The Wonder Stuff In-depth Biography
When the Wonder Stuff} released their first album, The Eight Legged Groove Machine}, in 1988, the British press wrote scores of articles about the band, mainly because of the arrogant self-confidence of their leader, vocalist/guitarist Miles Hunt}. Hunt}'s brash public image was the Wonder Stuff} personified -- mean, self-satisfied, self-serving, and scathingly witty. Accordingly, their colorful mixture of pop} melodies, loud guitars, sneering lyrics, and touches of dance} music was sometimes brilliant and sometimes banal. Between 1988 and 1993, the band kept incorporating more stylistic flourishes to their basic, punk}- and new wave}-inspired pop/rock}. The Wonder Stuff} were instant stars in England; America never warmed to their music. After trying to gain a worldwide audience for five years, the band broke up in 1994. In the early 2000s the band regrouped to play five nights of concerts at London's Forum} (as documented on the 2001 live set Cursed with Insincerity}) and then continued to play festivals throughout 2001 and 2002. After some squabbles over the direction of the band, half the members quit. Hunt} and original guitarist Malcolm Treece} decided to carry on and, after adding Andres Karu} and Mark McCarthy}, recorded and released Escape from Rubbish Island} in 2004 and Suspended by Stars} in 2006. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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