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Placebo (band)

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Placebo is a rock band founded in 1994. They enjoyed early success in Britain thanks to the high interest in British rock music at the time, sparked in particular by Oasis and Blur.

Contents

Band history

Placebo was founded when former Luxembourg schoolmates Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal met by accident at South Kensington tube station in 1994 and decided to form a band. While briefly known as Ashtray Heart, the band quickly settled on the name Placebo. The band could not decide on a drummer at first with Steve Hewitt and Robert Schultzberg alternating on the spot. While Hewitt was the preferred choice, he also had other commitments as drummer for London band Breed, leading to Schultzberg being the drummer when the band signed its contract with Caroline Records. This said, the band officially say that "family commitments" was the reason for his absence. As the other band members were having difficulty getting on with Robert Schultzberg, they persuaded Hewitt to rejoin the band in 1996. The band gained some measure of notoriety for the sexualities of its members (Olsdal is gay, Hewitt is straight and Molko is bisexual) and their excessive lifestyles, often chronicled in their songs (the title of the track "Special K" from Black Market Music, for instance, is a reference to the drug ketamine).

The singles "Nancy Boy", from Placebo (1996), and "Pure Morning", from Without You I'm Nothing (1998), were the peak of their British success, both charting in the top ten. Since Without You I'm Nothing the band have fallen out with particularly the British music press, who regularly mock the personality and pretentiousness of its lead member, Brian Molko. However, the band retained a huge popular and critical following in continental Europe. Their style altered little from Placebo through Black Market Music (2000), based around fairly straightforward guitar playing, often influenced by the style of 1970s British and American rock, and Molko's high-pitched vocals.

The band was asked to play at David Bowie's fiftieth birthday party at Madison Square Garden. The band's glam connections continued in 1998 when they recorded a cover of T. Rex's "20th Century Boy" for the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack. The band also appeared in this film. Placebo played "20th Century Boy" live with David Bowie at the Brit Awards show in 1999.

The band gained somewhat of a following among skateboarders when the song "Every You Every Me" (also used on the Cruel Intentions soundtrack) was used by Mark Appleyard for his part in the skate video, 'Sorry'. Rollerbladers have also used Placebo tracks in Carl Sturgis's videos Demode and Killerboots. The song Every You Every Me(sneaker pimps remix) was used for Colin McLeods section in Demode and Special K was used for Chris Haffey's section in Killerboots.

Sleeping With Ghosts (2003) was more adventurous, experimenting with dance influences and a less polished guitar sound, though keeping the traditional sound for several songs, including the first single "The Bitter End".

In the autumn of 2004, Placebo released the Singles Collection "Once More With Feeling" (on both CD and as a DVD featuring the bands videos) and played a one-night-only gig at Wembley Arena. Robert Smith of the Cure guested with them on 2 tracks, "Without You I'm Nothing" and a cover of the Cure's "Boys Don't Cry". This performance was to be their last UK gig until 2006. After the Wembley gig, Placebo went on a short "Once More With Feeling" tour in South America. On July 2nd 2005, the group performed 'Twenty Years' and 'The Bitter End' at the Live 8 concert, at the Palais de Versailles in France. Their 2006 tour of the UK sold out in one weekend, and certainly lived up to expectations, as their single London date at Alexandra Palace had fans queuing up from 8pm, ready for the doors to be opened at 6pm the next day.

Meds

In September 2005, the band finished the recording phase of their new album, which was released on March 13th (Delayed in U.S. until April 4th). The first single on the new album to be released in the UK on March 6th is titled 'Because I Want You', whilst ‘Song To Say Goodbye’ will be released on that date in the rest of the world. The new album, Meds, is a return to the band's roots, with a Without You I'm Nothing meets Sleeping With Ghosts vibe. The band will be working with Timo Maas for some songs as Brian has also worked with Timo for his new album, with his vocals featuring on the single "First Day", which was released in May 2005.

