Black Grape
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| Black Grape | |
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Black Grape, 1995
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Salford, England |
| Genres | Alternative dance, Britpop, alternative rock, funk rock, Madchester |
| Years active | 1993–1998, 2010, 2015–present |
| Labels | Radioactive |
| Members | Shaun Ryder Kermit Bez |
| Past members | Jed Lynch Psycho |
Black Grape are a rock band from England, featuring former members of Happy Mondays and Ruthless Rap Assassins. The group's music was funky and eclectic, using varied instrumentation and samples.
History
The band was formed in 1993 by former Happy Mondays members Shaun Ryder and Bez. It was Ryder's first musical project after the disintegration of Happy Mondays due both to his multiple drug addictions and to disagreements about revenues with other bandmembers. The formation of the new band was intended to draw a line between his past life and his new one. Ryder and Bez recruited rappers Paul "Kermit" Leveridge and Carl "Psycho" McCarthy, drummer Jed Lynch (like Leveridge, a former member of Ruthless Rap Assassins), and guitarist Wags (formerly of the Manchester-based group the Paris Angels). Recording of new material started that year, although the group was not under contract.
In 1995 Black Grape was signed by Radioactive Records (an imprint of major label BMG) and released its debut album It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah. It immediately charted at number one in the UK Albums Chart, and spawned three Top Twenty singles.
The first single "Reverend Black Grape" managed to outsell the Happy Mondays cover of John Kongos "(He's Gonna) Step On (You Again)".
The third single, "Kelly's Heroes" – a song lampooning society's obsession with celebrities and idols that had much to do with Ryder's own previous hero worship of people he now saw as wastrels – had its opening lyric changed before recording from "Don't talk to me about heroes – Most of these guys snort cocaine," to "Don't talk to me about heroes – most of these men sink like subs.". Another song on the album, "Temazi Party", mocked the then-current craze for abusing Temazepam sleeping pills (a.k.a. 'jellies'), but was deliberately misspelt on the album sleeve as 'Tramazi' instead of 'Temazi' to forestall any legal injunction against the album's release.
It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah received critical acclaim in the UK, but the group made little impact in the US. However, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich listed it as his favourite album of 1996. The album cover featured a picture of then-recently imprisoned terrorist Carlos The Jackal.
The subsequent album Stupid Stupid Stupid was less favoured. The group split in 1998 after Ryder fired the rest of the band while touring, starting with Kermit (who was suffering from septicaemia) and ending with Bez (who was unsatisfied with his financial situation).
Lynch went on to play drums and percussion on many other musical works, becoming a noted session musician.
On 2 February 2010, NME reported that Ryder will be reforming Black Grape with producer Danny Saber and Kermit for a concert as part of the 'Get Loaded in the Dark' gig series on 1 April at The Coronet in London.
In 2015, Black Grape signed to Creation Management run by Alan McGee and Simon Fletcher and announced a reunion tour to coincide with 20 years of the It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah album.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | |||
| 1995 | It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah
|
1 |
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| 1997 | Stupid Stupid Stupid
|
11 |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | |||
| 1995 | "Reverend Black Grape" | 9 | It's Great When You're Straight... Yeah |
| "In the Name of the Father" | 8 | ||
| "Kelly's Heroes" | 17 | ||
| 1996 | "Fat Neck" | 10 | Non-album single |
| "England's Irie" | 6 | ||
| 1997 | "Get Higher" | 24 | Stupid Stupid Stupid |
| 1998 | "Marbles" | 46 |
Film
- The Grape Tapes (1997)
External links
- Use dmy dates from May 2015
- EngvarB from May 2015
- Articles with hCards
- Official website not in Wikidata
- Alternative dance musical groups
- Britpop groups
- English dance music groups
- English rock music groups
- Music in Salford
- Musical groups from Greater Manchester
- Musical groups established in 1993
- Musical groups disestablished in 1998
- Musical groups reestablished in 2010
- Musical groups reestablished in 2015
- 1993 establishments in England
