The Auteurs

Over their short run, the Auteurs delivered a caustic, unyielding alternative to the bright outlook dominating the Brit-pop era. Fronted by Luke Haines and his bleakly precise, anti-romantic words, the band’s grim reinterpretation of glam rock jabbed at rivals with cold delight. Their first full-length effort, New Wave from 1992, set an exacting standard that later proved difficult to match. After Murder Park, captured by Steve Albini, pushed Haines’s already shadowy outlook into still darker territory, while How I Learned to Love the Bootboys in 2009 broadened the palette with synthesizers, complete orchestras, and even a glossy pop single called “The Rubettes.” Although Haines later maintained a rapid output of strong solo records once the group dissolved, the distinctive chemistry achieved under the Auteurs name remained elusive.

Between 1987 and 1991, Haines handled guitar duties for the indie-pop outfit the Servants. Under singer-songwriter David Westlake, that band’s troubled label dealings and commercial indifference, despite strong material and a capable frontman, helped shape Haines’s skeptical stance toward the music industry. After their dissolution he concentrated on songwriting and assembled a demo of his strongest pieces, simultaneously forming a live trio with bassist Alice Readman and drummer Glenn Collins. Positive notice from NME after their third performance helped the tape reach Suede, then nearing peak visibility, who selected the Auteurs as support on a 1992 tour and thereby sparked wider label interest. Instead of signing immediately, the trio chose to finance their debut album themselves through their manager, working with producer Phil Vinall to complete New Wave. Its pointed lyrics, crisp melodies, and sonic depiction of the Brit-pop underbelly they disdained led to a deal with Hut, Virgin’s subsidiary, which issued the record in early 1993. Promotion included support slots for The The before the band returned to the studio with new drummer Barney Rockford; cellist James Banbury, already featured on New Wave, became a full member and added Hammond organ. Again produced by Vinall, Now I’m a Cowboy retained the Kinks-tinged glam approach while confirming that Haines’s venomous pen and stinging delivery had lost none of their edge. During the subsequent tour—remixed by electronic musician µ-Ziq and issued as µ-Ziq vs. the Auteurs—Haines suffered dual ankle fractures after an onstage leap, halting the European dates for nearly a year. Upon recovery the group reconvened at Abbey Road with Steve Albini engineering their third album, After Murder Park, whose grim lyricism and austere arrangements stood out even when strings and keyboards appeared. Held back for months, the record finally surfaced in March 1996, reached the British Top 40, and sold respectably yet was deemed a commercial disappointment, splintering the lineup. Haines then pursued an unexpected electronic collaboration with percussionist Kuljit Bhamra under the name Baader Meinhof; released later that year, the album mixed funk, Indian instrumentation, and provocative terrorist imagery. Concurrently he launched Black Box Recorder, a polished synth-pop project featuring instrumentalist John Moore and vocalist Sarah Nixey. While preparing that band’s debut he reassembled the Auteurs for a fourth album, at the label’s urging incorporating attempts at hit singles alongside their usual barbed material. The effort yielded “The Rubettes,” a gleaming tribute to the 1970s act of the same name. The remaining tracks stayed inventive and sharp yet featured richer arrangements and synthesizers. This proved the final album by the original configuration; Readman departed before the 1999 tour.

With Haines concentrating on Black Box Recorder, the Auteurs effectively ceased activity until 2002, when he accepted an invitation to revisit older songs with string arrangements. He welcomed the project amid ongoing disputes with Black Box Recorder’s label over the release of their third album, Passionoia. Only Banbury joined him for Das Capital: The Song Writing Genius of Luke Haines, the last release to carry the Auteurs name. Haines subsequently issued solo recordings across multiple styles, authored books, and oversaw 2014 reissues of the band’s first three albums. Their complete studio output, encompassing the Baader Meinhof material plus extensive bonuses that included the original demo tape, appeared in 2023 as People ’Round Here Don’t Like to Talk About It: The Complete EMI Recordings on Cherry Red.