Corduroy are an English four-piece

acid jazz Acid jazz (also known as club jazz, psychedelic jazz, or groove jazz) is a music genre that combines elements of funk, soul music, soul, and hip hop music, hip hop, as well as jazz and disco. Acid jazz originated in clubs in London during the 1 ...

outfit Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of ma ...

based in London, formed around twins Ben Addison (drums/vocals) and Scott Addison (keyboards/vocals), who were previously in

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

act Boys Wonder (Scott had been guitarist with Boys Wonder, while Ben had been the lead vocalist). Joining the twins in the band are Richard Searle and guitarist Simon Nelson-Smith. Searle had been bass player with

Doctor and the Medics Doctor and the Medics is a British glam rock band formed in London in 1981. The group was most successful during the 1980s and is best known for their cover of Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky," which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. Th ...

, who topped the UK Singles Chart in 1986 with a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "

Spirit in the Sky "Spirit in the Sky" is a song by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum, originally written and recorded by Greenbaum and released in December 1969 from his album '' Spirit in the Sky''. The single became a gold record in the United S ...

". Searle had joined the Addison twins in the final incarnation of Boys Wonder, before the band gradually evolved into Corduroy in 1991, initially forming for a one-off New Year's Eve party. The self-dubbed "fabric four" primarily recorded in a film soundtrack style, and many of their tracks were

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

s. On the release of their first album ''

Dad Man Cat ''Dad Man Cat'' was the first LP by Corduroy to be released by Acid Jazz Records, in 1992. It is primarily an instrumental album, with what became the classic Corduroy sound. The album was reissued on vinyl by Acid Jazz Records in 2018. Receptio ...

'', Paul Moody wrote in the ''

New Musical Express ''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 inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'': "Whereas the rest of the Acid Jazz roster fidget around in a world of skinny ribbed roll-necks comparing sideburn growth, Corduroy manage to swagger through the same po-faced domain with a couldn't-care-less braggadocio... Corduroy have got their collective tongue stuck firmly in someone else's cheek here and it feels staggeringly good." Hunt, Chris: sleeve note to CD ''Something in My Eye – The Best of Corduroy'', 2004. Releasing three albums on

Eddie Piller Eddie Piller is a British DJ, radio show host, and founder/managing director of Acid Jazz Records. Early life and career Piller was born in 1963 and grew up in Essex. His father ran a firm of bookmakers and his mother ran the Small Faces' fa ...

Acid Jazz Records Acid Jazz Records is a record label based in East London formed by Gilles Peterson and Eddie Piller in 1987. The label is the namesake of the acid-jazz subgenre of jazz music for which it is most famously known for producing. Background The l ...

, they received

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

for their single "Something in My Eye" in 1993, but national chart success evaded them, although several singles from their 1993 album '' High Havoc'' charted in the UK Independent Chart. Their 1994 album, '' Out of Here'', reached number 73 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. They remained a popular live attraction, particularly on the college circuit. They also gained a healthy following in Japan, making the first of several trips to the country in 1993, and the following year they recorded a live album, ''

Quattro - Live in Japan Quattro is Italian for the number four. Quattro may also refer to: People * "Quattro", a nickname of A. J. Foyt IV * Jacqueline de Quattro (born 1960), Swiss politician Fictional characters * Quattro Vageena or Quattro Bageena, an alias of Cha ...

''. After leaving Acid Jazz Records they signed to

Big Cat Records Big Cat Records is a British independent record label. It launched around 1990 and originally specialized in industrial and noise-rock releases. Big Cat operated a US office in New York City for a few years. Integrated with V2 Records in 1996 ...

, releasing two further albums: '' The New You!'' (April 1997) and the

Rob Playford Moving Shadow is an English breakbeat hardcore, jungle and drum and bass record label which was founded in 1990 by Rob Playford. History The label began in 1990, operating from Playford's Stevenage home. Playford had become a focal point for ...

produced '' Clik!'' (August 1999). But when they discovered that their record label, Big Cat, had been dropped by their owner V2, Corduroy decided to split up. Corduroy reformed and played two sell-out nights at the Jazz Cafe in Camden, London, on 16 and 17 June 2007. Searle was not involved with this incarnation of the band, working under the name of Corduroy Industries. News on their Myspace site also stated that they had completed an album of Motown covers. Ben has also released an album of Beatles covers under the name of 'Ben from Corduroy'. Corduroy performed a show on 17 April 2017 as the last night headliners of Le Beat Bespoké 2017 weekender at 229 The Venue in London, where they premiered 4 new songs from an upcoming album. In 2018 Corduroy announced their first album in 18 years entitled '' Return of the Fabric Four'' which was praised by '' Record Collector's'' Lois Wilson as being "groovy" and "thrilling".

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (1992)

Acid Jazz Acid jazz (also known as club jazz, psychedelic jazz, or groove jazz) is a music genre that combines elements of funk, soul music, soul, and hip hop music, hip hop, as well as jazz and disco. Acid jazz originated in clubs in London during the 1 ...

JAZID 60 *'' High Havoc'' (1993) Acid Jazz JAZID 85 *'' Out of Here'' (1994) Acid Jazz JAZID 107 *'' The New You!'' (April 1997)

Big Cat The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus ''Panthera'', namely the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. All cats descend from the ''Felidae'' family, sharing similar musculature, c ...

ABB 139 *'' Clik!'' (July 1999) Big Cat ABB 1008391 *'' Quattro - Live in Japan 1994'' (2001)

Castle Music Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's producti ...

*'' Return of the Fabric Four'' (2018) Acid Jazz AJXLP439

Compilations

*'' Mini!: The Best of Corduroy'' (1998) Music Club *''London, England'' (2001) Castle Music *'' The Fabric Four: The Best of Corduroy'' (2002) Felicity *'' Something in My Eye: The Best of Corduroy'' (2004) Castle Music *''Very Yeah - The Director's Cut: Complete Compositions 1992-1996'' (2013) Cherry Red *''Rare Stock : Rarities From The Corduroy Vaults'' (2019) Acid Jazz *''Winky Wagon: Best of the Psy-Fi Years'' (2019) Well Suspect Records *''Winky Wagon 2'' (2021) Well Suspect Records

Singles

*'' Something in My Eye'' (1993) Acid Jazz JAZID 68 *''

The Frighteners ''The Frighteners'' is a 1996 supernatural comedy horror film directed by Peter Jackson and co-written with Fran Walsh. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin, Dee Wallace Stone, Jeffrey Combs, R. Lee Ermey an ...

'' (1993) Acid Jazz JAZID 80 *'' Motorhead'' (1993) Acid Jazz JAZID 95 *''

Mini The Mini is a very small two-door, four-seat car, produced for four decades over a single generation, with many names and variants, by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors British Leyland and the Rover Group, and finally ...

'' (1994) Acid Jazz JAZID 105 *''

The Joker is Wild ''The Joker Is Wild'' is a 1957 American musical drama film directed by Charles Vidor, starring Frank Sinatra, Mitzi Gaynor, Jeanne Crain and Eddie Albert, and released by Paramount Pictures. The VistaVision film is about Joe E. Lewis, the p ...

'' (1997) Big Cat ABB 129 *'' Moshi Moshi'' (1999) Big Cat ABB 5007353 *'' Thing For Love'' (1999) Big Cat ABB 5008836

References

External links

Official Corduroy Website

Listen To Now What Earthman by Boys Wonder

Corduroy @ Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corduroy Acid jazz ensembles Musical groups from London English dance music groups Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups disestablished in 1999 1991 establishments in England 1999 disestablishments in England Acid Jazz Records artists