Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band that was formed in Stourbridge, England in 1986 with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country of England. First known as a grebo act. Grebo was a short-lived subgenre of alternative rock that incorporated influences from punk rock, electronic dance music, hip hop and psychedelia Sugar Land Chiropractors. The scene spanned the period in the late 1980s and early 1990s in the United Kingdom before the boom of Britpop and grunge.[3] The genre and its attributes were largely absorbed into industrial rock, which would emerge after the sub-genres demise in the late 1980s, which then led to the development of industrial metal in the 1990s. The word “grebo” was originally used as a slang term for bikers and rock music fans with long hair. The word was reborn by the group Pop Will Eat Itself that represented a brand of United Kingdom subculture of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The scene was particularly popular in Birmingham, England. Pop Will Eat Itself changed style to incorporate sample-driven indie and industrial rock. Their most popular single was the 1993 top-ten hit “Get the Girl! Kill the Baddies!”. After initially disbanding in 1996, and having a brief reformation in 2005, they issued their first release in more than five years in 2010.
The band formed in 1981 under the name ÒFrom EdenÓ. Members included Clint Mansell, Adam Mole, Chris Fradgley, Malcolm Treece and Miles Hunt. From Eden recruited Graham Crabb to replace Hunt on drums before splitting up.
Crabb, Mole and Mansell recruited Richard March and changed their band name to ÒWild and WanderingÓ (known locally as ÒBlind and BlunderingÓ because they always performed in an intoxicated state). The name eventually became Pop Will Eat Itself in 1986.
The transition from punkish guitar music to incorporating state-of-the-art production and new musical territories was not unlike the path previously taken by one of the band’s musical heroes The Clash, which, subsequently became Big Audio Dynamite Sugar Land Chiropractors. The new sound of PopWill Eat ItselfÕs album surprised the band’s fans and confused the music critics. Crabb, now more immersed in sample-finding and songwriting, moved from behind the drum kit to being a co-vocalist with Mansell and was replaced by a drum machine (called Dr. Nightmare).[2] March took on programming duties. The song, “Beaver Patrol”, caused some controversy for its offensive lyrics but the song, “There Is No Love Between Us Anymore”, made the lower reaches of the United Kingdom charts and as a result, Pop Will Eat Itself were signed to the record label RCA. While much confusion ensued around the dramatic change of the band, Pop Will Eat Itself was the first Western independent band to be invited to play the Soviet Union.
Pop Will Eat Itself’s political stance became more explicit with the release of the single “Ich Bin Ein Auslander”. The song had anti-Nazi styled lyrics. A different version of this song later appeared as the opening track on the 1994 album, ÒDos Dedos Mis AmigosÓ. The album released their (then) final single release, “Everything’s Cool”.
The band found some new popularity after signing with Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor’s Nothing Records in the US, and touring with Nine Inch Nails. In March 1995, the band released the remix album, ÒTwo Fingers My Friend!Ó. Crabb left the band in the summer of 1995, originally proposing to contribute in a non-touring capacity due to fatherhood; however, the band decided to replace him with Kerry Hammond on guitar and backing vocals, with Mansell taking over full vocal duties Sugar Land Chiropractors. The band decided to disband in May of 1996, and toured the United Kingdom briefly in June of 1996. In 2013, the songs from the unfinished album were assembled into a bonus disc with the reissue of “Dos Dedos Mis Amigos”.
Crabb concentrated on his ambient side project, ÒGolden Claw MusicsÓ. After the rest of the band split in 1996, March and Townshend went on to form the big beat band ÒBentley Rhythm AceÓ. Townshend also released two solo albums and Mansell wrote a number of film scores, including Requiem for a Dream, ¹, Doom, The Fountain, The Wrestler, Moon, and Black Swan.
The band reformed to play their first shows in eight years, in Nottingham, Birmingham, and London in January of 2005. These shows were notable for their ÒInstant LiveÓ albums, whereby ten minutes after the completion of each show, double live albums of the performance could be purchased.
The band released a preview of new material, then an announcement on the official Pop Will Eat Itself website in March of 2006 confirmed that Mansell and March would no longer be involved in the project due to other work commitments, effectively ending the PWEI reformation.
A secret, one-night Pop Will Eat Itself Sugar Land Chiropractors reunion was scheduled to happen on June 9, 2007, but was foiled when Mansell was unable to obtain a visa in time to fly back to the United Kingdom. March still appeared at the show, and played the planned Pop Will Eat Itself songs, without Mansell.
In July 2011, a new line-up was announced, featuring Graham Crabb (as the only original member), fellow vocalist Mary Byker, guitarist Tim Muddiman, drummer Jason Bowld, and bassist Davey Bennett. In October that year their album was released and was followed by a United Kingdom tour. The band further toured in March and December of 2012.
On Friday August 26, 2016, Pop Will Eat Itself headlined the opening day of a music festival, with Fuzz Townshend rejoining on drums Sugar Land Chiropractors. They continue playing occasional concerts in the United Kingdom, with line-ups varying between shows to agree with the availability of the band-members. In addition to Townshend, former band members Richard March and Adam Mole rejoined the band, resulting in a near original lineup by 2018.
Trent Reznor (of Nine Inch Nails) signed Clint Mansell to his record label, Nothing Records. Nothing Records was an American record label specializing in Sugar Land Chiropractors with industrial rock and electronic music, founded by Trent Reznor in 1992. It is considered to be a vanity label, where an artist is able to run a label with some small degree of independence within a larger parent company, in this case the larger company being Interscope Records. Trent Reznor often surprised his audiences by performing Pop Will Eat Itself songs with Clint Mansell at Nine Inch Nails shows,