Gene (band)
From Freepedia
Gene (formed 1993, disbanded 2004) were a British indie/rock quartet who rose to prominence in the mid-90s. They were popularly labelled as a Britpop band and often drew somewhat superficial comparisons to The Smiths, if only because of their slightly Morrissey-esque lead singer, Martin Rossiter. In truth, Gene's music owes more to acts as diverse as The Jam, The Small Faces, The Style Council, and The Clash, to name a few. Gene comprised Matt James (drummer), Kevin Miles (bassist), Steve Mason (guitarist) and Martin Rossiter (singer, keyboards).
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History
Spin
The origin of Gene lies in the existence of a previous band called Spin, of whom guitarist Steve Mason and drummer Matt James were original members. Spin were a promising Stone Roses-like band who were sadly the subject of a serious road accident, the result of which forced their bassist, John Mason (brother of Steve), to retire. In wanting to continue together in a band, Steve Mason and Matt James recruited bass player Kevin Miles through a mutual friend. All that was left to find was an able singer, a task accomplished with some serendipity in a London nightclub. The story goes that after seeing Watford-based Welshman Martin Rossiter cross the floor of the club, Mason approached him and they began to talk (a process Mason once described as 'like trying to pull a lady'). Their meeting ended with Rossiter handing out his business card ('Martin Rossiter: Soothsayer to the Stars') and Mason giving Rossiter a chance to sing with the band. Rossiter appeared on Spin's last demos as 'Martin T. Falls' (a nod to the Mancunian band The Fall) shortly before the decision was made to adopt the name 'Gene'. Rossiter's eloquence and warm, emotive voice proved an effective pairing with Steve Mason's intricate pentatonic guitar riffs, whilst Kevin Miles's melodic basslines and Matt James's expertise in various rock drumming styles ensured a solid musical base for the group's successes.
Gene's Breakthrough
By the time NME journalists Keith Cameron and Roy Wilkinson encountered Gene, the band had already gained some live experience and had written several songs. Cameron and Wilkinson were impressed enough to form independent record label Costermonger, created with the sole purpose of promoting Gene to a wider audience. Their debut release, the double A-sided single 'For The Dead' / 'Childs Body', was released on the fledgling Costermonger label in May 1994. The landmark single received a great deal of attention from the music press: Select made it 'Single Of The Month' claiming that it "swaggered with self confidence; everything a pop single should have", whilst the NME acclaimed it was a "remarkably lovely record that manages to transcend its influences just by being so damned good", promptly making it their 'Single of the Week'. Not to be outdone by the written word, BBC Radio 1 included it on their playlist, with the result being over 100 plays and a wealth of happy ears. Unsurprisingly, the limited edition of 1,994 copies sold out in two days. Live show followed live show, but it was Gene's performance in support of Pulp at The Forum in London that revealed the band to be a real force to be reckoned with: "Gene have just played third on the bill and willed the crowd into treating them like headliners who are very, very big indeed" gushed the NME, just before adding "He [Martin] has made people love him, and now he's loving every minute of it." With Gene already developing a devotional fan-base, a new single was planned to consolidate their popularity. The second single, a triple A-side consisting of 'Be My Light Be My Guide', 'This Is Not My Crime' and 'I Cant Help Myself' was released on August 1st via Costermonger. Melody Maker immediately awarded 'Be My Light...' its 'Single Of The Week', scribbling that "this record delights in its own sophistication". Select singled out 'This Is Not My Crime', calling it "strong on grand gestures and subtle instrumentation", whilst the NME claimed that 'I Can't Help Myself' was "a joyous country strum which wouldn't be out of place on Sticky Fingers."
