Ride (band)

Ride (band)

Ride is a 1980s and 90s British shoegazing band, formed by Laurence Colbert (Drums), Mark Gardner (Guitar), Steve Queralt (Bass) and Andy Bell (Guitar) in 1988. The band formed in 1988 in Oxford, England, and officially broke up in 1996. During that time they received much critical acclaim, although this was never translated into the chart and financial success that they aimed for. Since then, the band members have gone on to other projects, most notably Andy Bell becoming Bass Player for Oasis. Since 2001 the band has been semi-active and has released a number of compilation and live recordings, as well as a limited pressing EP with new material.

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Mark, Loz, Steve and Andy

Table of contents

1 History
2 Discography
3 Related Topics
4 External Links

History

1988-1989 Starting out
1989-1993 Early Creation Years
1994-1996 Change in musical direction
1997-2001 Post break-up years
2001+ Channel Four and beyond

After supporting The Soup Dragons in 1989, Alan McGee from Creation Records signed a record deal with them.

Ride released three EPs between January and September 1990, entitled Ride, Play and Fall, each with distinctive blurred artwork on the covers. While each EP was not a chart success, enough critical praise was received to make Ride the "darlings" of music journalists. The first two EPs were eventually released together as Smile years later in 1992, while the Fall EP was incorporated into their first LP, Nowhere, released in October 1990.

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Andy Bell

Nowhere was hailed as a critical success and the media dubbed Ride "The brightest hope" for 1991. Demand for new material was high, and the band recorded another EP, Today Forever in March 1991. The EP showed a band that was maturing quickly and producing material that was more subtle and complex than their releases barely 12 months previously. Ride made their first international tour to Japan, Australia and France later on that year.

March 1992 saw the band release probably their best work, the album Going Blank Again. Opening with the anthemic 8.17 single Leave them all behind, the album showcased the band's creative work and skill in working with the Wall of Sound style that typifies Shoegazing bands. The twin rhythm guitars of Bell and Gardener, both distorted, both using Wah-wah pedals and both feeding back on each other was the highlight of the album's critical and chart success. It needs to be pointed out, also, that the band had listened to and had been been influenced by the album Nevermind by Nirvana as they recorded their second LP. This link, between Shoegazing and Grunge_music, has never been fully explored. Ride's early influences include Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine, both of which influenced the style of Ride's music and the songs found on Going Blank Again.

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Despite having a solid fanbase and some mainstream success, the lack of a breakthrough contributed to inter-band tension, especially between Gardner and Bell. Their third LP, Carnival of Light, was released in 1994 (1994 in music), after shoegazing had given way to Britpop among mainstream listeners. Carnival of Light was oriented towards this new sound, but sales were sluggish and the shift in musical tastes devastated much of their original audience. Despite this, Carnival of Light remains a favourite for many fans.

1995 (1995 in music) saw the dissolution of the band while recording Tarantula, universally agreed to be their worst album.

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Mark Gardner

After the split, Andy Bell formed a new band called "Hurricane #1" but this project was permanently dissolved when he was asked to play Bass for Oasis. Mark Gardener and Laurence Colbert formed "The Animalhouse". Gardener has also toured as a solo artist, while Colbert has also been playing for a Bob Dylan tribute band called "The Zimmermen". Queralt appears to have retired from professional music.

On 16 October 2001, all four members of Ride agreed to be filmed by Channel 4. The footage was used for a documentary on Sonic Youth, and featured both Bell's and Gardener's unique use of feedback and distortion during a thirty minute Jam. The recording of this song, plus two short sound checks, were released in 2002 as Coming up for Air. The interest this limited release CD caused the band to consider future releases. In late 2002, Ride released a 3CD box set which is made up of OX_4 The Best of Ride, Firing Blanks (Unreleased tracks) and Live_Reading Festival 1992. In 2003 they released Waves, a series of recordings the band made for the BBC.

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Laurence Colbert

The fact that the band appears to be releasing new material and even being interviewed together seems to indicate that the tension between Gardener and Bell, which was one of the main causes of the band's demise, has been mended.

Thom Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead, was a fan of Ride before his own success. It was reported on the internet that he had asked the band to reform for a special concert with Radiohead a number of years ago which was, unfortunately, turned down.

Any thoughts of re-forming the band, however, have been explicitly denied by Bell.

Discography

Fall EP

Ride (EP)
Play (EP)
Fall (EP)
Nowhere
Today Forever (EP)
Leave the all Behind (EP)
Going Blank Again
Twisterella (EP)
Smile
Birdman (EP)
How does it feel to feel? (EP)
Carnival of Light
I don't know where it comes from (EP)
Black Nite Crash (EP)
Tarantula

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Steve Queralt

OX_4 The Best of Ride
Firing Blanks_Unreleased Ride Recordings 1988-95
Live_Reading Festival 1992
Coming up For Air (EP)
Waves (BBC Radio One sessions)

External Links

Fan's Website http://www.ticket2ride.it/index2.htm

Official Website http://www.rideox4.net/

Creation Records website http://www.creation-records.com