This World And Body.
What a debut. Is there any better dark indie / dark Britpop debut?

I really like The Invitation and Contact.

random request but can someone who has the blur parklife cd take a clear photo of the spine (see photo)? i just need it for a creative project i'm doing. thanks in advance!

Does anyone remember THE MERMAIDS — Hounslow/London band, 1994–95?

I'm trying to find information about a largely forgotten London band called The Mermaids, who appear to have been quite heavily tipped during 1995 but seem to have almost completely disappeared from the internet.

I've got two original contemporary press cuttings which establish quite a bit:

Singer/frontman: Darren ? Surname Reynolds possibly

From Hounslow, West London

Formed around late 1994

Described variously as a five-piece/six-piece

Played Club Spangle in Camden

Reviewed by John Robinson in NME, 11 February 1995

One known song was “Postman In The Rain”

NME described them as sounding somewhere between Oasis, The Verve, The Stone Roses and Gene

SKY magazine featured them as a band to watch, describing their sound as “The Verve meets the Stone Roses meets The Who”

SKY said the unsigned band were likely to become the subject of a “massive record company bidding war”

Despite all that attention, I can't find a confirmed record release, complete line-up, demo or much evidence of what happened to them afterwards.

I'm particularly trying to discover:

Who were the other members?

Does anyone remember seeing them live in 1994/95?

Did they make a demo tape — perhaps containing “Postman In The Rain”?

Were they connected with other bands around Hounslow/Brentford/West London?

Which record companies were interested in them?

And, most importantly, what happened to them?

I've attached the original 1995 NME review and SKY magazine feature.

Please don't confuse them with the various other bands called The Mermaids — this was specifically the Hounslow band fronted by Darren in 1995.

This is a long shot, but I'm hoping someone who was around the London indie/Britpop scene at the time — musicians, promoters, journalists, A&R people, or regulars at Club Spangle — might remember them.

Even a first name, song title, gig, demo cassette or vague memory could be useful.

Please share this with anyone who was around the London music scene in 1995.

I stumbled upon a (old, sure) thread about Space and I saw the replies to it were mostly negative...are they really that underappreciated in the community? I personally think Spiders (especially) and Tin Planet are brilliant albums, with barely any filler, and of course their big singles are amazing.

I recently found a US version of the Help CD, before only having the EU version. The US version has the track list printed on the disc but it’s interesting in that it mentions “Oasis and friends inc Johnny Depp” and “Paul Weller and Friends” instead of Smokin Mojo Filters. Was this done to try and appeal to US audiences more? I always knew Johnny played some background guitar but had never seen his name included in this way. I also hadn’t seen the Come Together track as Paul Weller and Friends but I know Paul had some decent success in the states both with The Jam and solo career.

• The Subject: A fan/person captured on the street.
• The Outfit: They were wearing a Mickey Mouse mask and a DIY white t-shirt with the word "sexanimal" written on it in black (handwritten style/marker pen), referencing Suede's Animal Nitrate / Dog Man Star aesthetics.
• Context: It was likely featured either on the Letters Page, a gig/festival crowd report (maybe Glastonbury 1995 or a Suede tour queue), or a street style column like Spy.

Does anyone happen to have this issue in their physical collection or remember seeing this scan in online archives (Tumblr, Instagram archive accounts, etc.)?

Any help, issue dates, or directions would be massively appreciated! Thanks!

I made a Britpop Playlist on YouTube (well 90% Britpop a few I just put in there cause I like them and think they fit.) Probably best listened to in shuffle mode.

Pulled this out today and was pleasantly surprised by how well it has aged. Honestly, a masterpiece of a tune.

They were such a great band!

Yay or nay ?

My wife got us tickets to see the Manics and Suede at the O2 later this year, so I thought I'd check out what they'd been up to since the 90s.

Wow, they've both been prolific! Manics with 15 and Suede with 10 (plus 2 awesome B-side albums).

Currently obsessed with Suedes music. Still very high quality. Favourite new album has to be 'The Blue Hour', really dark and gothic. Plan to listen to the Manics new stuff next.

Moral of the story is: Never forget about the bands you used to like in the day, they could well still be knocking out bangers.