I was recently browsing at Pushposters and saw they still have 5 Sleeper posters for sale. You might want to check it out.

Statuesque 70x50 £3.49 $5.99	Sale of the century 70x50 £3.49 $5.99
She's a good girl 70x50 £3.49 $5.99	Smart(L) 86x62 £3.99 $6.99
Louise(L) 86x62 £3.99 $6.99

A couple of weeks ago on Danny Baker's Sunday morning show on Virgin radio (in the UK for those who don't know it), I heard a cover of "What Do I Do Now?" [ by Elvis Costello ].

Just thought it worth mentioning (assuming it hasn't been posted - I have been offline awhile) that Mark and Lard played "Nice Guy Eddie" on their Radio 1 afternoon show earlier this week. It was in their "Cheesily Cheerful Chart Challenge" segment which invites listeners to phone or email songs on a chosen news topic. This time, it was something about a guy (called Eddie, unsurprisingly) who used women. A cheap excuse, I suspect, to play some Sleeper!

Mark and Lard, as some of you will know, are Sleeper fans and recorded a spoof of "Inbetweener", "Ugly Bleeder", which is quite funny.

Just thought I'd let you know, since that's the first time I heard a Sleeper song on the radio in over a year.

I know of an episode of the British police series called The Bill that had She's A Good Girl being played at a party. Thats about all I've heard of them on TV in the past two years really...

From Billboard: The Bill is drama about the goings-on within and around a London police station. It is set in Sun Hill, which is located in the fictional Borough of Canley, in North-East London. The Bill is no ordinary police drama, but an EXTRA-ordinary police drama that shows things through the eyes of the characters. An excellent cast and a group of superb writers along with brilliant camera work gives an incredible sense of realism to The Bill.

Saltlake - "Stars" won DiMarzio demo of the month. It was the last track on the CD from Guitar Magazine.

The lead singer to this band sounds just like Louise Wener.

From Kate:

I was watching this film the other night.. I believe it was called Overnight Delivery w/ Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd... anyway.. they were driving down a highway, and all of a sudden I hear an unmistakeable voice.. Louise's of course...

Overnight Delivery (1998)

Directed by
Jason Bloom

Writing credits
Steven Bloom
Marc Sedaka

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some crude sexual material.
Runtime: USA:87

Soundtracks for Overnight Delivery (1998)

• "Magnet and Steel"
  Written by Walter Egan
  Performed by Walter Egan
• "One Way or Another"
  Written by Deborah Harry & Nigel Harrison
• "Paint Me"
  [ written and performed by Sleeper ]
• "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)"
• "Bad Vibes Everyone"

TRAVIS
THE MAN WHO
Independente *
Indie hitment deliver wretched follow-up - strings by Anne Dudley of Art Of Noise
IF you persist beyond the call of duty, it does at least end on a high note. After the apparently final "Slide Show", we endure a prolonged gap of some three minutes before Travis make an unexpected re-entrance with the caustic, churning folk-pop of "Flashing Blue Lights", This, with singer and songwriter Fran Healy as the classic teenager (trapped, fried and disgusted with it - all), is like a spitting, biting Bluetones, pretty much as good as indie gets.
      Sadly, up until this point we are engaged only by a thoughtful engineering job that, employing deep floods of bass, sharp clatterings and even the revving up of spacecraft, bravely struggles to disguise a wispy indie pop of belief-beggaring triteness. The main problem is the vocal, Ploughing through tunes both hackneyed and half-arsed, it climbs with shocking rapidity to an all-too-familiar soprano that, lacking Thom Yorke's embarrassed but forthright vulnerability, instead reeks of forced melodrama and greedy manipulation,
      For having to watch these people grow up in public we should all be rewarded - standard babysitter rates being a good £20 an hour. Come on, Travis, put up or shut up.
Dominic Wills
<< Mantaray, Sleeper, Radiohead
    Speedy,The Bluetones, Radiohead >>

Sleeper 'Vegas' coloured vinyl 7-inch Abba memorabilia couldn't be given away 15 years ago, but Aguncha dolls will fetch £500 plus- so never give up on anyone Except [?] Sleeper. Bizarrely, album single "Alice in Vain" once commanded an extraordinary £20 per copy. If you're lucky, this one goes for 50p. [Note: The above transcription were done using the image on the left, blown up with contrast - which STILL doesn't help but give an eye strain =). The result is a good guess at what it says.]

UK Play (a digital TV channel) has shown the She's a Good Girl video four times this week, which pleased me as now I have the whole thing on tape.