In November 2005, Molko revealed in an interview that they had been working on 15 new songs since the June of 2004 in the South of France, and had been in the studio recording since August of 2005, working with French Producer Dimitri Tokovoi, who is a friend of the band and has produced the songs "The Ballad of Melody Nelson" and "Running Up That Hill" for the band in the past. They have also been recording tracks at RAK studios in London earlier in 2005. Molko said that the new songs are sounding more guitar based, like "The Bitter End" off their latest album and like many of the songs on their first album. Most of the tracks are based on 2 guitars, drums and a piano. Recording has been finished and they have been mixing since October 29th 2005. Two duets with American singers were also confirmed, who are Alison Mosshart (from the band The Kills) and Michael Stipe (from the band REM).

Meds was leaked over the Internet on January 17, 2006. No details are available on how the album was leaked. However, the official release date of 'Meds' was 13.03.06, making the leak almost two months early. The album contains 13 tracks, different from their last three albums which have only contained 12 tracks, but Meds has no 'hidden tracks'. The video for the single 'Because I Want You' was shot on the 24th of January at Koko in Camden, London. The leak was projected by the band's record label to potentially cause a very dangerous loss of profit upon the albums release, although this has proved to be wrong in most countries with the album debuting at #4 in Australia, and #7 in the UK. The next single from 'Meds' will be 'Infra-Red', released on June 19th 2006 in the UK.

A limited edition U.S. "Meds" was released on April 4th, making the gap between the leak of the album and the official release date even longer. The reason for the delay was what the band called "extended manufacturing needs". The limited edition U.S. "Meds" features a DVD in the NTSC format compatible with U.S. DVD players, plus the CD. The limited edition U.S. "Meds" is not the 'deluxe' version with 40 page booklet. It comes in a standard jewel case and regular CD booklet.

The band are set to play at several European Festivals over the summer of 2006, including Isle Of Wight, Nova Rock, Open'er Festival, Reading/Leeds and Festival Internacional de Benicàssim. It was recently announced Placebo will also make their first live appearence in Romania on August 13th.

Members

As of 2005, the band consisted of:

Brian Molko
Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Saxophone
Stefan Olsdal
Bass guitar, Keyboards, Guitar and Vocals
Steven Hewitt
Drums, Percussion
And live had the addition of

William (Bill) Lloyd
Bass guitar and Keyboards
Alex Lee (from 2006)
Guitar and Keyboards, former keyboardist with Strangelove and Suede
Xavior Roide joined for live performances between 2003 and 2005 performing keyboards and additional vocals.

Robert Schultzberg was also a member of the band between 1994 and 1996, playing drums. Backing vocalist Andrea oMara suffered a major setback on tour after running out of antihistamines

Discography

Albums

Image:Placebo_album.jpg|
Placebo
(July 17, 1996)
Virgin Records
Image:Without_you_im_nothing.jpg|
Without You I'm Nothing
(October 12, 1998)
Virgin Records
Image:Black_market_music.jpg|
Black Market Music
(October 9, 2000)
Virgin Records
Image:Sleeping_with_ghosts.jpg|
Sleeping with Ghosts
(March 24, 2003)
Virgin Records
Image:Once_more_with_feeling_album.jpg|
Once More with Feeling
(October 25, 2004)
(Compilation 1996-2004)
Virgin Records
Image:Placebomeds.jpg|
Meds
(March 13, 2006)
Virgin Records

Official DVDs

Singles

From Placebo:
  • "Bruise Pristine" (1995 - Split vinyl with Soup)
  • "Come Home" (1996) #103 UK
  • "36 Degrees" (1996) #83 UK
  • "Teenage Angst" (1996) #30 UK
  • "Nancy Boy" (1997) #4 UK
  • "Bruise Pristine" (1997 re-release) #14 UK
From Without You I'm Nothing:
  • "Pure Morning" (1998) #4 UK, #49 Australia, #19 US Modern Rock Tracks, #40 US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart
  • "You Don't Care About Us" (1998) #5 UK
  • "Every You Every Me" (1999) #11 UK, #46 Australia
  • "Without You I'm Nothing (Featuring David Bowie)" (1999)
  • "Burger Queen Francais" (1999) #78 France
From Black Market Music:
  • "Taste In Men" (2000) #16 UK, #54 France
  • "Slave To The Wage" (2000) #19 UK, #63 France, #92 Germany
  • "Special K" (2000) #50 Australia, #60 France
  • "Black Eyed" (2001) #94 Germany
From Sleeping with Ghosts: From Once More with Feeling:
  • "Twenty Years" (2004) #18 UK, #50 Switzerland, #54 France, #59 Austria, #52 Germany
  • "Protège Moi" (2004) #26 Switzerland, #18 France
From Meds:

