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For the theory relating to large scale deformations of elastic structures, see Elastica Theory.

Elastica were a Britpop band who were popular in the 1990s, formed by Justine Frischmann after leaving Suede in 1991. Frischmann recruited the rest of the band members: Justin Welch (formerly of garage rock band Spitfire - drums), Annie Holland (bass) and Donna Matthews (guitar).

Contents 1 History 2 Members 2.1 Core members 2.2 Other members 3 Discography 3.1 Singles 3.2 EP 3.3 Albums 4 External links

History

Their first single was 1993's "Stutter", which was a word-of-mouth hit. In spite of a period of relative quiet, Elastica's fame grew throughout 1994 as Frischmann's relationship with Blur's Damon Albarn made tabloid headlines. Elastica's first LP, Elastica, entered the charts at #1.

Further UK chart hit singles followed: "Connection" and "Waking Up". In 1995 there was a lawsuit from Wire claiming that many of the band's melodies were taken from Wire compositions. Notably Wire's "I Am the Fly" has a chorus similar to Elastica's "Line Up", and the intro of "Connection" is nearly identical to Wire's "Three Girl Rhumba". Indeed the band had originally intended to sample the intro of the song directly. The Stranglers also passed comment that Elastica's "Waking Up" bore a marked resemblance to their song "No More Heroes". The band did not deny these accusations and were not ashamed by these similarities, stating that all pop bands have borrowed ideas and all music was eventually recycled.

Elastica were able to garner better American sales than other Britpop bands, replacing Sinéad O'Connor on Lollapalooza in 1995. Among their extensive tour schedule the band played a glorious Glastonbury performance in 1995 where their set was interrupted by a streaker, a George Best look-alike, who would briefly join the band as a keyboard player in 1997.

After extensive touring, the band began to experience personal problems. In 1997, bassist Annie Holland left the band, citing repetitive strain injury following excessive touring as her reason for departure. In 1999 Donna Matthews left the band. There were several line up changes and keyboard players. Various supporting musicians came and went. Their second album was much delayed after several years of recording. There were worrying rumours of entire albums being scrapped and band tensions due to the perfectionism of Frischmann. The "lost years" of the band were often compared to the Stone Roses recording their Second Coming album.

A quickly recorded lo-fi self-titled EP was released in 1999, and the follow-up LP, The Menace, was finally released in 2000 to moderate sales. A less focused effort than their debut, the album nonetheless contained some interesting moments and more electronic songs than before. One of the high points was "How He Wrote Elastica Man" featuring Mark E. Smith on vocals. A new line up was revealed with two keyboard players replacing Matthews for tour dates.

After more touring, the band released a final single "The Bitch Don't Work" and announced their break-up in September 2001.

As a postscript, in 2002 the band confessed in John Harris's Britpop memoir The Last Party that most members had had severe problems with heroin addiction during most of the lifetime of the band. This was said to be the main cause of the slow work rate and personal difficulties within the latter years. This was also the reason for the departure of Holland, although she later returned to tour the final album. This was not revealed at the time, although some fans suspected this to be the case.

Elastica's song "Connection" was used in May 2004 in Garnier television commercials, and was also used as the theme of Trigger Happy TV. Frischmann herself was no stranger to television jingles; her uncle wrote the theme song to Benny Hill's show.

Members

Core members

• Justine Frischmann (1991–2001) - vocals and guitar
• Donna Matthews (1991–1999) - guitar and vocals
• Annie Holland (1991–1996, 1999–2001) - bass guitar
• Justin Welch (1991–2001) - drums
• Dave Bush (1997–2001) - keyboards
• Paul Jones (1998–2001) - guitar
• Mew (1999–2001) - keyboards and vocals

Other members

• Sheila Chipperfield (1996–1998) - bass guitar
• Abby Travis (1997) - bass guitar
• Anthony Genn (1996) - keyboards
• Damon Albarn (first album) - guitar (credited under the anagrammatical pseudonym "Dan Abnormal")

Discography

Singles

• "Stutter" - 1993
• "Line Up" - 1994 (#20 UK)
• "Connection" - 1994 (#17 UK)
• "Waking Up" - 1995 (#13 UK)
• "Mad Dog" - 2000
• "The Bitch Don't Work" - 2001

EP

• 6 Track EP - 1999

Albums

• Elastica - 1995 (#1 UK)
• The Menace - 1999 (#24 UK)
• Radio 1 Sessions Live - 2001

External links

• Elastica lyrics

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