Chapterhouse were a British
shoegaze
Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...
band from
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
,
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
, England.
Formed in 1987 by Andrew Sherriff and Stephen Patman, the band began performing alongside
Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3 were an English neo-psychedelia space rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, known respectively under their pseudonyms Sonic Boom and J Spaceman. Their music is known for its brand of "tr ...
.
They released two albums: ''
Whirlpool
A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vo ...
'' (1991) and ''
Blood Music'' (1993). The group temporarily reformed in 2008 after being asked to join
Ulrich Schnauss
Ulrich Schnauss (born 1977) is a German electronic musician and producer based in London, England. He is best known for being a member of Tangerine Dream from 2014 to 2020.
Biography
Ulrich Schnauss was born in the northern German seaport of ...
onstage to perform his cover version of their song "Love Forever" at the
Truck Festival
Truck Festival is an annual independent music festival in Oxfordshire, England. It was started in 1998 by the Bennett family (including the brothers Robin and Joe of the band Goldrush), who decided that mainstream festivals such as Glastonbu ...
in Oxfordshire. The band finished the brief reunion with two gigs in London (2009–2010) and tours in North America and Japan in 2010.
Career
The band comprised Andrew Sherriff (b.16 May 1969,
Wokingham
Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell.
History
Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may als ...
, England), Stephen Patman (b. 8 November 1968,
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is a historic market town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British monarch. The town is situated west of ...
, England), Simon Rowe (b. 23 June 1969, Reading, Berkshire), Jon Curtis and Ashley Bates (b. 2 November 1971, Reading).
Chapterhouse rehearsed and gigged for well over a year before recording a demo tape.
They were initially lumped in with the British
acid rock
Acid rock is a loosely defined type of rock music that evolved out of the mid-1960s garage punk movement and helped launch the psychedelic subculture. Named after lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the style is generally defined by heavy, di ...
genre, eventually becoming a part of the shoegazing scene along with acts such as
Lush,
Moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
,
Ride
Ride may refer to:
People
* MC Ride, a member of Death Grips
* Sally Ride (1951–2012), American astronaut
* William Ride (19262011), Australian zoologist
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Ride'' (1998 film), a 1998 comedy by Millicen ...
and
Slowdive
Slowdive is a British rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Rachel Goswell on vocals and guitar, Neil Halstead on vocals and guitar, Christian Savill on guitar, Nick Chaplin on bass and Simon Scott on drum ...
.
Bassist Jon Curtis left the group to study, and was replaced by Russell Barrett (b. 7 November 1968,
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
, United States) 1990.
Chapterhouse signed to the newly formed
Dedicated label, releasing a series of singles, including "Pearl",
which featured guest vocals by
Rachel Goswell
Rachel Ann Goswell (born 16 May 1971) is an English singer-songwriter and musician who rose to prominence as vocalist and guitarist of the shoegaze band Slowdive, which formed in 1989. Goswell, along with Neil Halstead, Ian McCutcheon and fo ...
of Slowdive and reached No. 67 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
The band's first album, ''
Whirlpool
A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vo ...
'', 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
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
.
In the same year, Chapterhouse also appeared in their home town
Reading Festival
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
immediately following
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
's performance.
The band's second album ''
Blood Music'', which was stylistically different, was released in 1993.
Singles from the album "She's a Vision" and "We Are the Beautiful" were relatively successful. Some copies of ''Blood Music'' included a bonus disc "retranslated" by
Global Communication
Global Communication is an electronic music act, consisting of Tom Middleton and Mark Pritchard.
Biography
Global Communication's first LP, '' 76:14'', is an acclaimed album from the ambient and 1990s electronic music genres. Beyond their w ...
, called ''
Pentamerous Metamorphosis
''Pentamerous Metamorphosis'' is an album by Global Communication originally released in 1993 on Dedicated Records. It is a reworking of the ''Blood Music'' album by Chapterhouse and was originally only available as a bonus CD bundled with the ...
'' that was withdrawn due to a
sampling lawsuit, but later reissued in a slightly altered version.
The band then released no further new material other than a
double album
A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...
, ''Rownderbowt'', in 1996, compiling their singles, various
B-sides
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
, rarities and unreleased demos which featured Slowdive drummer Simon Scott. Sherriff went on to form Bio.com and Rowe went on to play guitar for
Mojave 3
Mojave 3 were a British rock band consisting of former Slowdive members Neil Halstead (vocals, guitar), Rachel Goswell (vocals, guitar) and Ian McCutcheon (drums) alongside keyboardist Alan Forrester and former Chapterhouse guitarist Simon Rowe ...
. Bates formed
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
and now plays in the British folktronica band
Tunng
Tunng are an English folk music band. They are often associated with the folktronica genre, due to the electronic influences evident in some of their work. Tunng are often noted for their use of unconventional instruments, including seashells a ...
, and Chapterhouse ceased for almost fifteen years.
