My Life Story are an English

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

group formed in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England, in 1993. The group's success peaked in the mid to late 1990s as part of the

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 ...

era. Fronted by

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

Jake Shillingford, the group inherited their name from an earlier group in which Shillingford had appeared. A cross between a

group and a

chamber orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

, the band's sound was heavily oriented toward orchestral instruments. My Life Story's fourth studio album ''World Citizen'' was released in September 2019. In 2020 Shillingford and co-writer Nick Evans were signed t
Mute Song
in a worldwide publishing deal which included rights to World Citizen as well as much of the band’s back catalogue from the Britpop era, formerly held by

Universal Music Publishing Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a North American music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. It was formerly known as MCA Music Publishing until it merged with PolyGram. Universal Music Publishing is the worl ...

History

At the time of their debut single, "Girl A, Girl B, Boy C" (1993) produced by Giles Martin, son of George, the group had a regular line-up of twelve members. Though the membership fluctuated continually, it rarely dipped into single figures until 1999, when their third

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

credited just four regular members, though most of the former line-up were still used as

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s. Their orchestral sound led them to be compared to groups such as

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 ...

and especially

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 ...

. Their debut album, ''Mornington Crescent'' was released on 10 January 1995. My Life Story enjoyed the most success at the time of their second

''The Golden Mile'', which was released on 10 March 1997. It spawned five singles that entered the lower half of the UK Top 40, but the group finally disbanded after a series of farewell

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide var ...

s in December 2000. On 26 May 2006 the band reformed with the full line-up of thirteen members, to play at the Mean Fiddler (LA2) on Charing Cross Road in London, in support of their forthcoming

Best Of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

album. The gig got a review rating of 10/10 from

Planet Sound Planet Sound was a Teletext music page on ITV and Channel 4 in the UK, active from 1997 until 2009. It was broadcast on analogue Teletext from page 340, and on digital Teletext from page 820. From 24 May 2007, Planet Sound was also available t ...

. A second reunion show took place at the Astoria in London on 8 December 2006. Further reunions have taken place every two years on 13 December 2007 at the

O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally ...

, and Koko on 26 November 2009, where the band performed their debut album, ''Mornington Crescent'', for the first time in its entirety. In 2009, it was announced that, to mark 15 years since their debut album, the group would reform and perform the album in full, together with later songs. This concert took place at KOKO which is next door to

Mornington Crescent tube station Mornington Crescent is a London Underground station in Somers Town in north west London, named after the nearby street. The station is on the Charing Cross branch of the Northern line, between and stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 2. The ...

. My Life Story announced that they were to reunite again to perform ''The Golden Mile'' at the Shepherd's Bush Empire on 3 March 2012 to celebrate fifteen years since the album's release. In mid-2013 the group announced their first UK tour in 14 years. Singer Jake Shillingford is reported to have said: "For many years we have only been able to play a big London show due to the sheer size and scale of the band. Now I am able to take my songs out on the road with a stripped down tight rocking outfit. "I will be joined by various members of My Life Story along my journey around the UK, culminating in our traditional annual London concert with the original bunch, I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone again, expect a big, bold and brash performance, all foxy horns and horny foxes." In September 2016 My Life Story released their first single in 16 years, "24 Hour Deflowerer". The launch was marked with a two-night residency at The Borderline in London on 14–15 October, with all audience members receiving a numbered limited edition 7" vinyl of the single. My Life Story performed in the Star Shaped Festival, a Britpop revival tour, alongside

The Bluetones The Bluetones are an English indie rock band, formed in Hounslow, Greater London, in 1993. The band's members are Mark Morriss on vocals, Adam Devlin on guitar, Mark's brother Scott Morriss on bass guitar, and Eds Chesters on drums. A fifth m ...

Space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consi ...

, Dodgy and

Salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

, in July/August 2017 and again in August/September 2018 together with

Echobelly Echobelly are a British rock band, debuting in 1994 with their album '' Everyone's Got One''. They were often compared to Blondie and The Smiths; Morrissey becoming a fan of the group. The most prominent part of Echobelly's success formula wa ...

Black Grape Black Grape are an English rock band, featuring former members of Happy Mondays and Ruthless Rap Assassins. Their musical style fuses funk and electronic rock with electronic programming and samples. History Formation, first two albums and ...

and

The Supernaturals The Supernaturals are a five piece guitar-based indie rock band from Glasgow, Scotland. Fronted by singer-songwriter James McColl, they signed to Parlophone in 1996, and had a string of singles which were taken from their three albums and ...

. The band's current five-piece line-up features Jake Shillingford (vocals), Nick Evans (guitar), Chris Hardwick (drums), Jack Hosgood (bass) and Aimee Smith (keys). The fourth My Life Story studio album, ''World Citizen,'' was crowd-funded with pre-orders from fans and was released on 6 September 2019. Described as "the best My Life Story album ever", ''World Citizen'' received review scores of 4/5 in The Express, 85% in Hi Fi News and 7/10 in Uncut.