EPs

  • Slave to the Wage (2000)
  • Taste in Men (2000)
  • Special K (2001)

Full recording history

Covers

B-sides

  • "Aardvark" (Instrumental) - B-side to "Burger Queen Français"
  • "Drink You Pretty" - B-side to "The Bitter End"
  • "Bubblegun" - B-side to "Slave To The Wage"
  • "Drowning By Numbers" - B-Side to "Come Home"
  • "Eyesight To The Blind" - B-Side to "Nancy Boy"
  • "Flesh Mechanic" - (Previously unreleased demo recording) - B-side to the limited edition 7inch "Teenage Angst" single
  • "Hare Krishna" (Instrumental) - B-side to "36 Degrees"
  • "Jesus Loves Me" (Live cover)
  • "Kitsch Object" (Live bootleg, a studio version never made it onto any of their albums or singles, but some lyrics resurfaced later in "Peeping Tom")
  • "Little Mo" - B-side to "Special K"
  • "Mars Landing Party" - B-side to "Pure Morning"
  • "Miss Moneypenny" - B-side to "Nancy Boy"
  • "Paycheck" - (Unreleased demo recording)
  • "Slackerbitch" - B-side to "Nancy Boy"
  • "Soulmates" - (Alternate "Heavier" version of the Sleeping With Ghosts title track) B-side to "This Picture"
  • "Then The Clouds Will Open For Me" - B-side to "Bruise Pristine"
  • "The Innocence Of Sleep" (Instrumental) - B-side to "Pure Morning"
  • "Ion" (Instrumental) - B-side to "You Don't Care About Us"
  • "Evalia" (Instrumental) - B-side to "The Bitter End"
  • "Hug Bubble" (Instrumental) - B-side to "Teenage Angst"
  • "Oxygen Thief" (Instrumental) - B-side to "Come Home"
  • "Leni" - B-side to "Slave To The Wage"
  • "Needledick" (Instrumental) - B-side to "Pure Morning"
  • "Waiting For The Son Of Man" - B-side to "Bruise Pristine"
  • "Theme From Funky Reverend" (Instrumental) - B-side to "Taste In Men"
  • "Long Division" (Available on the Ltd Edition Meds Bonus Dvd)

Remixes

  • "Twenty Years" (Osymyso's Birthday mix)
  • "Passive Aggressive" (Brothers In Rhythm remix)
  • "Slave to the Wage" (I can't believe it's a remix)
  • "Slave To The Wage" - Daniel Johns from Silverchair Remix
  • "I Do" (Hotel Persona Material Mix)
  • "English Summer Rain" (Sussie 4 Mix)
  • "This Picture" (The Mexican Institute of Sound - I Love My Rocker Mix)
  • "Special Needs" (Blackpulke Mix)
  • "I Do Wop Remake"
  • "This Picture" (Blackpulke Mix)
  • "English Summer Rain" (Glitte R.MX)
  • "Special Needs" (Chuck y Los Ollvidados - Respect the Coda Mix)
  • "This Picture" (Isaac Junkie Mix)
  • "Swallow" (Designer/U-Sheen mix)
  • "Nancy Boy" (Sex Mix)
  • "Hug Bubble" (Brad Wood mix)
  • "Bruise Pristine" (1" Punch Mix)
  • "Bruise Pristine" (Lionrock mix)
  • "Pure Morning" - Les Rythmes mix
  • "Pure Morning" - Howie B mix
  • "Every You Every Me" - Sneaker mix
  • "Every You Every Me" - BIR mix
  • "Every You Every Me" - Single mix
  • "Nancy Boy" - Blue Amazon mix
  • "Every You Every Me" - Scourge mix
  • "Without You I'm Nothing" UNKLE mix
  • "Without You I'm Nothing" Flexirol mix
  • "Without You I'm Nothing" BIR mix
  • "Taste In Men" - Go go dub mix
  • "Taste In Men" - Alpinestars mix
  • "Special K" - Timo Dub mix
  • "Special K" - Timo Maas mix
  • "Passive Aggressive" - BIR mix
  • "Pure Morning" (MBV Remix)
  • "Black-Eyed" (Le Vibrator Mix)
  • "The Bitter End" - Junior Sanchez Mix
  • "English Summer Rain" – Freelance Hellraiser Mix
  • "English Summer Rain" - Ecstasy of St. Theresa Remix
  • "Protège Moi" - M83 Mix
  • "Twenty years" - Fathom Refix
  • "Because I Want You" - Ladytron Club Remix
  • "Because I Want You" - Russell Lissack of Bloc Party Remix
  • "Infra-red" (Hotel Persona Remix)
  • "Infra-red" (The Waltmann Remix)
  • "Infra-red" (Call the Ambulance Remix)
  • "Song To Say Goodbye" - River and Tears Mix

