Heavy Stereo were an English

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band, who were active from 1993 to 1999. There were known for their 1970s

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

styled sound, and their sole album, ''Déjà Voodoo''. They were also on the same record label and opened for

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

, which Heavy Stereo's

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Gem Archer Colin Murray Archer (born 7 December 1966) is an English musician and singer, best known as a member of the English rock bands Oasis, Beady Eye and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, making him, alongside Chris Sharrock, one of the only member ...

later joined.

Career

Heavy Stereo was fronted by lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter and producer Gem Archer, later of Oasis. They were heavily influenced by 1970s glam rock, including

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), best known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved success during the glam rock era of the 1970s and 1980s, and his career ended after he w ...

The New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial succe ...

, and

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones ...

. They released their debut and only album, ''Deja Voodoo'', in 1996. Heavy Stereo also produced a cover of The Jam's song The Gift, for the tribute album Fire & Skill. The band split up after Archer joined Oasis as a rhythm guitarist and keyboardist, replacing

Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs Paul Benjamin Arthurs (born 23 June 1965), known professionally as Bonehead, is an English musician. He is best known as the rhythm guitarist, occasional keyboardist and co-founder of the rock band Oasis. Early life Paul Benjamin Arthurs was ...

for their Standing on the Shoulder of Giants Tour, and on all albums and tours afterwards until their breakup in 2009. Archer then began work on a new project with other members of Oasis, called

Beady Eye Beady Eye were an English rock band formed in London in 2009 by former Oasis members Liam Gallagher (vocals), Gem Archer (guitar), Andy Bell (guitar), and Chris Sharrock (drums). In 2013, former Kasabian guitarist Jay Mehler joined the band as ...

, before joining

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds are an English rock band formed in 2010 as the solo moniker of former Oasis songwriter, lead guitarist, and backing vocalist Noel Gallagher. The touring band consists of former Oasis members Gem Archer (guitar ...

Band members

– Lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano *Craig "Nez" Naisbitt – Bass *Pete Downing – Lead guitar * Nick Jones – Drums, vocals, percussion

Discography

Albums

*''Déjà Voodoo'' (23 September 1996) – Charted at number 76 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 ...

. All songs written by

, and produced by Heavy Stereo, John Bell and Steve Orchard. #"Chinese Burn" #"Cartoon Moon" #"Déjà Voodoo" #"Tell Yer Ma" #"Crown of Thoughts" #"Mouse in a Hole" #"Bangers and Mash" #"Deep Fried Heart" #"Reaching for Heaven" #"Keep Up" #"Planet Empty" #"Shooting Star"

Chart singles

*"Sleep Freak" (1995) – UK No. 46 *"Smiler" (1995) – UK No. 46 *"Chinese Burn" (1996) – UK No. 45 *"Mouse in a Hole" (1996) – UK No. 53

References