Inter was a British band active in the late 1990s and closely associated with the

post-Britpop Post-Britpop is an alternative rock subgenre and is the period in the late 1990s and early 2000s, following Britpop, when the media were identifying a "new generation" or "second wave" of guitar bands influenced by acts like Oasis and Blur, but ...

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti- suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other p ...

scene.

History

The band was formed in late 1995, with the lineup of Michael Boylan, Steven Bray and Johnny Gill. Sid Stovold, who had been helping the band out at rehearsals, joined soon after. From the start, the ethic of the band was to appear spontaneous on-stage, whilst still being musically tight. Live shows were characterized by energetic performances and on-stage joking around between songs. Preferring to concentrate on substance over style, the band members were renowned for dressing down and wearing their glasses on stage, whilst the vocals were delivered with pointedly southern

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

phrasing. 1996 saw the appearance of the demo/release ''Product'' (brilliantly named after randomly picking a word from the ingredients list of a packet of peanuts) which received praise for its engagingly catchy songwriting. The band spent the next couple of years gaining a reputation as one of the hardest working unsigned bands (largely due to the efforts of manager and promoter, "Rubberhead" Pete Cole) and developing an infectiously fun and chaotic on-stage style. Several rave reviews in the national music press followed. During this time, Inter was featured on

Fierce Panda Fierce Panda Records is a London-based independent record label, with its first release in February 1994. It also produced a small number of releases that year by now famous artists such as Ash (band), Ash, The Bluetones, Baby Bird and Superg ...

's ''Screecher Comforts'' EP and headlined

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

's 1997 Brats Unsigned. They also featured on a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

advertising campaign for

Casio is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. I ...

. In 1997, the band released their debut single ''Happy Ending'' on the Pet Sounds label which received regular airplay on national radio and also recorded their first Peel session for

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, ...

. The band also appeared at the

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

roadshow held in

Albert Square Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location ...

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 ...

. In 1998, Inter signed a contract with Yoshiko Records, a recently formed UK based independent label. The band continued to build a growing fan base with some outstanding live shows throughout the year, and began to introduce a more expansive, melodic and mature sound to the set. The end of the year had the band recording tracks for its debut album at Loco studios in South Wales. Early in 1999, Inter's first single from these sessions, ''National Paranoia'', was released, reaching number 10 in the independent singles charts. The band also recorded their second Peel session. Additionally, the song ''Happy Ending'' was chosen as part of

Peelennium ''The Peelennium'' was a selection of songs by BBC Radio DJ John Peel from 1900 to 2000 in order to celebrate the last 100 years of music leading up to the millennium. It was carefully timed to play out over the 100 remaining shows of 1999, starti ...

series. Logistical problems within the record company meant that the singles ''Radio Finland'' and ''Speed Racer'', and the debut album ''Got My Nine'', were not released until 2000, albeit to more favourable reviews. ''Got My Nine'' sold over 7000 copies in its first week of release. However, the record label was suffering from behind-the-scenes management problems and the band was dropped in the middle of 2000. Songs for the band's second studio album had been written but remained unrecorded. Inter scaled down its activity and eventually ended in early 2001 after supporting

Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the De ...

at the

Forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

in London. The band briefly reformed in 2005 to play a benefit show for the

British Heart Foundation The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy ...

in honour of their friend and roadie, Richard Hazell, who had recently died. In 2009, the band members were once again asked to play, this time for the August wedding of their one-time manager, Pete. Because of the occasion, the four duly agreed and performed a brief set (with only a couple of hours' rehearsal) at the West End Centre in

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

, which had always been considered the band's home venue.

Discography

*"Product" (demo) - 1996, self-released *"Happy Ending" (single) - 1997, Pet Sounds (PET03CDS) *"National Paranoia" (single) - 1999, Yoshiko (YR-002-CDS001) *"Radio Finland" (single) - 2000, Yoshiko (YR-002-CDS002) *"Speed Racer" (single) - 2000, Yoshiko (YR-002-CDS003) *"Got My Nine" (album) - 2000, Yoshiko (YR-002-CDA001)

Press quotes

'Effusive enthusiasm and ricocheting tunefulness ... ahead of the nouveau teen-punk pack' -

'The kings of the catchy, cheesy chorus' - Melody Maker
'The best pop song in the last 30 years' (Happy Ending) - John Peel
'A rather irresistible romp through small-town Britain' -

Everett True Everett True (born Jeremy Andrew Thackray on 21 April 1961) is an English music journalist and musician. He became interested in rock music after hearing The Residents, and formed a band with school friends. He has written and recorded as The ...

'...highlights included a spiky, joking, flat-out pop set from Farnborough's Inter' -

Steve Lamacq Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music. Early life He attended The Ramsey Academ ...

'Unusually loveable' (Got My Nine) -

Q magazine ''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series '' The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ...

References

External links

Inter on Facebook

Inter on MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inter (Band) Post-Britpop groups British pop punk groups British indie rock groups Musical groups established in 1995