Mansun

Mansun surfaced in the wake of Brit-pop as one of the initial British guitar outfits to abandon the era’s prevailing mid-’90s approaches, setting aside both lightweight Beatlesque melodies and calculated traditional rock. The band shared greater affinities with early-’90s acts such as Suede and the Manic Street Preachers, outfits that positioned themselves resolutely beyond the pop mainstream while still building a loyal following. By merging a somber, ambitious outlook with the propulsive force of hard rock and the elegant bravado of New Romanticism, Mansun bore no resemblance to their peers. Although early singles quickly attracted a committed audience, the UK music press paid the group limited attention, so the number-one debut of their first album, Attack of the Grey Lantern, in early 1997 came unexpectedly, displacing the much-anticipated Blur return from the summit. By then, however, Mansun had already been celebrated as one of the year’s standout newcomers, with the album receiving widespread acclaim across the British press and establishing the band among the most esteemed and popular new UK acts of 1997.

Guitarist and vocalist Paul Draper led the formation of Mansun in Chester, England, during the mid-’90s. Draper encountered bassist Stove King at Wrexham Art College, where the two discovered mutual admiration for new-wave artists including Duran Duran and ABC alongside Prince, Pink Floyd, and David Bowie. While employed together at a photo lab, they met lead guitarist Dominic Chad at a pub he managed. Initially operating as Grey Lantern, the trio performed with a rotating cast of drummers until an acquaintance declared the name the worst he had ever encountered, prompting a change to Mansun—a shortened form of the Verve B-side “A Man Called Sun.”

In early 1996 the band issued the limited-edition single “Take It Easy Chicken” on their own Sci Fi Hi Fi imprint, securing rotation on Radio 1. Andy Rathbone soon joined as permanent drummer. UK weeklies initially grouped Mansun with post-Oasis lad-rock acts, largely owing to Chad’s heavy drinking and alcohol-related exploits, yet the guitarist achieved sobriety over the following months as the group issued increasingly ambitious singles. By year’s end they had secured their first Melody Maker cover. In February 1997, Parlophone Records released Attack of the Grey Lantern, which unexpectedly topped the charts amid strong critical notices. Two years later Six arrived; although it proved less commercially successful than the debut, the title track earned strong college-radio support. The subsequent album Little Kix fared worse still, attracting scant notice in the States upon its summer 2000 release. Work on a fourth album began in spring 2002, yet Mansun disbanded in May 2003; the unfinished recordings surfaced on the two-disc set Kleptomania in 2004.

Draper maintained a low profile in the years immediately after the split. Following production and songwriting collaborations with Skunk Anansie’s Skin, the Joy Formidable, and Catherine A.D., he signed as a solo artist to Kscope Records in 2016. After two EPs, his debut album Spooky Action appeared in August 2017, after which he remained active on the UK live circuit, performing Attack of the Grey Lantern in its entirety to mark the 21st anniversary of its release. In 2020 the expansive Mansun retrospective Closed for Business was issued to commemorate 25 years since the band’s formation.