Other projects

The spirit of the band lived on in Shillingford's next project, ExileInside, which drew its influences from 1980s electronica, replacing the lush orchestral sounds of My Life Story with a quirky retro synth based sound. Former band members Aaron Cahill and Mal Campbell appear in the line-up, and the material is engineered by George Shilling. Shilling also produced many My Life Story tracks, including most of the ''Golden Mile'' album. ExileInside was created in 2002 thanks to a fan-funded investor model. Shillingford released an acoustic solo album in 2009 called ''Written Large'', which featured two new tracks, plus acoustic versions of My Life Story and ExileInside songs. In 2014 Shillingford formed the production music company Choppersaurus along with writing partner and multi-instrumentalist Nick Evans. Debut single "Motel 66" was released on 27 January 2017, from the album ''Herx''. Tracks "Motel 66" and "Did You Come Alone?" from the album appear in the first series of ''

The Grand Tour ''The Grand Tour'' is a British motoring television series, created by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and Andy Wilman, made for Amazon exclusively for its online streaming service Amazon Prime Video, and premiered on 18 November ...

''. The duo has also composed a trailer for ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...

'' Series 5 ("Dystopia") and has written toplines for "You Are Not Alone" and "Live on Dreams" by house DJ Mason. Two Choppersaurus tracks were nominated in the UK Music Production Awards 2016 – "Trouble in the Delta" for Best Rock Production Music Track and "In Limbo" for Best Trailer Production Music Track. Choppersaurus won Best Electronic Production Music Track in the 2018 UK Production Music Awards for "Blast Radius" and in the same year composed the score for US comedy horror movie '' Blood Fest.'' In 2019 Choppersaurus track "Treasure", used in a Ponds For Men TV advertisement, won Best Use of Production Music in Online, Viral & Ambient Advertising (Ponds For Men advert) in the ''Music & Sound Awards 2019''. In 2020 "Get On Your Feet" featured in the end credits of hit

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

original movie '' Dangerous Lies''. Shillingford has also presented an

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...

music show on the

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

based community radio station

Phoenix FM Phoenix FM is a community radio station serving the areas of Brentwood and Billericay, England on 98.0FM and online, covering an area of over 140,000 people. History The station was formed in 1996 and has been broadcasting full-time on FM since ...

. Dan Turner the band's

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mu ...

player went on to form the band MacArthur with singer Dom Chapman after the group split in 2000. He landed a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with Artist Network and recorded the Northern Soul influenced album ''MacArthur'' working with musicians such as Gary "Mudbone" Cooper (

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkade ...

) and Chris Sharrock (

The La's The La's were an English rock band from Liverpool, originally active from 1983 until 1992. Fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Lee Mavers, the group are best known for their hit single " There She Goes". The band was formed by Mike Bad ...

, World Party,

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

). As the band were about to release their first single the record company went bankrupt. The music has now been taken on by Fairwood Music. Original drummer

Jason Cooper Jason Toop Cooper (born 31 January 1967) is an English drummer best known for his work with The Cure. Life and work Born in London, England, Jason studied drums at London's Drumtech (where he is now a patron and visiting artist). He first ca ...

went on to greater notice as a member of

The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

. He has also collaborated on film and television soundtracks with another former MLS member, cellist

Oliver Kraus Oliver Kraus (born 1970 in Shepherd's Bush, London) is an English musician best known for his work as a cellist and string arranger/ producer and composer for film and television. String Arrangements and Performance Kraus has performed with nume ...

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Mornington Crescent'' (Mother Tongue Records - 1995) UK No. 115 * ''The Golden Mile'' (

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

- 1997) UK No. 36 * ''Joined Up Talking'' (it Records - 2000) UK No. 126 *''World Citizen'' (Exilophone - 2019)

Compilation albums

* ''Sex & Violins (The Best of My Life Story)'' (Exilophone Records 2006) * ''Megaphone Theology (B-Sides and Rarities)'' (Exilophone Records 2006) * ''Singles (A-Sides in reverse chronological order)'' (Exilophone Records 2020)

Singles

*"Home Sweet Zoo" (1986) *"Girl A, Girl B, Boy C" (1993) *"Funny Ha Ha" (1994) *"You Don't Sparkle (In My Eyes)" (1995) UK No. 155 *''The Mornington Crescent Companion EP'' (1995) *"12 Reasons Why I Love Her" (1996) UK No. 32 *"Sparkle" (1996) UK No. 34 *"The King of Kissingdom" (1997) UK No. 35 *"Strumpet" (1997) UK No. 27 *"

Duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

" (1997) UK No. 39 *"If You Can't Live Without Me Then Why Aren't You Dead Yet?" (1998) – Download-only single in

Windows Media Windows Media is a discontinued multimedia framework for media creation and distribution for Microsoft Windows. It consists of a software development kit (SDK) with several application programming interfaces (API) and a number of prebuilt techn ...

format (later available as an

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

) *"It's a Girl Thing" (1999) UK No. 37 *"Empire Line" (1999) UK No. 58 *"Walk/Don't Walk" (2000) UK No. 48 *"24 Hour Deflowerer" (2016) *"Taking on the World" (2019) *"#NoFilter" (2019) *"Versions" - (2020) – Double A-Side for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

featuring remixes of "The Rose The Sun" and "Overwinter" by Choppersaurus Extended Plays * World Citizen Live (2020) ;Notes *"Sparkle" was a re-arranged and re-recorded version of "You Don't Sparkle (In My Eyes)". *My Life Story produced promotional CDs for a planned single of "You Can't Uneat the Apple" but "Duchess" was released in its place. ;Collaborations * ''Yesterday Has Gone'' with P.J. Proby and

Marc Almond Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. ...

(as the My Life Story Orchestra)

References

External links

Official My Life Story site Chøppersaurus site
{{Authority control English pop music groups Britpop groups Musical groups from London