Audioweb

During the late 1990s Audioweb fused the acid-soaked psychedelic textures of Madchester house with substantial infusions of dub, dancehall and reggae, attracting a substantial UK audience. Weekly music publications largely withheld robust endorsement because the quartet’s sound diverged sharply from Brit-pop and its assorted offshoots; even so, Ian Brown and U2 emerged as key advocates, propelling the 1996 debut album Mother into the upper chart reaches.

The band traced its origins to Sugar Merchant, a Manchester sextet formed in the early 1990s and fronted by Martin “Sugar” Merchant. Elektra signed the group, yet across four years only fourteen live dates materialized, prompting the label to drop the act for lack of activity. The surviving four members—Merchant, bassist Sean McCann, guitarist Robin File and drummer Maxi—kept performing and cut a three-track demo featuring “Sleeper.” Following a single gig the tape reached U2’s Mother Records, which offered the band a contract.

“Sleeper,” issued as Audioweb’s first single in September 1995, entered regular Radio One rotation and peaked at number 74. With only a handful of performances behind them, several UK underground commentators dismissed the newcomers as contrived. Momentum nevertheless built through live shows and the subsequent singles “Yeah?” and “My World,” the latter reaching number 42 in May 1996. That autumn Ian Brown declared in his official statement on the Stone Roses’ dissolution that his immediate intention was to “kick back and listen to the new Audioweb album.” Early 1997 brought the breakthrough when the band’s cover of the Clash’s “Bankrobber” entered the Top 10; Mother followed shortly afterward, also ascending to the Top 10. The album appeared in the United States that summer.