So in 1995/96 the greatest band of the 90s (in my opinion)
disbanded after 8 years right in the middle of the Britpop explosion. The band was called Ride and their lead
guitarist and contributing songwriter was the very talented Andy Bell and so as
one band dies another is born.
And that’s where we start todays musical journey.
Hurricane #1 were born in the same year that Ride decided to
disband and go their separate ways.
Signing to Creation records in 1996, they released the EP Step Into My
World which reach the heady heights of 29 in the UK single chart which at the
time was still a feat. To me Step Into My World is a classic Slice of Britpop with
references to the many classic British scenes over the past 30. This was the
song that I would use to open my set when I was a DJ a local Club for my
Britpop night. When the bass hits at the 17 second mark it used to turn heads,
but maybe that could of been because I turned it up far too loud! It was also a classic track to end the set
with (you won't find I Am The Resurrection here!) with the massively infectious
chorus and ending guitar solo it was hard for the bouncers to kick the last of
the punters out! Releasing two more singles Just Another Illusion and Chain
Reaction to good reviews and having gushing reviews about their live performances
on their own tour and supporting the band 3 Colours Red things were looking
good for the band. In late September 1997 they released their self-titled album
Hurricane #1 to very good reviews including Q magazine naming it as one of the
best albums of 1997. It’s been strongly
referenced that the sound was not influenced by Oasis but actually inspired by
them which you can hear on some tracks. This
may be true but the band was far superior in their song writing (Thanks to Bell)
and the pure musicianship displayed by the band and Andy Bells guitar playing.
With sounds ranging from 70's wah-wah rock to double beats and songs fringing
on the side of shoegazing this album had everything for a guitar music fan of the
90's.
Standout album tracks include Let go Of The Dream with its
late night drunken sing-a-long chorus and rolling lead guitar sitting subtly
behind the band to Mother Superior with its wah-wah opening to the slightly
Oasis sounding vocal baggy beats. We
find the closing track Stand In Line sounding like something Noel Gallagher
would kill to have written. Close your
eyes and you would think you were listening to Oasis but with BALLS!
We find their second album Only The Strongest Will Survive
to have a slightly more open beefed up sound and the use of drum machines on
certain tracks. Sounding like a band now
more open minded to bigger production mechanics than we found on their debut this
was maybe a glance of things to come on future albums but alas as with all good
things Britpop it was all about to end in tears.
As part of the course in the 90's the NME was involved once
again and slated the band to be sell outs because their title track of their
second album was used as a song for the new Sun newspapers television advert. You see the thing with the NME back then (maybe
even today, I have refused to read it in over 16 years) is they loved to build
up bands just to knock them down. They
started a hate campaign on the band and gave their album 2/10 and described the
whole album as sounding like each other band that was around at the time. This statement is false and to be honest this
can be said about any album by any band over the past 50 years.
Let’s not forget that Musicians like Andy Bell has been
making music before the Britpop scene arrived and paved the way for bands to be
recognised and get record deals and has influenced THEM to some degree. Take a listen to the album and you will find
outstanding tracks like Rising Sign, Remote Control and the title track Only
The Strongest Will Survive all wrapped in to 74 minutes of pure class.
Ahh! but who cares about musical ranting’s from a musical
paper that I wouldn’t wipe my arse on if it was the only paper left in the world.
What we are here for (hopefully) is the music and that is why im writing
this down so people can discover bands that they might not have heard before.
Take a tip from me go and grab yourself a copy of both
albums and bliss out to one of the best bands of the 90s........... trust me!.
Gav