I'm not sure, but perhaps this is the UK Play website

Shed Seven
GOING FOR GOLD - BEST OF (Polydor)

For every successful Britpop band - Blur, Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene - there have been those that have sunk without trace. Menswear and Sleeper, anyone? Then there are those bands, who - like a faithful old carthorse - prod along with only half an eye on the race. Shed Seven fall into this third category, despite an undisputed knack for producing catchy indie pop tunes - Going for Gold, Chasing Rainbows, Bully Boy ... They've even managed to notch up 12 top 40 hits along the way. And the new songs - Disco Down, with its chant-along chorus, and the moving, string-filled High Hopes - prove Rick Witter and The Sheds aren't ready for the knacker's yard just yet.
*** (RG)

Simon Mayo started his show with Inbetweener this morning, as part of his greatest hits hour or whatever it's called. And he didn't even make any rude comments about Sleeper...

Sleeper got another mention on Radio 1. During Jo Whiley's quiz thing one of the questions was, "Who had hits with Inbetweener and Nice Guy Eddie?" Thats a tough one.

I've just made my own radio station at imagine radio and if anyone wants to go and have a listen then go to this address: http://www.imagineradio.com/mymusiclisten.asp?name=radiobez It should play a lot of Sleeper, but I can't get it to work. You need Windows Media Player or Real Audio Player.

Another internet radio station that plays quite a lot of Sleeper is at: http://www.angelfire.com/id/indieshop/ You also need media player for this and it's only on monday evenings.

There was a scene [in "This Life"] where Miles and his girlfriend were eating dinner and "Amuse" was playing in the background.

This Life, (it caught on pretty well in Britian about...95-96) it's about a bunch of lawyers living in a flat together who party and do drugs and have fucked up lives :)

Update 6/2/99 Sandy: This Life was actually aired in Britain 96-97

The issue of Q with Blur on the cover [May 99] Louise is quoted all over the place in an article called "Why Are Albums So Long?"

"Louise Wener, formerly of Sleeper and now working on a solo project, says the editing problem extends to rock. 'Bands often seem more interested in filling the time up than in creating songs. It's White Album syndrome. They seem to think that if The BEATLES could get away with singing about Raccoons and Piggies, why shouldn't they? But the White Album is only half a great album. The argument that increased length equals value for the money is nonsense. '"

It goes on to later say

"Wener on the other hand, doubts that labels seriously consider album length at all. 'Most record companies have the artistic integrity of Papa Smurf. Give them three hit singles on an album and they won't care how long it is.'"

This was used as a key comment so it was big in bold

"Technology always drives art to some extent,' concludes Louise Wener, 'but just because the medium of CD enables you to include 80 minutes you don't have to do it slavishly do it. A brilliant short album will always preferable to a long mediocre one."

Also in the new Q (Cerys on cover) [Jun 99] there is a lovely pic of Louise saying when Sleeper got dropped so did their label.

"In 96 the band their first appearance on the scene, but the scene wasn't ready since another female fronted band, Sleeper was controlling the waves." They [Catatonia] are nothing alike. I love Catatonia, but they don't give you the same warm fuzzy feeling Sleeper gives you.

And also, my friend informed me that they played Sleeper on Nassau Community Colleges (I think im not sure or Hofrstra) on their radio station.

GENE
Fill Her Up
POLYDOR

With Gene posssibly on the road to Sleeper-ville, you'd think now would be the time to make some grandiose gesture. But 'Fill Her Up' has the same note of weary 'Has it come to this?' resignation as 'As Good As It Gets'. Beginning prominsingly with some Fall-like chants of "Hey" it quickly becomes the usual indie trad fare, with only a sole trumpet attempting to instill some oomph. At under thee minutes' duration, you begin to wonder if they've release this one in the hope that one will notice.

STAR WARS FAN CLUB

Alright, truth must out. Who is the dastardly rat whose creation of an official Star Wars Fan Club Threatens the very existence of this band of bold men and women. But who are we? Answer; these many facts.....

1. Ash were made honourary members after the legendary Splash Club gig. Mainly because Mark was wearing the coolest R2-D2 tee-shirt.

2. Star Wars Fan Club lists among it's members hot indie babe Louise Wener of Sleeper - when confonted at Reading '94 she confessed Jabba the Hutt was a big influence (true!)

Oasis, Pulp, Elastica, Ash, Sleeper, The Prodigy, Orbital, The Verve, PJ Harvey, Goldie, Supergrass, Tricky, Massive Attack (big name drop-out: The Stone Roses)

In 1997 "She's A Good Girl" revealed a more mature, orchestral sound for Sleeper but their third album PLEASED TO MEET YOU failed to match their earlier success. The Britpop bubble had finally burst. A national tour saw the band cancelling or downsizing venues due to poor ticket sales. At some venues, a bitter Louise would verbally attack those members of the music press who had been less than kind to the band.

