Veruca Salt – Session at BBC Radio 1 – July 27, 1994 – BBC Radio 1 –
Some American Alt-Grunge tonight by way of Veruca Salt; the Chicago-based band who, after a year-and-a-half of woodshedding, honing and practicing, finally went public and went gold from the get-go. After performing at a handful of shows, they were approached by the Indie label Minty Fresh and were signed. The result was their debut single, Seether and All Hail Me, which became the band’s first success and was proclaimed by the Press as one of the 50 Greatest Grunge Singles Of All Time.
The success also won them a place as opening band on Hole’s 1994 tour, and this subsequent session for the BBC during their UK leg of their debut tour.
The string of successes lasted a few years, until conflicts over direction saw the loss of drummer Jim Shapiro and eventually saw the loss of co-founder Nina Gordon, who decided to pursue a solo career. Over the next few years, a number of members left and were replaced, and the band went through several more shakeups and changes in direction.
Veruca Salt announced a hiatus in 2012, after a series of departures and dismissals left only one original member of the band in place. But by 2013 a reunion was announced, with the original members of the band, going on to add that hatchets had been buried and axes exhumed. As of 2015 the band were still together and recorded a latest album, Ghost Notes, which was issued in July of 2015. As with much of their material, it got critical raves, and Ghost Notes was declared one of the Best Rock Albums of 2015.
As a reminder of the early days and the original lineup of Veruca Salt, here is that session for BBC Radio 1, recorded on July 27, 1994.
