Chimera were a Northern Irish

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band that saw brief, but notable fame in the mid-1990s. They have been frequently compared to the

Sundays The Sundays were an English alternative rock band, formed in Bristol. The band's lineup consisted of lead vocalist Harriet Wheeler, guitarist David Gavurin, bassist Paul Brindley, and drummer Patrick Hannan. Percussionist Lindsay Jamieson was ...

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock music, rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981. In 19 ...

and

the Cranberries The Cranberries were an Irish rock music, rock band formed in Limerick in 1989. The band was composed of lead singer and guitarist Dolores O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan (Noel's brother), and drummer Fergal Lawler. O'Riord ...

History

Chimera was formed in 1990 and included members Eileen Henry (vocals), Steven T. Emerson (bass), Ted Laverty (guitars), and William Vincent (drums). In 1993, Chimera released their first

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

album, ''Lughnasa'', but later had to buy back all of the copies due to contractual problems. That album contained two singles, "Ellis Bleeds" and "Cyan Daze". They were highly praised in their early years by the UK press, earning UK's ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' "Single of the Week" award. Because of that award,

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

Chris Nagle began working with the band. Nagle had previously worked with bands such as

Echo & the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch (singer), Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freita ...

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, New Order, and

the Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

. Chimera's U.S. debut was 1995's ''Day Star EP'', released on

Grass Records Wind-up Records, LLC (legally known as Wind-up Entertainment Inc. until 2004) was an American record label founded by Alan Meltzer, Alan and Diana Meltzer in 1997. It was based in New York City and was distributed by Bertelsmann Music Group, BMG ...

(now Wind-up). The release contained four songs, and some would later be rerecorded for 1996's ''Earth Loop'', their only full-length album released in the United States. Following the release of ''Earth Loop'', Chimera spent most of 1996 in the U.S. touring. They performed with many popular alternative bands, including the

Sneaker Pimps Sneaker Pimps are an English electronic music band, formed in Hartlepool in 1994. They are best known for their debut album, '' Becoming X'' (1996), and its singles " 6 Underground" and " Spin Spin Sugar". The band takes its name from an articl ...

, Blur, the

Pixies Pixies may refer to: * Plural of Pixie * Pixies (band) The Pixies are an American alternative rock band from Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1986 by Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim ...

, and

Throwing Muses Throwing Muses are an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was original ...

. That year the single, "Catch Me," garnered modest airplay on some U.S. alternative radio stations.

Members

*Eileen Henry (vocals) *Steven T. Emerson (bass) *Ted Laverty (guitars) *William Vincent (drums and percussion) *Anthony Monaghan (live guitar)

Albums/EPs

*''Lughnasa'' (1993 - UK only) *''Day Star EP'' (1995) *''Earth Loop'' (1996)

References

External links

Allmusic Bio AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the datab ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chimera Alternative rock groups from Northern Ireland Indie rock groups from Northern Ireland Musical groups from Belfast Musical groups established in 1990