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Please see the discussion on the talk
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| Sleeper |
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| Background information |
| Origin |
United Kingdom |
| Genre(s) |
Indie rock, Britpop |
| Years active |
1993 - 1998 |
| Website |
Louise
Wener.com |
| Former members |
Louise
Wener
Jon Stewart
Diid Osman
Andy Maclure |
Sleeper were a British
Britpop
band in the 1990s
fronted by Louise Wener. The band had several UK
hits.
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Contents
- 1 Career
- 2 "Sleeperbloke"
- 3 Discography
- 4 References
- 5 External
links
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Career
The band's original name was Surrender Dorothy.
They took that name from the smoke trail telling Dorothy to surrender
in the Wizard of Oz
movie.
Sleeper recorded three studio albums: Smart,
The It Girl and Pleased to Meet You.
The band's breakthrough song, "Inbetweener", featured a memorable video with Dale
Winton, who was a popular icon among students at the time. The group are closely
associated with Britpop; Wener was arguably, along with Elastica's
Justine Frischmann, the
movement's biggest female star. She was even something of a sex
symbol. By the time Pleased to Meet You was
released in 1997, Britpop was fading, as was the band's audience. After
their split (on 30 December 1998) Wener went on to have a successful career
as a novelist.
Sleeper also recorded a cover version of the Blondie
song "Atomic",
which was used as a track in the film Trainspotting.
Their version was quite well-received and the only criticism is that it
was too similar to the original. This was the intention - Blondie
refused to allow their version to be used.
The It Girl was arguably their finest
moment with "Lie Detector", "Sale of the Century" and "Statuesque" as
the defining tracks. It was produced by Stephen
Street then famous for his contributions to The
Smiths, Morrissey and Blur.
"Sleeperbloke"
The band was the inspiration for the phrase "Sleeperbloke",
referring to the disparity between the glamorous singer Wener and the
other frequently ignored members of the band (who tended to be far more
anonymous and stood at the back). The term is still used by music
press journalists
and musicians,
to refer to any person of limited standing within a band or an
especially drab and unremarkable individual. Sleeper were said to be
amused by the term and even produced an ironic "Sleeperbloke" T-shirt which
sold well.
The real-life
Sleeperblokes were:
- Jon Stewart (born Jonathan David Stewart, 12
September 1967
in Sheffield)
— (guitarist)
- Diid Osman (b. Kenadiid Osman, 10 April 1968 in Woking) — (bassist)
- Andy Maclure (b. 4 July 1970 in Liverpool) — (drummer)
Discography
Albums
- Smart - Feb
1995, #5
- The It Girl
- May 1996, #5
- Pleased To Meet You
- Oct 1997, #7
Singles
- "Swallow"- Jan 1994, #76
- "Delicious"- May 1994, #75
- "Inbetweener" - Jan 1995, #16 (UK Chart)
- "Vegas" - Apr 1995, #33
- "What Do I Do Now" - Oct 1995, #14
- "Sale Of The Century" - May 1996, #10
- "Nice Guy Eddie" - Jul 1996, #10
- "Statuesque" - Oct 1996, #17
- "She's A Good Girl" - Oct 1997, #28
- "Romeo Me" - Dec 1997, #39
References
- Guinness Book
of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN
0-85112-190-X
- Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7
External links
