Spiritualized

Spiritualized(stylised asSpiritualized®) are an Englishrockband formed in 1990 inRugby, Warwickshire,byJason Pierce(often known as J. Spaceman), formerly ofSpacemen 3.After several line up-changes, in 1999, the band centred on Pierce (vocals, guitar), Doggen Foster (guitar) and Kevin Bales (drums and percussion) with revolving bassists and keyboard players. The band's current bassist, James Stelfox, has been playing with the band since 2012.

Spiritualized
Spiritualized performing inMalmö,Sweden during theSongs in A&Etour, 2008.
Background information
Origin	Rugby,England, United Kingdom
Genres	Space rock revival neo-psychedelia experimental rock garage rock shoegaze
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Dedicated Double Six Fat Possum Bella Union
Spinoff of	Spacemen 3
Members	Jason Pierce Doggen Foster John Coxon Kevin Bales Greg Coulson James Stelfox
Past members	Will Carruthers Thighpaulsandra Jonny Mattock Mark Refoy Kate Radley Sean Cook Jonny Aitken Mike Mooney Gregg Hale Damon Reece Ray Dickaty Thomas Wayne Sam Freeman Richard Warren
Website	spiritualized

As of 2023, Spiritualized have releasednine studio albums.The best known and most critically acclaimed of these is 1997'sLadies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space,whichNMEmagazine named as theirAlbum of the Year,beating other critically acclaimed albums by fellow British bands such asOK ComputerbyRadioheadandUrban HymnsbyThe Verve.

History

Formation: 1990–1991

Following a breakdown in relations between Spacemen 3 co-frontmenPeter KemberandJason Pierce,the group's bassistWill Carruthers,drummerJonny Mattock,and guitaristMark Refoywere asked by Pierce to form a new group alongside local friend Steve Evans, subsequently calling themselves Spiritualized. The band took their name from an adaptation of the text on the back label of a bottle ofPernod.Due to formation from a majority ofSpacemen 3members, a technical clause meant that Spiritualized had to maintain the Spacemen 3 recording contract withDedicated Records.

The first Spiritualized release, in 1990, was a cover ofThe Troggs' "Anyway That You Want Me";the record heralded the official split of Spacemen 3 following contractual wrangles over the band's name and its use in Spiritualized-related promotional material (initial copies of" Anyway That You Want Me "came with a Spacemen 3 logo on the sleeve).

First releases: 1992–1998

Evans was replaced on keyboards by Pierce's then-girlfriendKate Radleyfor the follow-up single, "Run" / "I Want You". A number of singles followed, before the band, in early 1992, released their first LPLazer Guided Melodies,which had been recorded in Rugby over the previous two years. Carruthers left the band before the release of the album and was replaced by Sean Cook in time for touring withThe Jesus & Mary Chainafter the release of the album.

A second album,Pure Phase,was released in 1995, and a third,Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Spaceemerged in 1997 to critical acclaim and commercial success. Following promotional activity forLadies And Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space,Gregg Haleleft the band on good terms and remains friends with current members, but Sean Cook, Damon Reece and Michael Mooney threatened a strike in protest over low salaries and appearance fees. New contracts of employment were drawn up between Pierce and the musicians, and the same contracts were then used to fire them (to general disbelief by the music press at the time). In response, Cook, Reece and Mooney formedLupine Howl.

Development: 1999–2010

Retaining only keyboardistThighpaulsandra(keyboards), Jason Pierce then debuted a new line up of Spiritualized, introducing classical percussionist Tom Edwards and formerJulian Copestring arranger Martin Schellard on bass guitar. Completing the new Spiritualized line-up were guitarist Doggen Foster ofBrain Donorand theJulian Copeband,Richard Warrenand drummer Kevin 'Kevlar' Bales, who is also a member ofBrain Donor.Jonny Aitken stepped in on drums for the recording ofAmazing Gracewhile Kevin Bales was recovering from illness. Chris Davis ofSix By Seven&Spotlight Kidalso stepped in for Kevin for two major festival appearances.Let It Come Downincluded over 120 musicians.Amazing Gracefavoured a more stripped-down sound with the gospel, blues, and soul influences even more dominant than before. On 15 June 1997, Spiritualized became the last band to play at Factory Records' Manchester nightclubThe Haçienda.

After several years of work and Pierce's serious illness in July 2005,the album,Songs in A&Ewas released on 26 May 2008 in the UK, and on 27 May 2008 in the US. The first single from the 18-track album was "Soul on Fire". The release was backed by an Electric Mainlines UK tour which began in May.Pierce has also scoredHarmony Korine's 2008 filmMister Lonely.In October and December 2009 the band performed 1997's "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" live in its entirety as part of theAll Tomorrow's Parties-curatedDon't Look Backseries.

Recent releases: 2011–present

After more than two years in the making, while Pierce was undergoing experimental chemotherapy for a liver disease, and including a year long period of mi xing,Sweet Heart Sweet Lightwas released in April 2012, onDouble Six RecordsandFat Possumin North America. The band had already played some of this new material over the past 3 years but not much else was known about the content of the album. The album cover, an octagon surrounding the word "Huh?" on a plain white background, is a reference to the working title of the album. In an interview regarding the new release it was revealed that the album would "embrace" more poppy songs compared to previous albums. In the same interview, Jason Pierce also said that the album was partly inspired by the experiences of performing "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" live in its entirety.In 2013, Jeremy McMahan (Dirty Blood, C is for Cookie) was brought in to some sessions to play bass.

And Nothing Hurtis the band's eighth studio album released on 7 September 2018 throughBella Unionin the United Kingdom andFat Possum Recordsin the United States, and is the band's first album in six years. The album was announced on 11 June 2018, along with the release of the album's first singles, "I'm Your Man" and "A Perfect Miracle"and was produced byJason Pierce.

On 2 November 2021, the band announced their ninth studio album,Everything Was Beautiful,slated for release on 25 February 2022 through Bella Union/PIAS Recordings.The seven-track album was previewed by a single called "Always Together With You", which is a reworked version of a song from 2014 which was originally heard in demo form. On 3 February 2022, the release date was delayed to 22 April 2022, due to manufacturing issues.

Musical style

The band's sound has been labelled asspace rock,neo-psychedelia,experimental rockandgarage rock.Their first album was also described byNMEas being distantly connected toshoegaze.

Timeline

Discography

Main article:Spiritualized discography

Studio albums

• Lazer Guided Melodies(1992)
• Pure Phase(1995)
• Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space(1997)
• Let It Come Down(2001)
• Amazing Grace(2003)
• Songs in A&E(2008)
• Sweet Heart Sweet Light(2012)
• And Nothing Hurt(2018)
• Everything Was Beautiful(2022)

External links

• Spiritualized Homepage