Eat are a British

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. They were active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and then reformed in 2014. They have released two albums on

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

's label

Fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

. The band achieved reasonable success in the UK but did not attract much attention abroad.

Career

The band started out playing a distinctive mixture of swamp blues,

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

, showcased on their 1989 album ''

Sell Me a God ''Sell Me a God'' is the 1989 debut album by the British alternative rock band Eat. Prior to the album's release, the band members had all been homeless, with a few of them squatting at London King's Cross railway station. Production The music o ...

''. At this time they undertook tours of Europe with

The Jesus and Mary Chain The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid, who are the two founders and only consistent members of the ...

and

Phillip Boa Phillip Boa (born Ernst Ulrich Figgen; 18 January 1963) is a German independent musician, songwriter, singer, guitarist and composer. The musical style followed by Boa and his band Phillip Boa & The Voodooclub was described in a review by ''NME ...

. Band tensions led to the abandonment of a second album in 1990, although they toured in October on the back of an ''

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, "Psycho Couch". However, a combination of internal feuds ("It got to the point where we just couldn't bear to be in the same room as each other")The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, ed.Colin Larkin. Muze led to a complete split and meant that the band was effectively on hiatus from 1990 to 1992. The band returned with a different line up, a completely different sound – of

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

and

psychedelia Psychedelia usually refers to a Aesthetics, style or aesthetic that is resembled in the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience produced by certain psychoactive substances. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic ...

– and the album ''Epicure'' in 1993. Despite positive reviews, a tour in the United States with

Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

, and extensive airplay, Eat had evidently run its course, and in 1995 Dolittle left to join members of

The Wonder Stuff The Wonder Stuff are a British alternative rock musical ensemble, band. Originally based in Stourbridge in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England, the band's first lineup released four albums and nearly 20 singles and EPs, enjoying ...

in Weknowwhereyoulive, whilst Howard joined The Wonder Stuff's singer

Miles Hunt Miles Stephen Hunt (born 29 July 1966) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He fronts the alternative rock band The Wonder Stuff. Early life His father was a union official for the TGWU. In the 1970s, his father was based at Derby, an ...

in his new project

Vent 414 __NOTOC__ Vent 414 were a short-lived British independent rock band active for a few years in the 1990s. Their line-up featured artists who played in numerous prominent bands: Miles Hunt in The Wonder Stuff, Billy Duffy in The Cult, and Mor ...

. Paul and Max Noble formed U.V. Ray who released ''The Suitcase EP'' in 1991 and subsequently T.V. Eye in 1992, who featured a pre-'Dennis Pennis'

Paul Kaye Paul Kaye (born 15 December 1964) is an English comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Thoros of Myr in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' (2013–17). He started as shock interviewer Dennis Pennis on ''The Sunday ...

on lead vocals and recorded ''Killer Fly'' (1993), featuring new recordings of two previously unreleased EAT tracks as b-sides, for Go Discs. Paul Noble and Louis Jones from T.V. Eye went on to form Warm Jets, while Max Noble emerges from time to time with

The Blue Aeroplanes The Blue Aeroplanes are an English rock band from Bristol, the mainstays of which have been Gerard Langley, brother John Langley, and dancer Wojtek Dmochowski. All three had previously been members of the New wave music, new wave "art band" A ...

. Eat reformed to play two back to back sell out gigs at The Half Moon, Putney, in October 2014, with Malcolm Treece, formerly of

, replacing Max Lavilla on guitar. In December 2016, Eat released "She Cries Flowers" EP, their first new material for over 20 years.

Discography

Album chart placing shown is from the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...

Albums

*''

'' (1989) (#10) *'' Epicure'' (1993)

Singles and EPs

*"Skin" (Autogift EP) (1989) *"Mr And Mrs Smack" (Plastic Bag EP) (1989) *"Tombstone" (1989) *" Summer in the City" (1989) *"Psycho Couch / Alien Detector" (1990) UK #124 *"Golden Egg" (1992) *"Shame" (1992) *"Bleed Me White" (1993) UK #73 *"She Cries Flowers" (2016)

Official bootlegs

*'' Trabant Tape'' (1990)

References

External links

Eat biography at TrouserPress.comDolittle - another of Ange Dolittle's bands
{{Authority control English alternative rock groups English pop music groups Fiction Records artists