Эластика: Британдық рок тобының тарихы

British rock band

Elastica were an English rock band formed in London in 1992 by ex Suede members Justine Frischmann and Justin Welch. The band was stylistically influenced by punk rock, post punk and new wave music. The band's members changed several times, with Frischmann and Welch being the only members who remained in Elastica from its formation to its dissolution. Elastica quickly rose to prominence after the release of their debut single "Stutter" in November 1993, and the band's next three singles charted in the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart. Their debut album Elastica (1995) was an immediate success and broke records for the fastest selling debut album in the UK; the album also found success in the United States and produced the band's highest charting US Hot 100 hit, "Connection". However, the band would later find itself in controversy over accusations of plagiarism, which were settled out of court. Development on a follow up album languished due to interpersonal disputes, line up changes and Frischmann's heroin addiction during the late 1990s. In 2000, Elastica released their second album, The Menace, which was less well received critically or commercially. After struggling to come up with new material for a third album, the band amicably broke up in October 2001.

In mid 1992, ex Suede band members Justine Frischmann and Justin Welch decided to form a group. By autumn of that year, bassist Annie Holland and guitarist Donna Matthews were added. After initially gigging under names such as "Onk", they settled on the name "Elastica" in October 1992. They 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 discovered the band earlier that year. In 1994, they released two UK Top 20 singles, "Line Up" and "Connection", and performed on numerous radio shows. Frischmann's relationship with Blur frontman Damon Albarn made tabloid headlines. Elastica's first LP, Elastica, was released in March 1995, and entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 1; The album was preceded by their fourth single "Waking Up" which went to No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart, their highest placing therein. 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, while "Waking Up" bore a marked resemblance to the Stranglers' song "No More Heroes". The disputes were resolved by out of court settlements. One of the members of The Stranglers, JJ Burnel, later said, "Yes, it sounds like us, but so what? Of course there's plagiarism, but unless you live in a vacuum there's always going to be. It's the first thing our publishers have done for us in 20 years, but if it had been up to me, I wouldn't have bothered." Another member of The Stranglers, Jet Black, even thanked Elastica in Melody Maker for bringing attention to his old band. The mid 1990s witnessed the Second British Invasion of America. "Stutter" and "Connection" received airplay on modern rock radio and both charted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at numbers 67 and 53 respectively; their debut album also charted and 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 where they toured North America four times. and the band subsequently signed with Atlantic Records. Their second proper album, The Menace, was released in April 2000; it was significantly less critically and commercially successful than the band's debut album. In February 2001, Deceptive Records closed down due to financial struggles and Atlantic Records dropped the band soon after due to poor sales, leaving the band without any record label. In October 2001, following fruitless sessions for an intended third Elastica album, the band announced their amicable break up, owing to exhaustion from touring and disappointing sales of The Menace. The band's farewell single, "The Bitch Don't Work", was released by Wichita Recordings in November 2001.

In 2005, Frischmann emigrated to Boulder, Colorado, and studied art at Naropa University. She had begun working as an artist by 2008, and later moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. Matthews had a band called Klang in 2004 and is now a pastor in Totnes, according to a recent BBC 6 show she has been linked romantically to Lawrence Chandler of Bowery Electric. Holland lives in Brighton. Welch and Mew are married, and live in Hastings. Welch played drums for Lush's 2015 16 reunion shows and now plays in Piroshka, releasing two albums on Bella Union. 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 quarters 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. The record was reissued in April on Record Store Day.