Sleeper (band)
Sleeper was a British indie band in the 1990s which was fronted by Louise Wener and had several UK hits. They recorded three studio albums: Smart, The It Girl and Pleased to Meet You.
Their breakthrough song, "Inbetweener", featured a memorable video with Dale Winton, who was a popular icon among students at the time. The group is 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 had faded, as had the band's audience. After their split Louise Wener went on to have a successful career as a novelist.
They also recorded a cover version of the Blondie song "Atomic", which was used as a track in the film Trainspotting.
The original band name for the band was Surrender Dorothy. They took that name from the smoke trail telling Dorothy to surrender in the Wizard of Oz movie.
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 Andy Maclure (drummer), Jon David Stewart (guitar) and Diid Osman (bassist).
Discography
Albums
- Smart - Feb 1995, #5
- The It Girl - May 1996, #5
- Pleased To Meet You - Oct 1997, #7
Singles
- "Swallow"- Jan 1994
- "Delicous"- May 1994
- "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