Sleeper (band)

Sleeper

Sleeper were a British Britpop band in the 1990s fronted by Louise Wener. The band had several UK hits.

Career

The band's original name was Surrender Dorothy. They took that name from the smoke trail telling Dorothy to surrender in the Wizard of Oz movie.

Sleeper recorded three studio albums: Smart, The It Girl and Pleased to Meet You.

The band's breakthrough song, "Inbetweener", featured a memorable video with Dale Winton, who was a popular icon among students at the time. The group are closely associated with Britpop; Wener was arguably, along with Elastica's Justine Frischmann, the movement's biggest female star. She was even something of a sex symbol. By the time Pleased to Meet You was released in 1997, Britpop was fading, as was the band's audience. After their split (on 30 December 1998) Wener went on to have a successful career as a novelist.

Sleeper also recorded a cover version of the Blondie song "Atomic", which was used as a track in the film Trainspotting. Their version was quite well-received and the only criticism is that it was too similar to the original. This was the intention - Blondie refused to allow their version to be used.

The It Girl was arguably their finest moment with "Lie Detector", "Sale of the Century" and "Statuesque" as the defining tracks. It was produced by Stephen Street then famous for his contributions to The Smiths, Morrissey and Blur. Wener admits that they were basically hanging onto the coattails of the bigger bands including the likes of Blur and Oasis.

"Sleeperbloke"

The band was the inspiration for the phrase "Sleeperbloke", referring to the disparity between the glamorous singer Wener and the other frequently ignored members of the band (who tended to be far more anonymous and stood at the back). The term is still used by music press journalists and musicians, to refer to any person of limited standing within a band or an especially drab and unremarkable individual. Sleeper were said to be amused by the term and even produced an ironic "Sleeperbloke" T-shirt which sold well.

The real-life Sleeperblokes were:

• Jon Stewart (born Jonathan David Stewart, 12 September 1967 in Sheffield) — (guitarist)
• Diid Osman (b. Kenadiid Osman, 10 April 1968 in Woking) — (bassist)
• Andy Maclure (b. 4 July 1970 in Liverpool) — (drummer)

Discography

Albums

• Smart - Feb 1995, #5
• The It Girl - May 1996, #5
• Pleased To Meet You - Oct 1997, #7

Singles

• "Swallow"- Jan 1994, #76
• "Delicious"- May 1994, #75
• "Inbetweener" - Jan 1995, #16 (UK Chart)
• "Vegas" - Apr 1995, #33
• "What Do I Do Now" - Oct 1995, #14
• "Sale Of The Century" - May 1996, #10
• "Nice Guy Eddie" - Jul 1996, #10
• "Statuesque" - Oct 1996, #17
• "She's A Good Girl" - Oct 1997, #28
• "Romeo Me" - Dec 1997, #39

References

• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
• Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7

External links

• Sleeper biography at All Music Guide
• www.louisewener.com