Pop Will Eat Itself
Taking their name from an NME feature on the group Jamie Wednesday (later known as Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine), the archetypal grebo band Pop Will Eat Itself formed in Stourbridge, England in 1986. Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Clint Mansell, keyboardist Adam Mole, drummer Graham Crabb, and bassist Richard March, PWEI began their existence as a Buzzcocks-influenced indie guitar band, and issued their self-produced debut EP, The Poppies Say Grrr, in 1986.
While recording their follow-up, Poppiecock, PWEI became immersed in sampling, drawing material from sources ranging from James Brown to Iggy Pop; soon Crabb emerged from behind his drum kit to join Mansell as co-frontman, and a drum machine was installed in his place. Honing a fusion of rock, pop, and rap that they dubbed "grebo," the Poppies kick-started a small revolution; by the release of their 1987 full-length debut, Box Frenzy, and the hit "There Is No Love Between Us Anymore," grebo -- the name quickly given the entire subculture of similarly grimy and raunchy bands -- was all the rage in the British music press.
The influence of hip-hop was even more pronounced on singles like "Def. Con. One." and "Can U Dig It?," both included on Pop Will Eat Itself's 1989 masterpiece, This Is the Day...This Is the Hour...This Is This!, their debut for RCA. "Touched by the Hand of Cicciolina," an ode to the Italian porn actress turned politician, was another hit, while 1991's Cure for Sanity marked an increasing interest in dance music. By 1992's The Looks or the Lifestyle, PWEI even added a live drummer, Fuzz (born Robert Townshend), to expand their ever-mutating sound.
In early 1993, the Poppies issued their biggest U.K. hit, "Get the Girl, Kill the Baddies"; ironically, later that same year the group was dropped by RCA. After signing to Infectious in Britain, they were picked up in the U.S. by Nothing, a label owned by longtime fan Trent Reznor; sporting a harder-edged, funk-metal sound, PWEI resurfaced in 1994 with Dos Dedos Mis Amigos. Prior to the release of a 1995 remix record, Two Fingers, My Friends, Crabb exited the group to focus on his side project, Golden Claw Musics. March later gained fame in the big beat act Bentley Rhythm Ace.
© Jason Ankeny /TiVo
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This Is The Day...
Pop/Rock - Released by RCA Records Label on 10 Jul 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cure For Sanity
Pop/Rock - Released by RCA Records Label on 1 Oct 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Feasting Frenzy
Alternative & Indie - Released by Cherry Red Records on 15 Jul 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dos Dedos Mis Amigos
Electronic - Released by Rhino on 1 Jan 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Box Frenzy (25th Anniversary Expanded Edition)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Cherry Red Records on 1 Jan 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Box Frenzy
Alternative & Indie - Released by Cherry Red Records on 1 Jan 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best Of
Alternative & Indie - Released by Sony BMG Music Entertainment on 1 Oct 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best Of
Alternative & Indie - Released by Sony BMG Music Entertainment on 1 Oct 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anti-Nasty League
Alternative & Indie - Released by Pop Will Eat Itself on 25 Apr 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Box Frenzy (25th Anniversary Expanded Edition)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Cherry Red Records on 1 Jan 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Poppies Strike Back
Alternative & Indie - Released by Pop Will Eat Itself on 10 Jun 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
16 Different Flavours Of Hell
Alternative & Indie - Released by RCA Records Label on 23 Oct 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wise Up Suckers
Pop/Rock - Released by RCA Camden on 20 Jul 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
New Noise Designed By a Sadist
Rock - Released by Cooking Vinyl on 2 Oct 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Looks Or The Lifestyle
Pop/Rock - Released by RCA Records Label on 1 Oct 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Now for a Feast
Alternative & Indie - Released by Cherry Red Records on 1 Jan 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reclaim the Game - Funk FIFA (0-0-11 Formation Remixes)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Pop Will Eat Itself on 9 Jun 2014
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
New Noise Designed by a Sadist
Rock - Released by Cooking Vinyl on 2 Oct 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Chaos & Mayhem
Alternative & Indie - Released by Cooking Vinyl on 22 Nov 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo