Chapterhouse - Shoegaze as an art form
Chapterhouse In Session – 1991 – Past Daily Soundbooth
– Chapterhouse in session for John Peel – Sept. 23, 1990 – BBC Radio 1 –
Chapterhouse for a Wednesday night.
Chapterhouse were a British shoegaze/alternative rock band from Reading, Berkshire, England. Formed in 1987 by Andrew Sherriff and Stephen Patman, the band began performing alongside Spacemen 3. They released two albums entitled Whirlpool (1991) and Blood Music (1993). After the band split in 1994, Sherriff later formed Biocom. The group temporarily reformed in 2008 after being asked to join Ulrich Schnauss onstage to perform his cover version of their song “Love Forever” at the Truck Festival in Oxfordshire. The band finished the brief reunion with two shows in London (2009–2010) and tours in North America and Japan in 2010.
The band comprised Andrew Sherriff (born 16 May 1969, Wokingham, England; guitar/vocals), Stephen Patman (born 8 November 1968, Windsor, Berkshire, England; guitar/vocals), Simon Rowe (born 23 June 1969, Reading, Berkshire; guitar), Jon Curtis (bass) and Ashley Bates (born 2 November 1971, Reading; drums).
Chapterhouse took the unusual step of rehearsing and gigging for well over a year before recording even a demo tape. Initially lumped in with the British acid rock scene of the time, a mistake hardly rectified by the band’s early performances supporting the rather laidback Spacemen 3. Chapterhouse eventually escaped from one genre only to find themselves thrust amongst the shoegazing groups of the early 1990s (with Lush, Moose, Ride and Slowdive)
Bassist Jon Curtis left early on to study, being replaced by Russell Barrett (born 7 November 1968, Vermont, United States) who also fronted his own garage band, the Bikinis. Chapterhouse eventually signed to the newly formed Dedicated label, releasing a series of singles, including “Pearl”, which featured guest vocals by Rachel Goswell of Slowdive and reached No. 67 in the UK Singles Chart.
Their first album, Whirlpool, released in 1991, has been cited as one of the genre’s high points, but failed to capture a wider market despite reaching No. 23 in the UK Albums Chart. In the same year, Chapterhouse also appeared in their home town Reading Festival immediately following Nirvana’s performance.
This session, their first and only one for Peel, comes around the time of the release of their debut album.
Suggest you play moderately loud.
