Kenickie

This article is about the British band. For the stage character Kenickie, see Grease (musical).
Kenickie
Origin Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
Genres Britpop, alternative rock, pop punk, power pop, indie pop
Years active 1994–1998
Labels Slampt, Fierce Panda, EMIdisc, Warner Bros.
Past members Lauren Laverne
Marie du Santiago
Emmy-Kate Montrose
Johnny X

Kenickie were an English four-piece pop punk band from Sunderland. The band was formed in 1994 and consisted of lead vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Lauren Laverne, drummer Johnny X (real name Pete Gofton, Lauren's brother), lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist Marie du Santiago (b. Anne Marie Nixon) and bass guitarist Emmy-Kate Montrose (b. Emma Jackson). The band's name comes from their favourite character in the 1970s film Grease.

History

By the time Catsuit City (1995) was released on Slampt, Kenickie declined an offer by Alan McGee to sign to Creation.[1] The band opened the bill for the Ramones final UK appearance at the Brixton Academy on 3 February 1996. Following the release of Skillex (1996) on Fierce Panda, Kenickie signed to Saint Etienne's EMI subsidiary, EMIDisc.[1] Kenickie registered in the UK Singles Chart, their highest position being No. 24 with the single "In Your Car",[2] which opened Top of the Pops on the 10 January 1997 edition. Their debut album At The Club, peaked at No. 9 in the UK Albums Chart in May 1997.[2] In the summer of 1997, Kenickie were scheduled to play Glastonbury; their set was postponed, due to rain, but took place later on the scheduled day.

After meeting them in New York, Courtney Love said:

They're a big bunch of sex, that band Kenickie. They're a big, raw-boned bunch of fucking sex — all three of them and the boy. I hope they get good. I hope we're a good example to them, I hope this record's huge and then the big labels will start sniffing around and then those big fucking raw-boned sexy Newcastle (sic) girls will be huge and have Number Ones and there will be an Amazon planet the way I want it.[3]

The band's second album, Get In appeared in 1998. It was generally less well-received than its predecessor in the music press (although Melody Maker rated it 8/10), and sold less well. Johnny X, who now referred to himself as Pete X, moved to guitar, with the live band augmented by Graham Christie (later of Data Panik) on drums and Dot Allen on keyboards.

Kenickie disbanded on 15 October 1998 after a London Astoria gig, where Lauren closed the night by saying "We were Kenickie ... a bunch of fuckwits".

After Kenickie

Du Santiago and Montrose went on to form a new band called Rosita, and released two singles before splitting up. Du Santiago is now a member of The Cornshed Sisters and former head of communications for the Northern region of the Arts Council. In Autumn 2012, she took up position as Chief Executive of the University of Sunderland Students' Union.[4] Johnny X went on to record under the name J Xaverre. He toured with Peter Brewis of Field Music's new project 'The Week That Was' and later played in Frankie & The Heartstrings. The band's one-time touring keyboard player Tony O'Neill (known in the band as Elvis Wesley) is now an author, living in the United States. Montrose completed a PhD in sociology in 2010 at Goldsmiths University. After some time as a research fellow in Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow,[5] she returned to Goldsmiths in January 2015 as a lecturer in the Department of Sociology[6]

Lauren Laverne released one solo EP, and sang on the 2000 Mint Royale single, "Don't Falter", which reached No. 15 in the UK chart.[7] Laverne also was an uncredited vocalist on The Divine Comedy's 2004 single "Come Home Billy Bird" which reached No. 25 in the same chart.[8] Since then she has presented various radio shows on radio station Xfm, most notably the breakfast show, before quitting in April 2007. She has also moved into television, originally as a guest on early episodes of music quiz Never Mind the Buzzcocks. She earned her own weekly spot on Channel 4 music show Planet Pop and became presenter, with Myleene Klass, of ITV music programme cd:uk in 2005, and hosted Channel 4's music show Transmission with Steve Jones in 2006 and 2007. She is currently lead host of BBC 2's The Culture Show and has her own daily radio show on BBC 6 Music, as well as occasionally deputising for holidaying presenters on BBC Radio 2. She now co-hosts Channel 4 show, 10 O'Clock Live, with David Mitchell, Jimmy Carr and Charlie Brooker.

Discography

Kenickie discography
Studio albums 2
Compilation albums 1
EPs 2
Singles 7

The discography of Kenickie consists of two studio albums, a compilation album of live sessions, two extended plays, seven singles, four music videos and six original appearances on other various releases.

Studio albums

Year Album details UK[2]
1997 At the Club 9
1998 Get In
  • Released: 10 August 1998
  • Labels: EMI
 32

Compilation albums

Extended plays

Year EP details Track listing UK
1995 Catsuit City
  • Released: June 1995
  • Labels: Slampt
  • Format: 7"
  1. "Ramalamalama"
  2. "Private Buchowski"
  3. "Come In"
  4. "Snakebite"
  5. "My Nites Out"
  6. "Sk8bdn Song"
  7. "Perfect Plan"
  8. "Jellybean"
 -
1996 Skillex
  1. "Come Out 2nite"
  2. "How I Was Made"
  3. "Scared of Spiders" (CD only)
  4. "Acetone" (CD only)
 195[9]

Singles

Year Title UK[2] Album
1996 "Punka" 43 At the Club
"Millionaire Sweeper" 60
"In Your Car" 24
1997 "Nightlife" 27
"Punka" 38
1998 "I Would Fix You" 36 Get In
"Stay in the Sun" 43

Other releases

Miscellaneous songs

Other songs performed on radio sessions included:

Music videos

  1. ↑ The original video from 1996 simply featured the band performing the song in the lounge of the real-life Gofton family home. This second video from 1997, filmed on location in Hollywood, featured the band as film stars in the studio for the shoot of a big-budget remake (still with the same concept) of their previous video.

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/sep/22/cult-heroes-kenickie-lauren-laverne
  2. 1 2 3 4 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 299. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ↑ "Kenickie Corner v3.0: By SŠott Wills". Freespace.virgin.net. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  4. ↑ Davies, Hannah (2011-08-03). "Marie Nixon on life after girl band Kenickie - Features - Lifestyle". JournalLive. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
  5. ↑ "Dr Emma Jackson". University of Glasgow. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "Jackson, Emma, Goldsmiths, University of London". Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  7. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 369. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  8. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 158. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  9. ↑ "UK Chartlog". zobbel.de. Retrieved 17 November 2012.

External links

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