Kinky Machine were a 1990s

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band with members including

Louis Eliot Louis Robert Eliot (born 11 April 1968) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist, formerly of Kinky Machine and Rialto. Biography Eliot formed Rialto in 1995 with former Kinky Machine bandmate Johnny Bull. The band achieved UK char ...

and Johnny Bull who went on to form

Rialto The Rialto is a central area of Venice, Italy, in the '' sestiere'' of San Polo. It is, and has been for many centuries, the financial and commercial heart of the city. Rialto is known for its prominent markets as well as for the monumental Rial ...

, and

Julian Fenton Julian Fenton (born Julian John Bramley 21 May 1964 in Marylebone, London) is an English rock drummer, composer and teacher, formerly of 1990s rock bands Kinky Machine and Mansun. Following the split of Kinky Machine in 1995, Fenton briefly ...

who later joined

The Lightning Seeds The Lightning Seeds (also known as Lightning Seeds) are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1989 by Ian Broudie (vocals, guitar, producer), formerly of the bands Big in Japan, Care, and Original Mirrors. Originally a studio-based s ...

History

The band was formed in West

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 ...

in late 1991 by Louis Eliot (vocals, guitar) and Julian Fenton (drums), adding Johnny Bull (guitar), and Malcolm Pardon (bass guitar).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 943Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave'', Virgin Books, , p. 237 After signing to the Lemon label and releasing two singles in 1992, both hits on the

UK Independent 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 rel ...

, third single "Supernatural Giver" was a minor hit, and they were signed to

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wi ...

offshoot Oxygen. Further minor hits followed with "Shockaholic", which preceded their eponymous debut album, "Going Out With God", by which time Pardon had been replaced by Nick Powell, and "10 Second Bionic Man", before their second album, ''Bent'', was released in 1994. They toured with

Ned's Atomic Dustbin Ned's Atomic Dustbin are an English rock band formed in Stourbridge, West Midlands, in November 1987. The band took their name from an episode of radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show''. The band is unusual for using two bass-players in their ...

and

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (drums, percussion, soundscapes), plus Nic ...

, and drew comparisons with

Pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material ...

and

Mott the Hoople Mott the Hoople were an English rock band formed in Herefordshire. Originally known as the Doc Thomas Group, the group changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums throughout the early 1970s but fai ...

, with

Allmusic 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 dat ...

identifying influences from

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on div ...

, punk rock, and ''

Sergeant Pepper ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the roles of sound composi ...

''-era Beatles, and ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' author Colin Larkin also comparing the band to

The Only Ones The Only Ones were an English rock band formed in London in 1976, whose original band members are Peter Perrett, Alan Mair, John Perry and Mike Kellie, they first disbanded in 1982. They were associated with punk rock, yet straddled the mus ...

.Parisien, Roch " ''Kinky Machine'' Review,

, retrieved 2010-11-15 They moved on to

East West Records East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in London, England. History Upon its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had one hit with th ...

for a final single, "London Crawling", before splitting up in 1995 after Fenton had joined The Lightning Seeds, to be briefly replaced by Anthony Christmas. They had become disillusioned with 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 ...

sound, with several of the bands that had supported them in the past (including

Supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993 in Oxford. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey ...

and

Elastica Elastica were an English rock band formed in London in 1992 by ex-Suede members Justine Frischmann and Justin Welch. The band was stylistically influenced by punk rock, post-punk and new wave music. The band's members changed several times, ...

) overtaking them and becoming prime movers in the scene, Eliot explaining "When we started, we were delving into British pop music for influences, from the Kinks and the Jam and Clash to the Beatles. All that Britpop became very boring."McCormick, Neil (1998)
It's only rock'n'roll but I like it
, '' Daily Telegraph'', 28 March 1998, retrieved 2010-11-15Reece, Doug & Pride, Dominic (1998)
Rialto Gets a 2nd Shot at 'Monday' on China
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', 15 August 1998, retrieved 2010-11-15 Eliot and Bull re-emerged in 1996 with Rialto, with Eliot later recording with a new band, the Embers.

Discography

Albums

*''Kinky Machine'' (1993), MCA/Oxygen *''Bent'' (1994), MCA/Oxygen

Singles and EPs

*"Going Out With God" (1992), Lemon *"Swivelhead" (1992), Lemon *"Supernatural Giver" (1993), Lemon - UK No. 70Kinky Machine
, Chart Stats, retrieved 2010-11-15 *"Shockaholic" (1993), MCA/Oxygen - UK No. 70 *"Going Out With God" (1993), MCA/Oxygen - UK No. 74 *''The Mark Goodier Sessions'' (1993), MCA/Oxygen *"10 Second Bionic Man" (1994), MCA/Oxygen - UK No. 66 *"Cut It Down" (1994), MCA/Oxygen *"London Crawling" (1995), East West

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinky Machine British indie rock groups Britpop groups