Popular Success
After achieving the top spot in the UK indie chart and number 54 in the UK national chart, the band played their first UK headlining tour that included a show at London's Paradise Club which sold out immediately, cramming 800 people into the venue. The plaudits hadn't gone unnoticed by the big record companies, and Gene eventually inked a deal with Polydor Records. For many observers, this was to prove a turning point for the band. After a successful appearance at the Reading Festival, the band released their third single 'Sleep Well Tonight', just prior to embarking on a large National tour, preceded by several sold-out French dates. Through 1995, Gene were still going from strength to strength. Featuring strongly in both critics and readers end of year polls ("they [continue to] outshine every other band around with heady, faultless grace" - Melody Maker), Gene were the proud recipients of the inaugural NME Brat Award for 'Best New Act', and as such played at the sold out Brat Award ceremony at the London Astoria. They adorned the covers of both the NME and Melody Maker, who voted them their 'Brightest Hope' for 1995. Their fourth single, 'Haunted By You', became the bands second Top 40 hit (reaching number 32), whilst their debut LP Olympian reached number 8 in the album chart following glowing a plethora of excellent reviews. The album also gained Gene their first silver disc, recording sales of over 70,000 in the UK alone, and when the final single from the album was released (the epic 'Olympian'), it was catapulted straight into the national Top Twenty.
The summer and autumn of 1995 was spent touring the world, including a well-received performance at the Glastonbury Festival, headlining of the Reading Festival, a tour of Japan and Europe and then a foray into the USA. With Christmas looming, the band entered the studio again for pre-production on their new album, scheduled for release the following year. 1996 began with a remixed 'For the Dead', which subsequently became Gene's biggest hit (peaking at number 14 in the Top 40), leading to their debut appearance on Top Of The Pops. To See The Lights, an LP of rarities, live tracks, radio sessions and acoustic versions of singles, was released in January and reached the number 11 spot in the album charts. A national tour was undertaken during most of the same month, culminating in two sell-out London shows at Shepherds Bush Empire and The Astoria.
In anticipation of their second studio LP, October 1996 saw the release of 'Fighting Fit', an up-tempo rock song very much of its time, which reached number 22. The start of 1997 heralded the release of 'We Could Be Kings', another epic rock song which again proved to be very popular, reaching number 18. The LP Drawn to The Deep End takes its name from a 'Fighting Fit' B-side, and it revealed a lavish production replete with strings, far more prominent guitar solos from Mason, and a rather warbling vocal affectation from Rossiter. The album showed some measure of musical development from the band, which was reflected by the inclusion of a keyboardist in their live shows (Grand Drive's Julian Wilson [1996-98, 2004], former Style Council keyboardist Mick Talbot [1999-2001], Marcus Brown [2001], and Angie Pollack [2003-2004]), and also the fact that Rossiter was starting to master the art of singing live whilst playing the keyboard for some songs. Lyrically speaking, the dominating themes of the album were lonliness and deep yearning. Indeed, Rossiter was in the depths of depression during the making of the album and the songs resulting from this period remain some of the band's most powerful work. The album's first five songs in particular are as diverse and strong as the best of any of their contemporaries. Drawn to the Deep End was another critical success, with Q magazine awarding it four stars. Like its predecessor, the album fired into the top 10 of the album charts, and subsequent singles, 'Where Are They Now?' and 'Speak to me Someone' both made the top 40, at 22 and 37 respectively.
Arguably the defining moment of the band's career came in March 1997 when they played with a full orchestra to a sell-out audience at the Royal Albert Hall. Transmitted on Radio 1, the event was commemorated by the release of two live EPs in tandem with the last two singles from Drawn to the Deep End. They also played in Hong Kong that year as part of the festivities of the UK ceding the island back into Chinese hands.
By late 1997, Rossiter in particular had gained some press attention in his newly found status as a minor celebrity. He had already appeared as a guest on Never Mind the Buzzcocks and various articles speculated on his sexuality (indeed, much to Rossiter's bemusement. As he told Sorted magazine: "I've never hidden the fact that I've slept on both sides of the bed and people find that very odd that I was quite happy to say 'yeah, I'm bisexual and it doesn't really matter.") He even hit the headlines in after a war of words between Rossiter and comedian Paul Kaye (of 'Dennis Pennis' fame) culminated in a fracas in a nightclub, ending with Rossiter headbutting Kaye.
