Sugar was an American

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 active in the early 1990s. Formed in 1992, they were led by the singer and guitarist Bob Mould (ex- Hüsker Dü), alongside bassist David Barbe (ex-Mercyland) and drummer Malcolm Travis (ex- Human Sexual Response).

Career

After frontman Bob Mould departed from Hüsker Dü, he released two solo ventures, '' Workbook'' and '' Black Sheets of Rain''; neither album was well received and Mould was released from his contract with Virgin Records America in 1991 as a result. Shortly after, Mould recorded a demo tape of over thirty songs and formed Sugar with David Barbe and Malcolm Travis. The band was named in a Waffle House restaurant in

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

, when Mould spotted a sugar packet on the table where he and the other two band members were sitting. Their first concert was on February 20, 1992, at the 40 Watt Club in

, after a few weeks warming up in R.E.M.'s downtown practice space. Later in 1992, the band released the album '' Copper Blue'' on Rykodisc in the US and Creation Records in the UK. ''Copper Blue'' was named Album Of The Year 1992 by ''

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 ...

''. The music videos for the singles "If I Can't Change Your Mind" and "Helpless" received extensive air time on MTV shortly after the album's release. The single for "If I Can't Change Your Mind" had moderate success in the UK Singles Chart. In the spring of 1993, they released '' Beaster'', an EP of material recorded during the ''Copper Blue'' sessions. The album proved to be more aggressive than the content on ''Copper Blue''. After an abortive attempt to record a second album, the band regrouped and released '' File Under: Easy Listening'' in September 1994. It reached No. 7 in the UK Albums Chart. A b-side

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

, '' Besides'', followed in July 1995. The band played their final show in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in 1995, Mould broke the band up in spring 1996. Barbe wished to spend more time with his growing family and expand his solo career. Travis took over the drumming slot in Kustomized. Bob Mould spent the summer of 2012 touring and playing '' Copper Blue'' in its entirety.

Discography

The discography of Sugar consists of three studio albums, one compilation album, one live album, two boxsets and eight singles.

Albums

Box sets

*''A Box of Sugar'' (Edsel, 2013) – 5xLP *''Complete Recordings 1992-1995'' (Edsel, 2014) – 5xCD

Singles

*All singles were released on both Creation and Rykodisc; except where indicated.

References

External links

* Sugar's AMG entry {{Authority control Creation Records artists Alternative rock groups from Minnesota Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 American musical trios Rykodisc artists Merge Records artists 1992 establishments in Texas