Louise Jane Wener (born 30 July 1966,

Gants Hill Gants Hill is an area of Ilford in East London, England, within the borough of Redbridge. It is a suburb east northeast of Charing Cross. It lends its name to a central roundabout where five roads meet. History The name likely originated ...

, London, England) is an English writer, singer, songwriter and guitarist of the band Sleeper. She is the younger daughter of Donald Wener, an

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation t ...

tax inspector from East Ham who had served in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, and Audrey ('' née'' Dixon), a bank clerk and former nurse. She attended

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

where she met Jon Stewart, eventually leading to the formation of Sleeper. Her elder sister was the writer Sue Margolis. Their brother, Geoff, managed Sleeper after attending

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

. Sleeper recorded three full-length albums prior to splitting: ''

Smart Smart or SMART may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014 * Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com * ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper * '' SMart'', a children's television se ...

'', '' The It Girl'', and '' Pleased to Meet You''. After the band split up in 1998, Wener began a writing career, and has written four novels: ''Goodnight Steve McQueen'', ''The Big Blind'' (also known as ''The Perfect Play''), ''The Half Life of Stars'', and ''Worldwide Adventures In Love''. Her autobiography, ''Different for Girls: My True-life Adventures in Pop'' (also known as ''Just For One Day: Adventures in Britpop''), was published in June 2010. Wener co-wrote a

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

drama series, ''Queens of Noise'', with

Roy Boulter Roy Boulter (born 2 July 1964, Liverpool) was the English drummer in the Liverpool-based pop group The Farm. He joined the band in 1987, enjoying success with the number one album, ''Spartacus'', and hits such as " Groovy Train" and " All Togeth ...

of The Farm. It ran for two five-programme series in the 10.45am ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by ...

'' drama slot, focusing on the rise of a fictional indie band, Velveteens. In addition to writing herself, Wener has taught novel-writing. With her partner, Sleeper drummer Andy Maclure, she formed another band, Huge Advance, although they only played in and around their residential suburb of

Crouch End Crouch End is an area of North London, approximately from the City of London in the western half of the borough of Haringey. It is within the Hornsey postal district (N8). It has been described by the BBC as one of "a new breed of urban villag ...

. By 2011, she and Maclure had married and moved to Brighton, where Maclure teaches at a music college. They have a son and a daughter. Wener has written an article about motherhood for ''

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''. Sleeper reformed in 2017 to play in four British cities in July and August as part of the Star Shaped Festival. They went on to headline an eleven-date tour in 2018. The band have since recorded two new albums, '' The Modern Age'', released in March 2019, and '' This Time Tomorrow'', released in December 2020. In 2021, Wener teamed up with the Greater Manchester indie band

The Lottery Winners The Lottery Winners are an indie pop band from Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. The band was put together for record label Modern Sky in 2008 by Thom Rylance (vocals/guitar), Robert Lally (guitar/vocals), Katie Lloyd (bass/vocals), and Joe Sin ...

to record "Bad Things", an R&B-laced indie-pop track from the

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

band's eight-track EP ''Start Again'' (with "Bad Things" being credited to The Lottery Winners feat. Sleeper, rather than featuring Louise Wener).

Bibliography

*''Goodnight Steve McQueen''. Flame. 1 August 2002. . *''The Big Blind''. Flame. 2003. . *''The Perfect Play: A Novel''. HarperCollins Publishers 05 October 2005/ . *''Different for Girls''. Ebury Press. 20 June 2010. . *''Just for One Day: Adventures in Britpop''. Random House. 31 July 2012. .

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wener, Louise 1966 births Living people Women rock singers English women guitarists English women novelists People from Gants Hill Britpop musicians Musicians from London Sleeper (band) Alumni of the University of Manchester 21st-century English women singers 21st-century English singers 20th-century English women singers 20th-century English singers English women singer-songwriters