Revelations and Leaving Polydor
1998 served as a fallow year for the band, used for writing new material as well as a few low-key shows and events such as Radio 1's Sound City. In fact, the most newsworthy article about Gene during this year was of Martin Rossiter's 'drastic' change in image. Gone were the suit jackets with white shirts and the floppy side-parted hair, in favour of the mod-like Fred Perry polo shirts, jeans and a very short haircut. The new look was to be reflective of the band's rockier forthcoming studio LP, Revelations. On their return from relative wilderness, it appeared that Gene had lost a lot of their prestige during their year out of the limelight, and were no longer the golden boys of the indie scene. First off the LP, released in February 1999, was a Jam-like political single called 'As Good As it Gets', which entered the charts at number 23 to lukewarm reviews. Revelations was released that March to very mixed reviews; the NME awarded it 5/10, concluding that the album was "pretty thin on the ground."
Revelations carries some very political songs, such as the aforementioned 'As Good As it Gets', 'The British Disease' and 'Mayday'. Rossiter, who had an occasional politcal spot on BBC Radio Five Live, launched a vitriolic critique on New Labour's first term in office. It might be said that the band somewhat misjudged the public's attitude towards the government as one of anger, rather than disenchantment. Naturally, any artist would contend that their songs are not written with the intention of reflecting public opinion, but nonetheless, some of the more political lyrics smacked of clumsiness and were even cringeworthy at times. That said, the album contains some of Gene's finest songs, including the wistful 'Something in the Water' as well as one of their most acclaimed tracks (and rightly so), the touching 'You'll Never Walk Again'. The album charted disappointingly at number 23, and the second single from the album, 'Fill Her Up', charted at number 37 that April. Despite a successful and comprehensive tour around the country, again selling out many venues, as well as making successful appearance at the Reading festival of that year, Gene and Polydor parted ways. It must be said that the band felt somewhat undermined by their label's lack of support and failure to market the album adequately. As Rossiter explained: "Only when we got to Gretna Green did we realise that Polydor had disembarked at Crewe." Whilst the band made the best of Revelations' raw, live sound during the album's promotion, as well as the fact that the recording of the album took less than a month to complete (the marketing literature said it was in order to best convey the energy apparent from their live shows), after the split they claimed that they could have made it a better album had they been given more time by their label. Certainly, Revelations was by no means a failure, and it probably would have been a greater popular success given the right backing. Although Gene lost a lot of the benefits of being on a major label, they did at least gain artistic independence again without being subject to the whims of business executives.
Artistic Freedom and Libertine
Despite the lack of the support of a major record label, Gene spent a good portion of 2000 touring the world, which climaxed in a sell-out tour of the USA. One of their shows, at the world-famous Los Angeles Troubadour, was broadcast over the internet in what was then a record-breaking webcast, screened to at least 60,000 people worldwide. Only two months after the recording of that show, Gene released Rising for Sunset, a live album recorded from that Troubadour show. As well as rehearsing the band's hits, they released two new tracks, 'Rising For Sunset' and 'Somewhere in the World'; promising songs that bade well for their next studio LP and marking a return to the romance of their more popular tracks.
That album, entitled Libertine, was released in 2001 on Gene's own label, Sub Rosa Records. It conveyed the next stage in the evolution of Gene's characteristic sound. Some critics described it as a more sleazy rock-style record, but overall, it was a strong album with glimmers that harked back to the raw emotion and beauty of Gene's earlier material.
The End of the Road
Despite further successful live shows in subsequent years, Gene opted for an amicable split in 2004. It is said that the band felt they were somewhat stuck in a rut, and had achieved as much as they felt they could. They realised that, though they had a loyal fan base and plenty of critical acclaim, they were never going to become of the world-conquering greats.
Gene's last live performance was played on 16 December 2004 at the London Astoria, and there are not expected to be any further recordings or appearances.
Roy Wilkinson went on to mange British Sea Power.
