Smaller 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 ...

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 ...

band from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, active during the 1990s. They had hits with "Wasted" and "Is" in 1996 and 1997.

History

The band was formed in the early 1990s by former

Cook da Books Cook da Books (also known as Cook the Books, Big in France and Da Books) were a British new wave band from Liverpool, England, formed in 1980. The band were signed to indie labels throughout their career, and much of their music was politicall ...

guitarist/singer Peter "Digsy" Deary, his brother Steven (drums), Jason Riley (guitar/vocals), and Paul Cavanagh (bass guitar).Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave'', Virgin Books, , p. 391 The band's debut release was the single "God I Hate This Town" in 1995.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, 1-84195-335-0, p. 978 They recorded a session 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 in November that year. A second single failed to chart, but they broke into the UK top 75 with "Wasted" in September 1996.Smaller
, Chart Stats, retrieved 2011-02-20 Their next single, "Is", which featured

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

on guitar, gave them their biggest hit, reaching number 55 in the UK in March 1997.Smaller Featuring Noel Gallagher
, Chart Stats, retrieved 2011-02-20 The band's debut album, ''Badly Badly'', was released in April 1997, featuring further contributions from Gallagher. A second album was recorded, featuring a guest appearance from

Richard Hawley Richard Willis Hawley (born 17 January 1967) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. After his first band Treebound Story (formed while he was still at school) broke up, Hawley found success as a member of Britpop band Longp ...

, but it remained unreleased, various members of the band left and were replaced by friends of the Smallers - Lee Watson on guitar and Chris Mullin on bass joined 1999, drummers Bren Moore & Chris Campbell came along later and the transition from Smaller to The Sums happened in 2005. The band's lyrical themes included relationships, financial problems, and Digsy's experiences with drugs. Digsy went on to front The Sums.Northern Empire, Carling Academy, tonight
, ''

Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liver ...

'', 4 October 2008, retrieved 2011-02-20

Discography

Albums

*''Badly Badly'' (1997) No. 86

Singles

*"God I Hate This Town" (1995) No. 141 *"Stray Dogs and Bin Bags" (1996) No. 160 *"Wasted" (1996) No. 72 *"Is" (1997) No. 55

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smaller Musical groups from Liverpool English alternative rock groups Britpop groups