Subcircus

Progressive Brit-pop outfit Subcircus first drew attention toward the close of 1994. Vocalist and principal figure Peter Bradley Jr., raised in the Yorkshire locale where Bram Stoker penned Dracula, connected with guitarist Nikolaj Bloch after Bloch responded to an advertisement Bradley had placed in Melody Maker. Bradley had previously performed alongside his sibling Bobby under the Bradley Brothers name; the pair later parted ways, after which Peter secured a contract with Polydor. Early the following year the frontman, Bloch, and Copenhagen-born drummer Tommas Arnby—who had relocated to London in 1992—convened at Bradley’s family residence in North Yorkshire to rehearse. Bassist George Brown, London’s sole native in the lineup, joined shortly afterward. The musicians ultimately relocated to the capital, where they practiced inside a Kings Cross basement facility known as the Secret Garden. Their debut performance took place in York, England, during 1995, with the group donning cosmetics and eccentric attire. Momentum built rapidly, so that by May 1996 Subcircus had completed over 150 gigs across Britain, topping two separate club circuits while supporting Echo and the Bunnymen, Suede, Elvis Costello, Grant Lee Buffalo, and Ocean Colour Scene. That September the band tracked its first album, Carousel, at Air Studios in London and Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Bath. The independent Echo imprint issued the record domestically, while Dreamworks later put out an alternate U.S. edition in August 1997 that reordered the tracks and added one new song. British critics responded enthusiastically, helping cultivate an intensely devoted audience. The singles “86’d” and “U Love U” both entered the British charts. After several years of apparent inactivity the group resurfaced—minus cosmetics and flamboyant dress—in the first months of 2000. They issued the single “Sixty Second Love Affair” on Valentine’s Day and followed it in March with the full-length Are You Receiving Me?.