Supergrass

The sonic foundations of Supergrass, like those of countless other British groups from the 1990s, stretch back to the irresistibly melodic punk-pop created by the Buzzcocks and the Jam, together with the post-punk pop of Madness and the classic Brit-pop of the Kinks and Small Faces. Partly owing to the members’ youth—two of the three were still teenagers when they cut their first single—the band also folded in touches from decidedly unfashionable acts such as Elton John as well as established rock figures like David Bowie, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. Supergrass fused these strands with buoyant, youthful energy, allowing, for instance, a Buzzcocks-style guitar line to collide with three-part harmonies reminiscent of “Crocodile Rock” or turning a brisk music-hall beat into stuttering rhythms that evoked peak moments from the Who.

Guitarist and vocalist Gaz Coombes, bassist Mickey Quinn, and drummer Danny Goffey issued their debut single, the partly autobiographical “Caught by the Fuzz,” during summer 1994 on the independent imprint Backbeat; Parlophone promptly signed the trio and re-released the track that autumn. The single stirred considerable attention, drawing endorsements from Blur and Elastica. Their follow-up, “Mansize Rooster,” appeared in spring 1995 and entered the pop charts, as did “Lenny,” which arrived just ahead of the first album, I Should Coco.

Issued in May 1995, I Should Coco earned enthusiastic notices from the British press and entered the Top Ten on its debut. Momentum built further with the double-A-sided single “Alright”/“Time,” which peaked at number two; the buoyant “Alright” remained in the Top Three for nearly a month and drove the album to number one. Three months later the record reached American shores, where “Caught by the Fuzz” began receiving MTV and radio exposure. The band attracted admirers in certain circles—Steven Spielberg reportedly considered a Monkees-style sitcom centered on the group—yet I Should Coco never achieved the same traction in the United States that it found elsewhere. After a year of touring, Supergrass closed 1996 with the single “Going Out,” the initial preview of their second album, the psychedelic In It for the Money. Released in spring 1997, In It for the Money revealed broader ambitions than its predecessor, a development critics greeted warmly; the album also succeeded commercially in Britain, earning platinum certification and yielding the hit singles “Richard III,” “Sun Hits the Sky,” and “Late in the Day.” Although Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam lent support, a renewed push into the American market again fell short, after which the band ceased to treat the United States as a priority.

Two years after In It for the Money, Supergrass delivered a self-titled third album whose stomping lead single “Pumping on Your Stereo” hinted at a more overtly pop direction than the record ultimately took. “Pumping on Your Stereo” and its successor, the Top Ten hit “Moving,” helped lift the album to platinum status at home. The group then entered an extended hiatus, during which Gaz’s brother Rob Coombes joined as a permanent keyboardist; they resurfaced in 2002 with Life on Other Planets. Though it reached the British Top 10, Life on Other Planets marked the start of a commercial decline—only one of its four singles, “Grace,” cracked the Top 20, while “Seen the Light” peaked at number 22. A tenth-anniversary compilation, Supergrass Is 10, arrived in 2004, followed the next year by the introspective and atmospheric Road to Rouen, which produced modest hits in “Kiss of Life” and “St. Petersburg” and drew solid critical notices.

While preparing their louder, glam-inflected follow-up Diamond Hoo Ha, Mickey Quinn fractured his heel bone in September 2007, prompting Gaz and Danny to undertake a short club tour as the Diamond Hoo Ha Men. The album itself surfaced in spring 2008; it proved their final release for Parlophone and charted modestly without generating any hit singles. In 2009 Supergrass began work on a seventh album, tentatively titled Release the Drones, but sessions fractured and the project was abandoned. After a brief farewell tour in summer 2010 the band dissolved, shortly after Gaz and Danny issued a self-titled covers album as their side project the Hotrats. Quinn subsequently formed the DB Band, while Gaz Coombes launched a solo career with Here Come the Bombs in spring 2012. A decade after the split, Supergrass reunited in September 2019 for a performance at the annual Glastonbury Pilton Party. The appearance led to a tour celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of I Should Coco and to the release of the career-spanning box set The Strange Ones: 1994-2008, which appeared in January 2020.