Slowdive
Formed in 1989 by Rachel Goswell (b. 16 May 1971, Hampshire, England; vocals/guitar), Neil Halstead (b. 7 October 1970, Luton, Bedfordshire, England; vocals/guitar), Brook Christian Savill (b. 6 December 1970, Bury, Lancashire, England; guitar), Nicholas Chaplin (b. 23 December 1970, Slough, Berkshire, England; bass) and Adrian Sell (drums), who departed after six months to go to University. His replacement was Neil Carter, who also played with local Reading band the Colour Mary, until eventually Simon Scott (b. 3 March 1971, Cambridge, England) joined permanently, having drummed for the Charlottes. While this was happening, Slowdive were creating a dreamy sound which frequently defied literary analysis, but the main ingredients were floating harmonies and ripples of guitar effects within a traditional three-minute song framework. Snapped up by a revitalised Creation Records on the basis of one demotape, Slowdive made a surprising number of friends with what seemed to be a blatantly esoteric sound; indeed, by the summer of 1991 they had reached number 52 in the UK chart with the HOLDING OUR BREATH EP, promising a significant breakthrough in the near future.