Dissatisfied with their record label, Sleeper negotiated a release in December 1998. A month later they announced that they had split. The band had actually split at the end of their tour in-March 1998. Louise and Andy are now in the process of starting a new band together, which promises to be more 'diverse' and 'ambitious' than Sleeper.

Skivan : SAFPD 019 (endast till prenumeranter)
Sid 1 A: The Odd Numbers - "About Time" (Baisa) 2:30
beskrivning skall skrivas
Sid 1 B: Sleeper - "Inbetweener/Hunch/Pyrotechnician" (Wener-Wener/Stewart-Wener/Stewart) 3:00
beskrivning skall skrivas
Matrisnummer : skall skrivas
Hastighet : 33 1/3 RPM
Färg vinyl/tryck : Genomskinlig/skall skrivas
Presseri : Flexi Records
Kommentar: Odd Numbers flexibidrag är ett av många fina spår och tillika titellåt på deras första fullängdare (finns dock endast på kassett), "About Time". Engelska Sleeper i sin tur bjuder på en exklusiv specialmix av tre spår från deras debutalbum "Smart".

"I love every single thing The Pixies ever did"
- Dave Grohl - Guitar magazine 1997

"The band of the '80's. It's tragic that one factor of their breakup was the complete indifference to them in their own country"
- David Bowie

"The Pixies were the most influential guitar band of the last 20 years"
- Jon Stewart (Sleeper)

Pulp have shown their Sheffield steel in maintaining a mammoth pop career, which may have influenced their recent single 'Help the Aged'.

Other contemporary stars include Steven Jones of Babybird, Jon Stewart of Sleeper, and the Longpigs.

Names from the city's pop heritage include ABC, Heaven 17, the Human League, Joe Cocker, and Def Leppard. Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden was born in Worksop but grew up in Sheffield.

Radio 1 played Vegas, during Joe Whiley's afternoon slot. After the song she said that Louise was house-hunting at the moment (I think) and that she would be releasing a solo album later this year.

The rumour [regarding Sleeper's new name] is not true. It was started by a French magazine who misunderstoood a joke in the NME when Louise said she didn't have a name for the new project but that she was going to be "busy with the Listerine, washing the taste of corporate cock out of my mouth". (The Listerine being mouthwash not a new band!)

I can't even remember where in the show [Queer As Folk, which is a show on Channel 4 about three gay blokes] they played Atomic, I think it was in a club but it may have been during a sex scene. I was on the phone at the time and wasn't really paying much attention so I don't know if it was Sleeper's version of Blondie's. I think it was Sleeper's though.

Sleeper Put To Bed
[Jan 4 1999 4:34PM]
To no one's great surprise Sleeper have split after a less than happy (poor album sales, disastrous tour) 1998. According to frontperson Louise Wener the band actually called it a day at the end of their downsized spring tour but didn't make an official announcement because they didn't want to make a big deal about it (an attitude not unlike most people's response to the album and tour). Wener is currently working on new material with drummer Andy McClure [sic].
 

Image from Q Magazine #150 (Mar 99)

I just picked up the new Q (March 99, Shirley Manson on the cover), and there is a lovely pic of our Louise, with "Goodbye?" next to her, and the following text underneth "Louise Wener, ex-singer of Sleeper recently signed to Virgin."

"Sleeper Out, Caprice In" pg 22

Following the upheaval caused by Seagrams' recent buyout of Polygram, the first examples of change in the pop music landscape have emerged.

Sleeper have split and singer Louise Wener no longer has a contract with BMG/RCA, while model/TV present Caprice and Martine McCutcheon (formerly Tiffany from EastEnders) have both been signed by Virgin Records.

The article goes on to talk about Caprice's upcoming single...

There is also a slight Sleeper mention on page 96. As a sidenote to Q's review of the new Blondie album "No Exit", "Pleased To Meet You" is recommended in the "Like This? Try These..." column.

There was a brief Louise appearance in the previous issue of Q as well. Louise was one of four people in a crowd at a Dec 4 Elliot Smith gig.

Louise Wener, 28 singer, London- "It's been the album of the summer, the one I've listened to all the time. I missed his other gigs and this time he was sick, but managed to still be amazing. The female drummer is wicked."

Here is a personal (and approximate) translation of what the magazine was saying:

"After the official announcement of Sleeper's split, singer Louise Wener and drummer Andy Maclure, who are still associated with their new band the Listerine, envisage to create their own label. As for guitarist Jon Stewart, who lives in Los Angeles, he is now playing with a group called UFO Bro."

This magazine is called Magic! and it is in the February's issue. They had been quite supporting Sleeper since their beginning, but as their last album has never been officially released in France, they had been giving no news from them since Diid Osman was dismissed (except for their separation with RCA last year).

As you know, Listerine, is a mouthwash product. I hope they don't use that name, there will be a lawsuit as well as complications.