Mash-ups

  • Placebo vs. Kosheen - "Hide The Bitter Placebo"
  • Placebo vs. Beastie Boys - "Every Root"
  • Placebo vs. Kate Bush - "Running up that Hill"

Live tracks

  • "All Apologies" (Nirvana parody)
  • "Besame Mucho" (Spanish acapella)
  • "Plaisir d'amour" (French acapella)
  • "Jesus Loves Me" (Religious children's song)
  • "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" (Queens of the Stone Age) - Live, partial cover
  • "Hurt" (Nine Inch Nails cover: 1 Dec 2003, Anaheim, House of Blues. No known bootleg available)
  • "Mercedez Benz" (Janis Joplin cover: 1 Dec 2003, Anaheim, House of Blues. No known bootleg available)
  • "English Summer Rain/Like A Hurricane" (Verses from ESR replaced with Neil Young's Like a Hurricane)
  • "Long Division"

Demos

  • "Hang on to your IQ"
  • "BulletProof Cupid"
  • "36 degrees"
  • "Bruise Pristine"
  • "Come Home" (2 Versions)
  • "I Know"
  • "Nancy Boy" (2 Versions)
  • "Teenage Angst"
  • "Kangaroo Died"
  • "Stardate 1804"
  • "2468"
  • "Eyesight to the Blind"
  • "Teenage Angst" (2 Versions)
  • "Flesh Mechanic"
  • "Paycheck" (2 Versions)
  • "Slackerbitch"
  • "Lady of the Flowers"
  • "Kitsch Object"
  • "I Do"
  • "Because I Want You"
  • "Pierrot The Clown"
  • "In The Cold Light of Morning"
  • "Oxygen Thief"

Variants

  • "36 Degrees" ("2005 Version") - Live and slowed down, B-side to "Because I Want You")
  • "Leni" (With extended lyrics)
  • "Haemoglobin" (Acoustic, occurring on various live bootlegs)
  • "Every You Every Me" (Acoustic, occurring on various live bootlegs and as a B-side to the "Burger Queen Francais" single)
  • "Plasticine" (Lounge Version) - B-side to "Special Needs"
  • "This Picture" (Acoustic, available on the "This Picture" DVD single)
  • "Special K" (Acoustic, occurring on various live bootlegs)
  • "Teenage Angst" (Piano Version, studio version available as a B-side to "The Bitter End")
  • "Teenage Angst" (V.P.R.O. Amsterdam Version, rare slowed version, available as a B-side to the "Teenage Angst" Ltd Edition 7inch)
  • "Teenage Angst" (Acoustic Version, as above but live and occurring on various bootleg recordings)
  • "Nancy Boy" (Acoustic, occurring on various live bootlegs)
  • "Burger Queen Francais" (French language Ltd Edition single release)
  • "Protège Moi" (French language single release of "Protect Me From What I Want", also available on all versions of the Once More With Feeling singles collection)
  • "Taste In Men" (Jazz version, available on various live bootlegs)
  • "Commercial for Levi" (Acoustic, available on various live bootlegs)
  • "Peeping Tom" (Acoustic, available on various live bootlegs)
  • "Blue American" (Acoustic, available on various live bootlegs)
  • "Slave to the Wage" (Acoustic, available on various live bootlegs)
  • "Allergic" (To Thoughts of Mom) - (Live demo version of "Allergic To Thoughts Of Mother Earth", with different lyrics, performed at some shows prior to the songs finalisation and recording for "Without You I'm Nothing" and available on various live bootlegs)
  • "Without You I'm Nothing" (Different Lyrics, see above)
  • "Twenty Years" (Instrumental, available on some vinyl and promotional copies of the "Twenty Years" single)
  • "Because I Want You" (Instrumental, available from itunes)
  • "Song to Say Goodbye" (instrumental)
  • "Come Home" (Earlier recording for the independent "Come Home" single, prior to the band's major label contract, faster and "punkier")
  • "Bulletproof Cupid" (Live version with lyrics, available on some bootlegs)
  • "Meds" (instrumental)
  • "Infra-Red" (instrumental)
  • "Drag" (instrumental)
  • "Space Monkey" (instrumental)
  • "Follow The Cops Back Home" (instrumental)
  • "Post Blue" (instrumental)
  • "Blind" (instrumental)
  • "Pierrot The Clown" (instrumental)
  • "Broken Promise" (instrumental)
  • "One of a Kind" (instrumental)
  • "In The Cold Light of Morning" (instrumental)
  • Some of the songs on the leaked copies of Meds also appear to differ slightly from the versions on the album as eventually made commercially available. "Song To Say Goodbye", for one, has a subtly different structure and a clearly different vocal performance from Brian.

