Ride in session at Sveriges Radio P3 in Stockholm from November 13, 1990.
Probably one of the most, if not the most influential bands to be part of the Shoegaze movement which started in the late 1980s.
Ride’s first two albums, Nowhere (1990) and Going Blank Again (1992), have been critically acclaimed as two of the greatest shoegaze albums of all time. The latter’s lead single, “Leave Them All Behind”, was the band’s most commercially successful song, reaching No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart. Both Going Blank Again and its 1994 follow-up, Carnival of Light, peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart.
Ride broke up in 1996 prior to the release of their fourth album Tarantula, which received negative reviews. Bell joined Oasis in 1999 as their bassist. The band reunited in 2014 to tour again, and also put out the albums Weather Diaries (2017), This Is Not a Safe Place (2019) and Interplay (2024).
On 19 November 2014, it was announced that Ride had reunited for a series of tour dates in Europe and North America, in May and June 2015. On 10 and 17 April 2015, Ride performed at Coachella, following a live performance broadcast by KCRW on 8 April 2015. The band played many European festivals such as Primavera Sound, Best Kept Secret, Melt! Festival, Field Day, Pukkelpop and Øyafestivalen.[27] They also toured America with DIIV opening. The reunion was originally meant for touring only, but after playing shows together again, the band decided that the experience should also lead to the recording of a new album.
On 21 February 2017, the band premiered “Charm Assault”, their first new song in 21 years. The next day, the band released another single, “Home Is a Feeling”. On 23 March, Ride announced their first new studio album in 21 years, Weather Diaries. The album was released on 16 June 2017. It made number 11 in the UK album charts and gained critical and fan approval upon its release, supported by a tour of Europe and North America across the summer and autumn of 2017. On 27 May 2018 they played a hometown gig, as first support to James, in Oxford’s South Parks, as part of the two-day “Common People” festival (the previous day had been in Southampton).
In March 2019, the band announced that their upcoming sixth studio album had already been finished, with the same producer as their previous album, Erol Alkan. The new album, called This Is Not a Safe Place, was released on 16 August 2019.
Ride played the 2022 edition of the Primavera Sound festival, performing Going Blank Again and Nowhere in full on two separate days. The band also toured for the 30th anniversary of Nowhere from 2022 to 2024, including a co-headlining “Between Nowhere” tour with The Charlatans (who played Between 10th and 11th in full) in North America.
In November 2022, Ride announced that the band had been working on a seventh album, set for release in 2023 or 2024. On 11 January 2024, Ride announced their seventh album, Interplay, with the release of the lead single “Peace Sign”. The album was released on 29 March 2024.
That’s what Ride have been up to since this Swedish Radio session happened – a lot of great music that, if you aren’t familiar with, definitely need to get hold of.
Get their new album here.
Dive in.