Here's what David Thompson remembers about Louise in Manchester University (1989-1992):

"She was a very quiet girl, and not somebody that any of us thought would one day become a pop star. She'd sit at the back of the class, and on really quiet days you'd just forget she was there until the end when she'd get up and leave the room. She had some really close friends, but outside that circle she seemed to keep herself to herself. The funny thing is that everyone thought she looked like [tragic hoary Eighties rock songstress] Pat Benatar, and that's what we knew her as! In fact, we used to hum her biggest hit, "Love is a battlefield", whenever Louise walked past. I'm not sure whether she heard us or not".

we don't have any more info than this at this stage but expect some new material this year.

cheers
maria
alan james pr
___________________________________________________________
Alan James PR - National & Regional Music Promotion to Press, Radio & TV
TEL: 0171 277 0066 / FAX: 0171 277 0404 / EMAIL: ajpr@ajpr.demon.co.uk

http://www.ajpr.demon.co.uk / 253 Camberwell New Road, London, SE5 0TH

According to this Louise didn't rule out working with Jon and Andy in the future, so there is a possibility of Sleeper reforming in the next few years. The split might not be permenant (just look at the Verve who split for a long time and have found greater success after reforming) and I can''t wait for Louise and Andy's new material.

There's a bit in this weeks Melody maker about Sleeper:

THE SPLIT GIRL
This week, Louise Wener tells us about Sleeper's split and her plans for the future

      Sleeper were top of the indie world in 1996 with their second album "The It Girl" and the top 10 hit singles "Sale Of The Century" and "Nice Guy Eddie".
      Lately, however, it's all gone wrong. Their 1997 album, "Pleased to Meet You", flopped, and a tour in early 1998 ended in humiliation with poor ticket sales causing several dates to be switched to venues smaller than those originally booked.
      Shortly before Christmas, Sleeper issued a statement revealing that there had been a parting of ways with their record company, RCA. The band have now split, as their former singer Louise Wener admits here for the first time.

Why did you part company with RCA?
      "I think as far as we were concerned, it had become unworkable. We were keen to go, they said, 'OK', and it was a relief. It was like getting out of an arranged marriage where you realise that you haven't got anything in common with your partner, and all their personal habits turn out to be disgusting." The sales of "Pleased To Meet You" must have been a big disappointment to all concerned.

Do you blame RCA?
      "I don't know...I think it's been a difficult year for a lot of our peers as well. There have been a lot of great records made that haven't been as successful commercially as people would have liked them to be."

But you still think it's a good album?
      "Yes, absolutely! I'd be lying if I didn't say that in some ways it has been quite a difficult year, but I feel brilliant about everything at the moment. I can't wait to get on with the stuff for next year."

So, the big question: have Sleeper split?
      "At the moment, we're not going to be doing anything together under that name. To all intents and purposes, I think we split as a band after the last tour - in our own heads, at least. We didn't want to make a big deal of it at that time, or even talk about it. Even though we've got no plans to make another Sleeper album in the near future, we didn't want to rule out the possibility of me, Jon (Stewart, Sleeper guitarist) and Andy (McClure, their drummer) working together further ahead.
      "But at the moment, Jon's living in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and playing in a band called UFO Bro, and Andy and I are working on a seperate project.
      "We're still putting it together, in terms of exactly how it's going to be presented. I haven't tied those things down now, and I haven't really got any intention of doing so, until it's all worked out."

So at the moment, you and Andy are concentrating on working on new songs, rather than worrying about what the new band's format might be?
      "Yeah! We're just massively looking forward to making records on our own terms, doing exactly what we want to do. Sometimes I think it's difficult for people to understand what a narrow environment it can be, working under a major label. It was a very restrictive atmosphere that we've been involved in for the last couple of years. It's a great feeling to be out of that."

What were you being made to do that you didn't want to do - or what were you being prevented from doing?
      "It was very difficult to move on from where we were within the confines of that company. Everyone we knew had left, and we were left in a situation where there was no one left within that company who we had any contact or rapport with."

So you didn't feel that they were behind you?
      "No. But that was all right, because we weren't behind them either! I think RCA was concentrating on it's pop market, and the things we wanted to do were more adventurous.
      "What we're working on now is something that I don't think people would expect from us."

Have you any idea when we might hear your new stuff?
      "I'd like to get something out by the summer of next year, all being well."

You're not looking for a new job, then? After all, you did some writing for us not too long ago...
      (Laughs)"No, I haven't been doing anything like that. I've just been working purley on on the musical side of things lately. Which is good, I think."

After eight years the  british  band  "Sleeper"
splits  up  officially.    The  decisions   was
already made after the last tour in March 1998,
but was kept  secret.   Singer  Louise Wener is
already  working  on  songs  for a new project.