''Scum Pups'' was a

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

,Steven Wells "NME" 22 February 1992, IPC Media.

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

,Mark Sutherland "NME" 15 May 1993, IPC Media. three piece band, that formed in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in November 1989. The band formed while at sixth form college with Matt Day (Midge) heading the trio. The band recorded their first single EP with

Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England, administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughborough, and is about halfway between L ...

-based Motivate Records while still teenagers in September 1990. This led to a strong teenage fanbase with a reputation for enjoying

stage diving Stage diving is the act of leaping from a concert stage onto the crowd below, which occasionally causes serious injuries. It is often the precursor to crowd surfing. Long before the word was invented, public stagediving took place during the f ...

and

moshing Moshing (also known as slam dancing or simply slamming) is an extreme style of dancing in which participants push or slam into each other. Taking place in an area called the mosh pit (or simply the pit), it is typically performed to aggressive s ...

at their gigs. The band quickly gathered a strong fanbase after being signed to

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

label Sycophant Records and began appearing with the likes of

Fudge Tunnel Fudge Tunnel were an English band formed in Nottingham by Alex Newport, David Ryley and Adrian Parkin. They were known for straddling noise rock and sludge metal, with their sound being compared to bands such as Melvins and Nirvana. History F ...

Silverfish The silverfish (''Lepisma saccharinum'') is a species of small, primitive, wingless insect in the order Zygentoma (formerly Thysanura). Its common name derives from the insect's silvery light grey colour, combined with the fish-like appearanc ...

and

Daisy Chainsaw Daisy Chainsaw were an English rock music, rock band from London, England, formed in 1989. The band was founded by vocalist KatieJane Garside and guitarist Crispin Gray. Garside appeared on the band's early extended play, EPs and 1992 debut alb ...

."INDICATOR" Vol.1, No.12, December 1992, p.6 It was while with Sycophant Records, the band released their first 'mini' album ''Babykill'', which held No.17 in the

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

indie album charts, during March 1992. The band signed with Stayfree Music in 1992 and embarked on touring with Crazyhead. During 1992 the band released their second EP "Shudder" on Stayfree, with added sponsorship from N.T.V. Music. It was at this stage that the founder bass player Clive Cartwright left, to be replaced by Marcus (Pepper) Hessin.Max "INDICATOR" Vol.2, No.8, Aug 1993, p.8 The band spent the remaining 18 months touring up and down the country with the likes of Headcleaner and

Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction were a British hard rock group, which was formed in 1985. Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction play a sleazy style of commercial hard rock featuring big riffs and choruses, as was the trend in the band's ...

as well as touring in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1993 the band released a further album ''Sonic Sculptures'', and shared an EP single with

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

based band, FUSE; but on return from a further tour in

during February 1994, the band decided to split. The band had two distinct styles during its four years of activity. The band was initially described as

, grebo or

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

, but from 1992 onwards, the band took a distinctive turn towards a more

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

approach, with elements 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 ...

Mörat "KERRANG!" No.387, 11 April 1992, Bauer Media. and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

thrown in. It was during this latter stage that their 5th member joined as a backing singer Janet Brown, in 1993.

Members

* Matthew Day - guitar & vocals (1989–1994) * Clive Cartwright - bass & backing vocals (1989–1992) * Roger Watson - drums (1989–1994) * Marcus Hessin - bass & backing vocals (1992–1994) * Janet Brown - backing vocals (1993) * Gaz Birtles - sax (1993)

Discography

Motivate Records was the band's first

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

, distributed under Southern Records Distribution. Sycophant released their first mini-album in 1992, also distributed under S.R.D. Stayfree Music based in Leicester, was run by the former

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

The Hunters Club The Hunters Club were a United Kingdom, British Grebo (music), grebo gothic rock band that formed in Leicester, England. History The band were named after a short-lived Judge Dredd sub-plot in the sci-fi comic ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'', and ...

, Ian Redhead, and managed Scum Pups through to their eventual split in February 1994. *''Find Out Why'' - 7" Single EP released 1990 Motivate Records. *''Babykill'' - 12" and CD mini album (Bonus track on CD) released 1991 Sycophant Records. *''Shudder'' - 12" Single EP released 1992 Stayfree Music. *''Sonic Sculptures'' - CD album released 1993 Stayfree Music. *"Hit Single" / "Hammer" - 7" Single released 1993 Stayfree Music.

Current

*Roger Watson eventually moved on to form the

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sl ...

group The Kings Of Frog Island

References

External links

Official website

Last.FM Radio

MySpace Website
* {{Authority control Musical groups from Leicester English rock music groups