The music of Chapterhouse was mostly out of print on CD until March 2006, when
Cherry Red Records
Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...
reissued the album ''Whirlpool'' with bonus tracks, and for the first time, lyrics.
The band played a version of "Love Forever" with
Ulrich Schnauss
Ulrich Schnauss (born 1977) is a German electronic musician and producer based in London, England. He is best known for being a member of Tangerine Dream from 2014 to 2020.
Biography
Ulrich Schnauss was born in the northern German seaport of ...
on the Barn Stage at the 2008 edition of
Truck Festival
Truck Festival is an annual independent music festival in Oxfordshire, England. It was started in 1998 by the Bennett family (including the brothers Robin and Joe of the band Goldrush), who decided that mainstream festivals such as Glastonbu ...
. In response to requests over the years, Chapterhouse played live at Club AC30's Reverence show at the ICA on 26 November 2009 along with
Ulrich Schnauss
Ulrich Schnauss (born 1977) is a German electronic musician and producer based in London, England. He is best known for being a member of Tangerine Dream from 2014 to 2020.
Biography
Ulrich Schnauss was born in the northern German seaport of ...
and
Kirsty Hawkshaw
Kirsty Hawkshaw (born 26 October 1969) is an English electronic music vocalist and songwriter. In addition to her work as a solo artist, she is known as the lead vocalist of early 1990s dance group Opus III, and her collaborative work with oth ...
. This was preceded on 23 November by a warm up show at the Luminaire in Kilburn. The band also played at The Scala in London on 18 March 2010, and undertook short tours of Japan in April 2010 and North America in May 2010. The North American tour had to be postponed due to the Icelandic ash cloud cancelling flights, stranding Patman in Japan. Chapterhouse rescheduled the North American tour for September and October 2010.
No plans were made for any other shows and the band ended the brief reunion in 2010.
[
]
Post-breakup
Since 1997, Sherriff has been working as a composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
/sound designer
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
for an Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning music production
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
company Adelphoi Music. Patman and Bates joined him later in 2001.
In October 2022, Rowe announced that he would be releasing a solo album, entitled "Everybody's Thinking". The album was recorded with the helps of all the Chapterhouse members bar Barrett, alongside Ian McCutcheon and Neil Halstead
Neil Halstead (born 7 October 1970) is an English musician, widely known as singer, primary lyricist, and guitarist of shoegaze band Slowdive. He has been hailed by AllMusic as "one of Britain's most respected songwriters", and '' Time Out'' as ...
of Slowdive as well as Hamish Brown of Revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
. The album will be out on 2 March 2023 via Big Potato Records.
Members
Last Lineup
* Andrew Sherriff - vocals, guitar (1987-1994, 2008-2010)
* Stephen Patman- vocals, guitar (1987-1994, 2008-2010)
* Simon Rowe - guitar (1987-1994, 2008-2010)
* Russell Barrett - bass (1990-1994)
* Ashley Bates - drums (1987-1994, 2008-2010)
Touring
*Greg Moore - bass (2008-2010)
Former
* Jon Curtis - bass (1987-1990)
Discography
Studio albums
*''Whirlpool
A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vo ...
'' (1991) – UK No. 23
*'' Blood Music'' (1993)
Compilations
*''Rownderbowt'' (1996)
*''The Best of Chapterhouse
''The Best of Chapterhouse'' is a greatest hits compilation album by English shoegazing band Chapterhouse released in 2007 on CD. The inner sleeve features a brief history of Chapterhouse written by Michael Heatley.
Track listing
# "We Are t ...
'' (2007)
EPs
*''Freefall
In Newtonian physics, free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it. In the context of general relativity, where gravitation is reduced to a space-time curvature, a body in free fall has no force acting on it. ...
'' (1990)
*''Sunburst
A sunburst is a design or figure commonly used in architectural ornaments and design patterns and possibly pattern books. It consists of rays or "beams" radiating out from a central disk in the manner of sunbeams. Sometimes part of a sunbur ...
'' (1990)
*''Pearl'' (1991)
Singles
*" Something More" (1990)
*"Pearl" (1991) – UK No. 67
*"Falling Down" (1991) promo
*"Mesmerise
Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychologic ...
" (1991) – UK No. 60
*" Mesmerise (remix)" (1991)
*"Don't Look Now" (1992)
*" She's a Vision" (1993)
*"We Are the Beautiful" (1993)
References
External links
Detailed gear diagram of Andrew Sheriff's 1993 Chapterhouse guitar rig
Detailed gear diagram of Simon Rowe's 1993 Chapterhouse guitar rig
Detailed gear diagram of Stephen Patman's 1993 Chapterhouse guitar rig
Unofficial Chapterhouse site
{{Authority control
English rock music groups
Shoegazing musical groups
Dream pop musical groups
Musical groups established in 1987
Musical groups disestablished in 1994
Musical groups reestablished in 2008
Musical groups disestablished in 2010
Musical groups from Reading, Berkshire
Dedicated Records artists
Cherry Red Records artists