For the theory relating to large scale deformations of elastic structures, see Elastica Theory.

Elastica
Background information
Origin	London, England, UK
Genre(s)	Alternative rock Britpop
Years active	1992—2001
Label(s)	Deceptive Records DGC Records Atlantic Records Wichita Recordings
Associated acts	Suede Me Me Me Spitfire Klang Beauty School
Former members
Justine Frischmann Justin Welch Annie Holland Donna Matthews David Bush Sheila Chipperfield Paul Jones Mew

Elastica were a Britpop band, famous for their catchy, angular punk rock-influenced music. They were best known for their 1995 album Elastica which was a critical and commercial success both in the U.S. and the U.K.

Contents 1 History 2 Trivia 3 Members 3.1 Official Members 3.2 Guest/Touring Members 4 Discography 4.1 Albums/EPs 4.2 Singles 5 Links

History

Elastica was formed during the Summer of 1992 by ex-Suede guitarist Justine Frischmann and ex-Spitfire and Suede drummer Justin Welch. By the Autumn of that year, bassist Annie Holland and guitarist Donna Matthews (ex-Darling Buds) were added. After intially rehearsing, recording and gigging under names such as Vaseline and Onk, the band settled on the Elastica moniker in early 1993.

Their first single was 1993's "Stutter", a word-of-mouth hit largely due to the promotional efforts of BBC Radio 1 DJ and Deceptive Records label boss Steve Lamacq who had discovered the band earlier in the year. Elastica's fame grew throughout 1994 with the band releasing two UK top 20 singles, "Line Up" and "Connection," and performing on numerous radio shows. In addition Frischmann's relationship with Blur's Damon Albarn made tabloid headlines, thus creating further buzz about the band.

Elastica's first LP, Elastica, was released in March of 1995 and entered the UK charts at #1, becoming one of the fastest selling debut albums in UK history at the time. The album was preceded by their fourth single "Waking Up" which went to #13 on the UK singles chart, their highest placing yet. The band was not without controversy however with several bands suing them for plagiarism. Specifially, 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. 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 (the judgment resulted in an out-of-court settlement for which Wire received no compensation). The Stranglers also passed comment that Elastica's "Waking Up" bore a marked resemblance to their song "No More Heroes". The band did not deny these accusations and were not ashamed by these similarities, stating that all pop bands have borrowed ideas and all music was eventually recycled.

Despite the controversy, Elastica's success continued, especially in the United States where they fared better than most Britpop bands of the time. "Connection" and "Stutter" were huge airplay favorites on modern rock radio in the United States and also both charted on the pop charts, as did their self-titled debut (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 gigging. Citing exhaustion, original bassist Annie Holland quit the band in early August of 1995 and was replaced for the remainder of the tour by session bassist Abby Travis. Holland wasn't 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 lineup thus officially making Elastica a five piece.

After playing even more shows and demoing new material in the first half of 1996, Elastica entered the studio in the Fall of '96 to begin work on their second album. The sessions quickly turned unproductive though with much of the band embroiled in creative squabbles and rumored rampant drug abuse. For much of the next two years very little was heard from the band with many in the press speculating that they had disbanded. By the Fall of 1998, guitarist Donna Matthews had left the band. She was replaced by guitarist Paul Jones and keyboardist Mew. Also around this time, Chipperfield was replaced with a returning Annie Holland, thus officially making the band a six-piece.

As a tribute to the "lost years" of the band, a self-titled 6 track EP appeared in August of 1999 collecting a variety of recordings from a multitude of aborted sessions. This EP marked the first new material from the band in over 4 years. After re-recording most of these songs in the Summer of 1999, along with new compositions, the band played their first set of shows in years. Their second album proper, The Menace, was finally released in April of 2000 to a generally lukewarm response. Although the material was not bad, many questioned why it took the band so long to follow up their debut, with many comparing the gap to that of The Stone Roses' first and second albums. The band initially took the criticism in stride, instead choosing to focus on a successful tour for much of 2000. Despite their best efforts though, it was obvious to the band by the end of the year that things just weren't working out. After the release of a farewell single "The Bitch Don't Work" in 2001, the band announced their amicable breakup.

Trivia

Elastica's song "Connection" was used in May 2004 in Garnier television commercials, and was also used as the theme of Trigger Happy TV.

Members

Official Members

• Justine Frischmann - vocals and guitar
• Donna Matthews - guitar and vocals (1992-1998)
• Annie Holland - bass (1992-1995, 1999-2001)
• Justin Welch - drums
• David Bush - keyboards (1996-2001)
• Sheila Chipperfield - bass (1996-1998)
• Paul Jones - guitar (1998-2001)
• Mew - keyboards and vocals (1999-2001)

Guest/Touring Members

• Abby Travis - bass (touring, 1995-1996)
• Damon Albarn - keyboards (1995, 1999) (credited under the anagrammatical pseudonym "Dan Abnormal" on Elastica and as "Norman Balda" on The Menace)
• Antony Genn - keyboards (touring, 1995-1996)

Discography

Albums/EPs

Singles Year Song UK Singles Chart US Hot 100 US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock Album 1993 "Stutter" - - - - Elastica 1994 "Line Up" 20 - - - Elastica 1994 "Connection" 17 - - - Elastica 1995 "Waking Up" 13 - - - Elastica 1995 "Connection (US release)" - 53 2 40 Elastica 1995 "Stutter (US release)" - 67 10 - Elastica 1995 "Car Song" - - 33 - Elastica 2000 "Mad Dog" 44 - - - The Menace 2001 "The Bitch Don't Work" 87 - - - Non-album single Links Project Elasticated - comprehensive fan site Elastica at AllMusic.com The Elastica Connection - defunct fan site