Jack were a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British 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 formed in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, in 1992. Their orchestral pop was influenced by artists such as Scott Walker,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone ...

,Roberts, Chris. "A Church On Fire Is Gorgeous...". ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

''. October 1998. and drew comparisons to

Tindersticks Tindersticks are an English alternative rock band formed in Nottingham in 1991. They released six albums before singer Stuart A. Staples embarked on a solo career. The band reunited briefly in 2006 and more permanently the following year. Th ...

, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds,

Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was firs ...

and

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature an ...

. The band attracted a cult following in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and continental

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, particularly

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, but they failed to match the commercial success of their

britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

contemporaries. They split in 2002.

History

The band was formed in Cardiff in 1992 by singer-songwriter

Anthony Reynolds Anthony Reynolds is a Welsh musician. He has worked as a solo artist, and in collaboration with others in his bands Jack and Jacques. Jack In 1993, Reynolds moved to London where he formed the group Jack, on lead vocals, signing a music publis ...

and guitarist Matthew Scott. The pair moved to London in 1993, where they recruited Richard Adderley (guitar), Audrey Morse (violin), Patrick Pulzer (drums), Colin Williams (bass) and George Wright (keyboards). They signed to

Too Pure Too Pure was a London-based independent record label formed in 1990 by Richard Roberts and Paul Cox. The label gained prominence after the release of PJ Harvey's debut album '' Dry'' in 1992, and subsequently found further success in the lat ...

in 1995, with their first release for the label being the limited-edition "Kid Stardust" single (a tribute to

Charles Bukowski Henry Charles Bukowski ( ; born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, ; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his adopted ...

) in November that year. Their debut album, ''Pioneer Soundtracks'', was released in June 1996. Produced by Peter Walsh, the album garnered excellent reviews, Jones, Allan. "The Mourning After". '' Melody Maker''. 22 June 1996. Penman, Ian. "CD of the Week: Jack". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. 28 June 1996. but despite considerable touring both in the

and

, the three initial singles drawn from the album - "Wintercomessummer", "White Jazz", and "Biography Of A First Son" - failed to pick up any serious airplay and as a result sales were disappointing. Morse had left the band a year after recording their debut. She was replaced by Lucy Wilkins in summer 1996. Wilkins was in turn replaced by Ruth Gottlieb the following year. Following a renegotiation of their contract with Too Pure, they returned to the studio with Divine Comedy producer

Darren Allison Darren Allison (born May 1968, Ashington, Northumberland, England) is an English record producer, musician, and audio engineer, best known for his production work with artists such as Spiritualized,Kempster, Chris "Studio secrets of the stars ...

in autumn 1997 to work on their second album. '' The Jazz Age'' was released in August 1998. Despite more excellent reviewsJones, Allan. "Tenement Symphonies". ''Uncut''. August 1998. Bennun, David. "Bohemian Rhapsodies". ''The Guardian''. 14 August 1998. and further European touring, the two singles from the album, "Lolita Elle" and "Steamin’" received little airplay and sales were once again disappointing. A mooted follow-up album, ''An Anatomy Of Melancholy'', was abandoned after the band was dropped by Too Pure and both Adderley and Gottlieb left the band. A five-track mini-album, ''La Belle et la Discotheque'', produced by former Cocteau Twins bassist

Simon Raymonde Simon Philip Raymonde (born Simon Philip Pomerance; 3 April 1962, in London) is an English musician and record producer. He is the son of the late arranger and composer Ivor Raymonde. He is best known as the bass guitarist and keyboard player ...

, was released in September 2000. Although reviews were once again excellent, sales were low - although two tracks, "Sometimes" and "Disco-Cafe-Society" were playlisted on Spanish national radio. By this time Williams, Wright and Pulzer had the left the band and Scott and Reynolds elected to continue as a duo. A final album, ''The End Of The Way It's Always Been'' was released in April 2002. The group disbanded later that year after an extensive European tour, including an appearance at the

Benicàssim festival Benicàssim (; es, Benicasim ; ar, بنو قاسم, translit=banū qāsim, or ar, بني قاسم, translit=banī qāsim, label=none, according to numismatic findings) is a municipality and beach resort located in the province of Castelló, ...

. They played their final concert in Cardiff in November. Pulzer and Adderley later resurfaced as members of The Boyfriends. ''Pioneer Soundtracks'' was reissued in a belated 'Tenth Anniversary Edition' on the Spinney label in March 2007, with an additional CD of alternative versions, B-sides and live tracks.

Discography

Albums

* '' Pioneer Soundtracks'' (Too Pure, 1996) * '' The Jazz Age'' (Too Pure, 1998) * ''The End of the Way It's Always Been'' ( Crepuscule, 2002)

Singles and EPs

* "Kid Stardust" (

, 1995) * "Wintercomesummer" (Too Pure, 1996) * "White Jazz" (Too Pure, 1996) * "Biography of a First Son" (Too Pure, 1996) * "Fall in Love with Me Again" (

Elefant The ''Elefant'' (German for "elephant") was a heavy tank destroyer used by German Wehrmacht Panzerjäger during World War II. Ninety-one units were built in 1943 under the name Ferdinand, after its designer Ferdinand Porsche, using VK 45.01 (P ...

, 1997) * ''Lolita'' EP (Too Pure, 1998) * "Steamin'" (Too Pure, 1998) * ''La Belle et la Discotheque'', (Acuarela, 2000) * "The Emperor of New London" (Crepuscule, 2002) * "Sleepin' Makes Me Thirsty" (Crepuscule, 2002)

References

External links

Jack Discography
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jack Britpop groups Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups disestablished in 2002 Musical groups from Cardiff Welsh rock music groups Welsh alternative rock groups