History
First three albums (1992–1998)
Jon Stewart met Louise Wener at Manchester University in 1987 in a political philosophy class.[4] They played in a number of bands at university, including jazz outfit the Lime Street Blues Band, then after graduating in 1988, moved to London to seek gigs. Wener later wrote that "we sounded not unlike the Sundays, but as time went on our music became increasingly influenced by US bands such as Hole, Nirvana and, most especially, the Pixies".[5] They advertised for new band members in Melody Maker ("Bass player and drummer wanted. Influences The Pixies and The Partridge Family") and recruited Diid Osman and Andy Maclure.[6] Wener solicited interest from record label representatives by sending out a fake NME review, a move she called "pure cheek and cut-and-paste fakery."[7]
At one point, the band called themselves Surrender Dorothy,[8] after the smoke trail in the sky from the Wizard of Oz movie, but abandoned this idea after discovering that several other bands had done the same thing. They subsequently chose the name "Sleeper" after the Woody Allen film Sleeper, and also because the word has a number of different meanings (a spy, an unexpected hit, etc.).[9] In 1993 Sleeper signed to Indolent Records, a subsidiary of RCA Records, and released three EPs and singles before their breakthrough single release, "Inbetweener",[10] which notably featured UK TV personality Dale Winton in the promo video. Prior to the release of "Inbetweener" Sleeper had been the opening act for Blur on that band's tour to promote the Parklife album, and became closely associated with Britpop as a result.[11]
The band's debut album release Smart was certified gold by the BPI for sales of over 100,000 copies. It was followed by the platinum-selling (over 300,000 copies) release The It Girl which yielded four top 20 hit singles "What Do I Do Now?", "Nice Guy Eddie", "Sale of the Century" and "Statuesque".[12] Sleeper recorded a cover of the Blondie song "Atomic", which was used in the film Trainspotting, after Blondie refused to allow the use of the original version. "Statuesque" also features in the movie and its follow-up soundtrack volume. The band’s third album, Pleased to Meet You, released October 1997, was a UK Top 10 hit and certified silver, though had fewer sales than the previous albums; the band split in March 1998 after a tour in which venues had been cancelled or downsized due to lower than expected ticket sales.[1]
Post-split (1999–2016)
After Sleeper split, Wener and Maclure recorded material for a new project, aimed at a more mainstream market and featuring a guest appearance by George Michael. However, the project was not completed at the time,[13] and Wener went on to have a career as a novelist. Her fourth book for Hodder & Stoughton was published in 2008. Wener also features prominently as an interviewee in John Dower's feature film documentary on Britpop, Live Forever (2003).
Stewart moved to Los Angeles, California, where he played with West Coast band UFO Bro[14] and contributed as a session guitarist to k.d. lang's album Invincible Summer (2000) and Melanie C's album Reason. After returning to the UK he became Course Leader of the BA (Hons) Music Business and a lecturer in popular culture and music history at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute in Brighton, where his former students include The Kooks, James Bay, Black Honey, The Xcerts, Kate Walsh and Luke Sital-Singh, as well as members of As It Is and Miss Vincent, amongst others. Stewart also wrote a monthly column for Guitarist magazine from 2002 to 2010, and gained a PhD in Music from the University of Southampton in 2018.[15] In 2019 he joined The Wedding Present as guitarist during their thirtieth anniversary Bizarro UK and EU tour.
Osman subsequently went on to become a session player with Parlophone records band Dubstar and later became an artist manager, with bands including Infectious Music outfit My Vitriol, Hell Is For Heroes (band) on EMI and Atlantic Records band The Glitterati, and helped writer-producer Justin Parker sign to Sony Music publishing. Maclure later ran a "Punk Rock Karaoke" enterprise with DJ Steve Lamacq.[16]
A greatest hits compilation, with a tracklisting selected by and artwork designed by the band themselves, was released on Sony/BMG in 2007. Their first two albums were reissued as deluxe versions on 29 November 2010, with second discs of B-sides and live tracks.
By 2014, Wener and MacLure had formed another band, Huge Advance, although they only played in and around their residential suburb of Crouch End.[17]
Reunion (2017–present)
Sleeper reformed in 2017 to play in four British cities in July and August, as part of the Star Shaped Festival, alongside other Britpop acts including Space, Dodgy and The Bluetones.[18] These dates saw Wener, Maclure and Stewart joined on bass by new member Kieron Pepper, previously known as live drummer for The Prodigy from 1997 to 2007, and were followed by an eleven-date headline tour of the UK in spring 2018.[19]
In the summer of 2018, Sleeper announced that they were recording a new album in collaboration with their old producer Stephen Street for release in early 2019 and that this would be accompanied by another headline UK tour.[20] Lead single "Look at You Now" premiered on BBC Radio 6 Music on 4 December 2018, while presenter Steve Lamacq announced the title of the new album was The Modern Age.[21]
During 2020 Wener and Maclure compiled unreleased material from previous recording sessions, including the George Michael collaboration, with new material as the basis for a new Sleeper album This Time Tomorrow, released on 14 December 2020.
In 2021, Sleeper were credited on "Bad Things", an R&B-laced indie-pop track by Greater Manchester based band The Lottery Winners. The track features vocals from Louise Wener and can be found on an eight-track EP by The Lottery Winners called Start Again.[22][23][24]
The band toured the UK in Spring 2022 performing their 1996 album The It Girl. The Lottery Winners were the support act. In 2023 the band undertook a UK acoustic tour as 'Sleeper unplugged'.[25]
Image
Frontwoman Louise Wener, along with Elastica's Justine Frischmann, was one of Britpop's biggest female stars, and became one of its enduring sex symbols, placing highly in Melody Maker and NME "Sexiest Woman" polls two years running. Wener enjoyed significant media coverage, including an NME front cover and a slot as guest presenter of Top of the Pops. The band had multiple appearances on The Word (TV series) and also on TFI Friday. Billboard described how Wener's "forthright opinions on female sexuality, censorship, and other issues, have been manna for feature editors."[26]
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). This pejorative term was 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. The "Sleeperblokes" themselves were reported to be highly amused by the phrase, and even produced an ironic "Sleeperbloke" T-shirt to go with Wener's "Another Female Fronted Band" T-shirt, both of which sold well.[27]
