6 show has been linked romantically to Lawrence Chandler of Bowery Electric. Holland lives in Brighton. Welch and Mew are married and live in Devon. Welch played drums for Lush's 2015-16 reunion shows.[9] Jones is the A&R man at Rough Trade joining after managing his Slogan label, which released The Fall's Fall Heads Roll. He signed the group Warpaint.

On 21 January 2017, the band's official Facebook page posted photos featuring three-fourths of the original line-up - Matthews, Holland and Welch - during a visit to Abbey Road Studios in London. They were working on a remaster of their debut Elastica with Mastering engineer Sean McGee. Frischmann also worked on the remaster.[10] The record was reissued in April on Record Store Day.[11]

Members

Past members
Guest/Touring musicians

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certificates
UK
[12][13]		 AUS
[14]		 CAN
[15]		 NZ
[16]		 SWE
[17]		 US
[18]
1995 Elastica 1 57 31 20 34 66
2000 The Menace
  • Released: 3 April 2000
  • Label: Deceptive/Atlantic
 24 — — — — —

Compilations/EPs

Singles

Year Song Peak chart positions Album
UK
[12][13]		 AUS
[14]		 CAN
[22]		 CAN
Alt
[23]		 US
[24]		 US Mod
[25]		 US Main
[26]
1993 "Stutter" 80 — — 41 671 101 — Elastica
1994 "Line Up" 20 — — — — — —
"Connection" 17 71 9 11 53 2 40
1995 "Waking Up" 13 — — — — — —
"Car Song" — 106 — 14 — 33 —
1999 "How He Wrote Elastica Man" — — — — — — — 6 Track EP
2000 "Mad Dog God Dam" 44 — — — — — — The Menace
2001 "The Bitch Don't Work" 87 — — — — — — Non-album single
1.^ Did not chart until 1995.

References

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Elastica > Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  2. ↑ Damien Jones (23 Jan 2017). "Elastica reunite and return to the studio". nme.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 312–313. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
  4. 1 2 "Artist Profile Elastica". Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  5. ↑ "Stuff events - Arctic Monkeys". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  6. ↑ "Spin's Where Are They Now?: Justine Frischmann". 26 February 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  7. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/may/07/on-my-radar-justine-frischmann-cultural-highlights-eliott-smith-wendy-white-bernie-sanders
  8. ↑ http://newlinearperspectives.wordpress.com/interviews/interview-justine-frischmann/
  9. ↑ http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/lush-announce-first-live-show-for-almost-twenty-years-70941
  10. ↑ http://www.vanyaland.com/2017/01/21/they-hadnt-seen-each-other-for-20yrs-elastica-are-back-in-the-studio/
  11. ↑ http://www.nme.com/news/music/elastica-respond-reunion-rumours-2020045
  12. 1 2 UK chart peaks:
    • Top 100 peaks, except "Stutter": "Official Charts > Elastica". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 30 May 2017. N.B. This site displays 'compressed' chart peaks (exclusion rules applied) for positions 76–100. This site does not display positions 76–100 between 13 April 1991 and 30 January 1994 inclusive.
    • "Stutter": "13 November 1993 (from ukmix.org The 76-100 pos. UK-Charts-Thread, page 9)". Imgur.com. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
    • Top 200 peaks from November 1994 to December 2010: "Chart Log UK 1994–2010 > E-40 – E-Z Rollers". zobbel.de. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  13. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 180. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  14. 1 2 Australian (ARIA) peaks:
    • Top 100 peaks: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 91.
    • "Connection": "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 2 Jul 1995". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 30 May 2017. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
    • "Car Song": "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 5 June 2015". Imgur.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "Elastica Canadian position". RPM. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  16. ↑ "New Zealand album positions". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
  17. ↑ "Swedish album positions". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
  18. ↑ "Billboard > Artists / Elastica > Chart History > Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  19. ↑ "Search for 'Elastica'". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  20. ↑ "Canadian Certificates". CRIA. Archived from the original on 12 April 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
  21. ↑ "US Certificates". RIAA. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
  22. ↑ "Canadian Single Positions". RPM. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  23. ↑ "Search Term(s): "Elastica" and "Rock/Alternative"". RPM. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  24. ↑ "Billboard > Artists / Elastica > Chart History > The Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  25. ↑ "US Single Positions". allmusic.com. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  26. ↑ "Billboard > Artists / Elastica > Chart History > Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
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