| Skunk
Anansie |

Skunk
Anansie: Mark; Skin; Ace; Cass.
|
| Background information |
| Origin |
London, England |
| Genre(s) |
Rock, Britrock, Alternative
Rock, |
| Years active |
1994 - 2001 |
| Label(s) |
One
Little Indian
Epic
Records
Virgin Records |
| Website |
www.skinmusic.net
Original Skunk Anansie site now offline; information
available on Skin’s website. |
| Former members |
Ace
Cass
Mark Richardson
Skin
Robbie France |
Skunk Anansie was an English rock band
whose members included Skin (Deborah Dyer), Cass (Richard
Lewis), Ace (Martin Kent) and Mark Richardson.
The group formed in 1994
and disbanded in 2001.
They were named after the West African folk tales
of Anansie
the spider-man,
with “Skunk” added to “make the name nastier.”
They were often grouped as part of a Britrock movement, running alongside Britpop.
|
Contents
- 1 Line-up
- 2 History
- 3 Discography
- 3.1 Albums
- 3.2 Singles
- 3.3 Soundtracks
and Featuring
- 3.4 Song
Samples
- 3.4.1 From Paranoid and Sunburnt
- 3.4.2 From Stoosh
- 3.4.3 From Post Orgasmic Chill
- 4 External
links
- 5 Notes
and references
|
Line-up
- Vocals: Skin (born Deborah Dyer, 3 August 1967, Brixton)
- Bass: Cass (born Richard Keith Lewis, 1
September 1960,
in London)
- Guitar: Ace (Martin Ivor Kent, 30 March 1967, in Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire, England)
- Drums: Mark Richardson
(born 28
May 1970, in
Leeds)
Former Members
History
The group played its first gig at London’s Splash
club in March 1994
and soon after that two of their songs, “Feed” and “Selling Jesus,”
appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Strange
Days in 1995. “Selling Jesus” became Skunk Anansie’s
controversial second song to receive radio play, following their first
radio release “Little Baby Swastikkka.” After hearing this song, radio
personality Howard Stern claimed that the band
would become a huge hit. The band is known for their anti-Christianity
messages.
In 1995
they were voted Best New British Band by the readers of Kerrang!
magazine. They were also voted best British Live Act in the same
magazine in 1996.
In 1997 they
were nominated for Best Live Act and Best Group at the MTV Europe Music Awards.
Their first two albums, Paranoid
and Sunburnt and Stoosh,
were released under One Little Indian Records
in 1995 and 1996 respectively.
After switching to the Virgin label in 1998, their third and final album, Post
Orgasmic Chill, was released in 1999.
The group has been labelled as a “political” band, but the
group has emphasized that they would prefer to be labelled simply as a
“rock band.”
Skin herself, however, has described Skunk Anansie as a “clit-rock”
group, which All Music Guide
clarifies as “an amalgam of heavy metal and black feminist rage.”
Members Skin and Ace have mentioned the Sex
Pistols, Blondie, dub music, reggae, electronica,
hip-hop
music and world
music as significant influences.
Throughout the nineties, Skunk Anansie toured globally with
such bands as U2,
Aerosmith,
Feeder,
Lenny
Kravitz, Bad Religion, Rollins
Band, Therapy?,
Rammstein,
Killing
Joke, Soulfly,
Sevendust,
Oomph!, Muse,
Staind, Powerman
5000, Veruca Salt, Marion
and A Perfect Circle. Skin made a guest
appearance on Sevendust’s
“Licking Cream,” featured on the band’s 1999 album Home, and a video was shot
for the single in Germany.
A year later, she worked with Maxim of The
Prodigy for his single “Carmen Queasy.” More recently she
recorded a song with Tony Iommi. The group’s first
collaboration, however, was with Icelandic singer Björk, in which they
contributed a rendition of her popular single “Army of Me” specifically
for the song’s CD-single. This song however excluded Skin’s vocals, but
she appeared in its following live performance. The band also performed
“Anti Love Song” live with Lenny Kravitz.
Since the breaking up of the band, Skin has gone on to a solo
career, releasing her first album Fleshwounds
and her second album Fake
Chemical State in March
2006. Ace has followed a more low-key solo career with Still
Hungry, an album with collaborations with many
different rock artists. He has recently recorded an album with new band
‘Inner Mantra', and is a tutor at the Brighton
Institute of Modern Music. Mark Richardson is now drumming for British
band Feeder, he also played drums
for some songs on Skin’s album Fake Chemical State, and occasionally
also teaches at the Brighton
Institute of Modern Music. It is thought that Cass is concentrating on
photography. In 2002
he recorded the album Scars together with Gary Moore
and also played various instruments on Skin’s first solo album
Fleshwounds.
Discography
For further details of all Skunk Anansie’s releases,
including tracklistings, see Skunk Anansie Discography
Albums
| Cover |
Title |
Released |
Chart Position |
 |
Paranoid & Sunburnt |
September, 1995 |
UK #8 |
 |
Stoosh |
October, 1996 |
UK #9 |
 |
Post Orgasmic Chill |
March, 1999 |
UK #12 |
 |
Paranoid & Sunburnt with
DVD |
December, 2005 |
 |
Stoosh with DVD |
December, 2005 |
Singles
| Cover |
Title |
Released |
Chart Position |
 |
Little Baby Swastikkka |
1995 |
Limited release |
 |
Selling Jesus |
March, 1995 |
UK #46 |
 |
I Can Dream |
July, 1995 |
UK #41 |
 |
Charity |
September, 1995 |
UK #40 |
 |
Weak |
January, 1996 |
UK #20 |
 |
Charity (Re-release) |
April, 1996 |
UK #20 |
 |
All I Want |
September, 1996 |
UK #14 |
 |
Twisted (Everyday Hurts) |
November, 1996 |
UK #26 |
 |
Hedonism (Just Because You Feel
Good) |
February, 1997 |
UK #14 |
 |
Brazen (Weep) |
June, 1997 |
UK #11 |
 |
Charlie Big Potato |
March, 1999 |
UK #17 |
 |
Secretly |
May, 1999 |
UK #16 |
 |
Lately |
August, 1999 |
UK #33 |
 |
You'll Follow Me Down |
October, 1999 |
Ineligible to chart |
* Little Baby Swastikkka was released as a
limited edition vinyl record.
Soundtracks and Featuring
- Hollow Man (OST)
- Track: Charlie Big Potato
- Cruel Intentions
(OST) - Track: Secretly
- Welcome to the Epidrome
- Track: Brazen (Weep)
- Tonnage 2 (OST) -
Track: Black Skin Sexuality
- Mission Impossible
(OST) - Track: Weak
- Strange Days
(OST) - Track: Feed and Selling Jesus
- Army of Me CD 2 (Björk) - Track: Army
of Me CD Single - Track 3
Song Samples
From Paranoid and Sunburnt