Featuring & solo

Brian (Vocal)

  • Timo Maas feat. Brian Molko - "First Day"
  • Timo Maas feat. Brian Molko - "Pictures"
  • Timo Maas feat. Brian Molko - "Like Siamese"
  • Dream City Film Club feat. Brian Molko - "Some"
  • Dream City Film Club feat. Brian Molko - "Billy Chic"
  • Alpinestars - "Carbon Kid"
  • AC Acoustics feat. Brian Molko - "Crush"
  • Trash Palace feat. Brian Molko - "The Metric System"
  • Trash Palace feat. Asia Argento & Brian Molko - "Je T'aime Moi Non Plus"
  • Trash Palace & Brian Molko - "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" (Kylie Minogue live cover)
  • Kristeen Young & Brian Molko - "No Other God"
  • Brian Molko - "Five Years" (David Bowie cover, performed live & acoustic/solo by Molko on French TV)
  • Brian Molko - "Chelsea Hotel #2" (Leonard Cohen live, partial cover)
  • Jane Birkin feat. Brian Molko - "Smile"
  • Indochine feat. Brian Molko - "Pink Water 2" (English)
  • Indochine feat. Brian Molko - "Pink Water 3" (Français)
  • Faultline, Brian Molko & Françoise Hardy - "Requiem For A Jerk"

Steve (drums)

Breed - Wonderful Blade
  • "Wonderful Blade"
  • "Violent Sentimental"
  • "Sea of Wine"
  • "Feverish"
  • "Splinter"
  • "Perfect Hangover"
  • "Pendulum"
  • "Hard Cash"
The Boo Radleys - Ichabod and I
  • "Eleanor Everything"
  • "Bodenheim JR"
  • "Catweazle"
  • "Sweet Salad Birth"
  • "Hip Clown Rag"
  • "Walking 5th Carnival"
  • "Kalliedoscope"
  • "Happens To Us All"

Stefan

  • Stefan & Family - "Beep Beep"
  • Hotel Persona - "Quiero Volar"
  • Hotel Persona - "The Light"
  • Hotel Persona - "Modern Kids"
  • Hotel Persona - "El Mar"
  • Hotel Persona - "The Sea"
  • She Wants Revenge - "Tear You Apart" (Hotel Persona Remix)
  • Placebo - "I Do" (Material Mix - Hotel Persona) see above, REMIXES
  • Placebo - "Infra-red" (Red Mix - Hotel Persona) see above, REMIXES

Band

Trivia

  • The opening bass riff of the song "Taste in Men" bears remarkable resemblance to the Pink Floyd song "Let There Be More Light" featured on the 1968 album A Saucerful of Secrets.
  • The backing track to "Pure Morning" came about when the band were looping some feedback they liked when recording another song in the studio, with the rest of the song being subsequently written on the spot.
  • Brian wrote "Infra-Red" backwards, starting with the last line and working his way to the start.

External links

 

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