Intastella 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 mainstream or commerci ...

band from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England, who evolved from the earlier band Laugh. They had four top-75 hits in the UK during the 1990s.

History

Laugh was formed in 1980 by graphic designer Tim Gudgeon and medical student Simon Frampton. They wrote all the songs that the band performed in numerous gigs across Manchester and Liverpool until Frampton had to leave in 1984 to complete his medical training (he was to become a GP in Ormskirk). Auditions to replace his distinctive voice produced the line-up of Martin Wright (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Ian Bendelow (guitar), Martin Mittler (bass guitar), and Spencer Birtwistle (drums, later a member of The Fall).Strong, Martin C. (1999) ''The Great Alternative & Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 362 Their debut release was "Take Your Time Yeah!", a

flexi-disc The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntabl ...

included with ''Debris'' magazine in December 1985, with three further singles following prior to their only album, ''Sensation No. 1'' (1988). The band had two placings on the

UK Independent Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

with "Paul McCartney" (which featured Smiths guitarist Craig Gannon)Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave'', Virgin Books, , p. 242 (#44) and "Time to Lose It" (#19), and recorded two sessions for John Peel's

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

show.Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 131 In 1990 the band parted ways with guitarist Bendelow and discovered singer Stella Grundy and dancer Lil' Anthony, changing their sound to a more dance-oriented style and changing their name to Intastella. They signed to

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

and hit the lower reaches of 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 ...

with their first release, "Dream Some Paradise". Two follow-up singles fared similarly, and in late 1991 the band's debut album, ''Intastella and the Family of People'' was issued. The band's momentum was lost after Grundy broke her arm in a motorcycle accident, and they were dropped by MCA, returning in 1993 on the Planet-3 label with the ''Drifter'' EP, on which they worked with

Shaun Ryder Shaun William George Ryder (born 23 August 1962) is an English singer/songwriter and poet. As lead singer of Happy Mondays, he was a leading figure in the Madchester cultural scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, he formed Bla ...

. The band's biggest hit came in 1995, with "The Night" reaching #60 in the UK, preceding their second album, ''What You Gonna Do'' featuring Manchester Harpist Katie Brett on the track "I'll Be Forever". Further singles followed during 1996 and 1997 but none repeated their earlier success. One of these, "Grandmaster", was used on the soundtrack of the 1997 film ''

Love in Paris ''Love in Paris'' (released as ''Another Weeks'' in the United States) is a 1997 American erotic romantic drama film. It is a sequel to the 1986 film '' Weeks''. Mickey Rourke stars, reprising his original role as John Gray. Angie Everhart co-st ...

''. A final album, ''Nuphonia'', was released in 1997. Grundy later emerged with a new band, Stella & the Doggs. On 30 November 2019, it was announced that Anthony Green (or Little Anthony) had died. On 2 December, radio DJ

Marc Riley Marc Riley (born 10 July 1961 in Manchester) is an English radio DJ, alternative rock critic, musician, and former music businessman. He currently presents on BBC Radio 6 Music. Formerly a member of the Fall, he co-owned a record label, In-Ta ...

played ''People'' by Intastella as a tribute. In November 2021, it was announced that guitarist Martin Wright had died.

Discography

Laugh

Albums

*''Sensation No. 1'' (1988), Sub Aqua

Singles, EPs

*"Take Your Time Yeah!" (1985), Debris (

) *"Take Your Time Yeah!" (1986), Remorse (12") *"Paul McCartney" (1987), Remorse (7") - UK Indie #44 *"Time To Lose It" (1988), Remorse (7") - UK Indie #19 *"''Sensation No.1'' EP (1988), Sub Aqua (7"/12")

Intastella

Albums

*''Intastella and the Family of People'' (1991), MCA *''What You Gonna Do'' (1995), Planet-3 *''Nuphonia'' (1997), Planet-3 *''Intastella Overdrive'' (2002), Castle Music - compilation

Singles, EPs

*"Dream Some Paradise" (1991), MCA - ( UK #69)Intastella
Chart Stats, retrieved 22 March 2010 *"People" (1991), MCA - UK #74 *"Century" (1991), MCA - UK #70 *''Drifter'' EP (1993), Planet-3 *"Point Hope" (1994), Planet-3 *"The Night" (1995), Planet-3 - UK #60 *"Grandmaster" (1996), Planet-3 *"Past" (1996), Planet-3 *"Skyscraper Koolaid" (1997), Planet-3 *"Soon We'll Fly" (1997), Planet-3

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Intastella 1990 establishments in England 1997 disestablishments in England English alternative rock groups Madchester groups Musical groups from Manchester Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 1997