Artist:ElasticaSong:Connection
Album:Absolute 90's
The British group Elastica had their most successful chart success with Connection in 1995. The group was heavily influenced by 70s punk and new wave. They were dogged by plagiarism lawsuits throughout most of their existence. Elastica lead singer Justine Frischmann was original lead guitarist of Suede. She was dating group leader Brett Anderson and left the group when they split up in 1991. She decided to start a new group with Suede drummer Justin Welch. They recruited bassist Annie Holland and guitarist Donna Matthews through an ad in NME or Melody Maker. At first they called themselves Onk and then settled on Elastica. The first single Stutter got the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and he signed them to his Deceptive label. Their debut CD Elastica topped the British album chart and led to a US record deal with Geffen Records. The album was certified Gold. The single Connection was their only top 40 hit in the US. The group's heaviest influence was The Wire to the point that Elastica was accused of plagiarism. For example, Connection sounds very similar to The Wire song Three Girl Rhumba. The Stranglers sued them and won an out of court settlement. After constant touring in 1995, Annie Holland left and was replaced by Sheila Chipperfield and ex-The Fall keyboard player David Bush was added. They returned to the studio but Matthews left and was replaced by guitarist Paul Jones and keyboard player Sharon Mew and then Holland returned. But the CD The Menace was not released until 2000. By that time, Elastica was finished and they split up. The 1995 album Elastica is out of print but you can get Connection on this MCA various artists comp. Justine Frischmann is married to a professor and lives in San Raphael, CA. Justin Welch is married to Sharon Mew and is working on a project with James Atkin of EMF. Donna Matthews is a pastor and Annie Holland lives in Brighton. Here's the video for Connection by Elastica.
No comments:
Post a Comment