Getting Monday sprinting to the lunch line with a set from Swervedriver – recorded at The Astoria in London on October 17, 1993.
Swervedriver have their roots in Oxford when schoolmates and aspiring guitarists Franklin and Hartridge along with Franklin’s older brother and vocalist, Graham, and drummer Paddy Pulzer formed the band Shake Appeal in 1984. In 1987, bass player Adrian “Adi” Vines, from Yorkshire, joined the band, and the following year they released their solitary single “Gimme Fever” through Notown Records. Shake Appeal were influenced by late ’60s garage rock bands like The Stooges and MC5, drawing similar influences from the sights and sounds of the British Leyland car factory Franklin and Hartridge walked past every day on the way to school.[3] When influence turned to emulation, the members felt they needed to develop a sound of their own. They had meanwhile turned their attention to American alternative rock acts Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth, and Dinosaur Jr., and subsequently were inspired “to push out the boundaries of electric guitar within a pop format.”
In 1989, after Shake Appeal disbanded, Adam Franklin composed the songs “Volcano Trash”, “Afterglow”, and “Son of Mustang Ford” (which would become Swerverdriver’s first single). The former bandmates were impressed with his work and assembled at Union Street Studios in Oxford to record a demo, with Adam Franklin shifting to lead vocals and his brother singing backup. Soon thereafter, Graham Franklin and Pulzer left the band to pursue other musical interests. Growing tired of the local scene, the group had decided to head to London, and there they met drummer and Edinburgh-native Graham Bonnar, formerly of the post-punk band The Shattered Family. Before leaving Oxford, they had handed their demo to Mark Gardener of local band Ride, who in turn passed it on to Alan McGee of Creation Records. McGee signed them almost immediately after listening to the tape (while riding around downtown Los Angeles in the back of a limousine) and Swervedriver was born.
And four years later, they sounded like this.
Order the South Sea Islands Mystery Plate and press Play.
