Crispian Mills
Encyclopedia
Crispian Mills is an English
singer, songwriter
, and guitarist
. He is the son of actress Hayley Mills
and director Roy Boulting, the grandson of John Mills
and Mary Hayley Bell
(Lady Mills), nephew of Juliet Mills and Jonathan Mills, and half-brother to Jason "Ace" Lawson. He has been married to the model Joanne Mills (née Branfoot) since 1995. They currently reside in Bath with their son, Keshava.
Active since 1988, Mills is best known as the frontman of the psychedelic
indie
rock
band Kula Shaker
. Following the band's breakup in 1999, he remained with Columbia Records
(a subsidiary of Sony BMG), and toured with a set of session musicians (including a support slot for Robbie Williams
) under the name Pi, although no official studio recordings were released in full. After the label rejected the Pi album, Mills disappeared for a short time, returning in 2002 as frontman and lead guitarist of back-to-basics rock outfit The Jeevas
, who disbanded in 2005 to make way for a reformed Kula Shaker, who released their third album Strangefolk
in 2007.
Mills' vocal style reflects his influences, demonstrating the soft, melodic qualities of 1960s pop, a more scratchy, textured folk leaning in the style of Bob Dylan
, held together by a heavier, late-1970s rock-esque howling delivery. His lyrics are similarly varied, and demonstrate themes such as love
, wisdom
, and mysticism
alongside political commentary, social observations and popular culture
. As a guitarist, Mills is self-taught, and has observed that his "style is all about [his] right hand," as seen through his penchant for the slide guitar
technique. He is also a frequent user of the wah-wah pedal
and is also known to play the harmonica
and the sarod
.
, London
, England
on 18 January 1973. His mother, Hayley Mills
had made her name as a child star in the 1960s, and met Crispian’s father, Roy Boulting, on the set of light British comedy The Family Way
. At the time, Boulting was still married to his third wife Sandra. Boulting was 33 years Mills' senior, and only five years younger than her father, Sir John Mills
. The pair went on to marry in 1971. The family lived on Belgrade Road, in the south-west London district of Hampton
, and had an additional seat at Cobstone Windmill
at Ibstone
, Buckinghamshire
. The marriage did not last, and the pair split in 1975, followed by an official divorce in 1977. At this point, Hayley was pregnant again by actor Leigh Lawson
with her second son, Jason. Crispian did not see his father again until he was 16. Boulting has since explained why that was:
The new family split their time between Hampton and Lawson's Coventry residence. Hayley had given up working to raise her sons during their early years, a sacrifice which to this day, Crispian values very highly. Crispian's maternal grandparents also played a vital role in their upbringing, particularly his grandfather John Mills, who Crispian describes as having been "the one consistent man in my life." Indeed, the young Mills believed his grandfather to be a genuine knight in shining armour Sir John can also be credited with introducing Crispian to music, by singing old cowboy songs to send him to sleep as a child. Crispian would go on to cover one of those songs, "Rio Grande" with his post-Kula Shaker
band The Jeevas
. "I count myself to be very fortunate," says Mills, "in having been brought up by people who are very open-minded and who are genuinely in love with the arts. If I've inherited anything from my family, it's that love of the creative process and that awareness of the privilege which being a part of it represents. That comes from my father too...I couldn't escape from it, and never felt I wanted to."
Crispian commenced his education at the Mall School, Twickenham then Highgate School
in north London. His background meant that family friends were people like Richard Attenborough
and Sir Laurence Olivier
, although Crispian has often remarked that he was rarely star-struck as they were "just people," to one accustomed to the company of famous actors. As a result of this, and his mother's experiences as a child actress, the young Mills believed that making films was to be his next step. "I grew up with pictures of my mum looking very very young, standing with John Wayne or Walt Disney. That did something to my head, I thought that was kind of normal. That's what happens, you get to twelve, you start making movies. It was only when I got to twelve that I realised, obviously, that wasn't the case. Instead, he was sent to Stowe School
(Chatham House, with school number 606), Buckinghamshire
, to continue his education. Despite enjoying the experience initially, he left after a year (Possibly due to homesickness since he would frequently be found crying in Addington dormitary by the Matron Mrs Adcock), telling his mother, "I'm out. If you make me stay there any longer, I'm gonna become a communist!" His opinions on public school have mellowed over the years, and he concedes that "public school people aren't all monsters," and blames any monstrous tendencies on the trend that allows older pupils to discipline the younger ones. Hayley took the plea of her eldest son seriously, and he was promptly enrolled at the local comprehensive.
It was around this time when Mills first started to consider ideas of spirituality, and mortality. "If I ever had a Road-to-Damascus, it was when I was 11," he recalls. "I woke up one night, at home in bed, and realised I was going to die. I don't mean 'tomorrow' or 'in a year'. It wasn't a prediction. It was just suddenly understanding fully that death would come. I remember talking about it at the time. Everyone thought there was something wrong with me." To address these new feelings on life and death, Crispian borrowed the Mahābhārata
, one of the two major Sanskrit
epics
of ancient India
, from his mother, and took to reading it. He also became vegetarian, although concedes that this was largely due to meeting "a really attractive girl who was vegetarian." Subsequently, Mills has had involvement with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
(the "Hare Krishna" movement).
Throughout his youth, Crispian had been exposed to a wide variety of music. One of his earliest musical memories was "Puff, the Magic Dragon
" by Peter, Paul and Mary
, which he believes "summed up [his] childhood." As a general rule, Mills was uninspired by the then-current music scene, and found that he was able to identify with older records, which he felt had honesty and genuine youth. However, there were a couple of exceptions to this rule: he distinguished "Stand and Deliver
" by Adam and the Ants
- the first single he ever bought - by virtue of its drama and longevity. In terms of albums, his first purchase was "Too Tough to Die
" by Ramones
. However, it was hearing "You Really Got Me
" by English rock group The Kinks
that inspired him to become a guitarist. "It was like walking into a temple, a moment when my life changed," he says. "I'd grown up listening to Boy George and Duran Duran on the radio. But You Really Got Me. Chung! This is your destiny! After that, as soon as I picked up a guitar, all I wanted to do was become brilliant. I practised, I studied tapes, I was a guitar worshipper. "Through the guitar, Mills also discovered Deep Purple
, and has cited their lead guitarist Ritchie Blackmore
as a major influence on his style.
Crispian studied at Richmond upon Thames College
where he met future band-mate Alonza Bevan
.
As he grew older, Mills started to delve deeper into psychedelic
music, and spent most of his A-Level years taking LSD
and listening to The Doors
. Acid gave the teenaged Mills a change of perspective, but he soon realised that drugs alone would not bring him the enlightenment he sought. Watching close friends go "over the edge" on hallucinogenic drugs ultimately convinced Crispian that there were other ways of changing one's perspective.
for the first time with his mystical friend and tour guide, Mathura, while the other band members stayed behind in England. He was initiated
in Gaudiya Vaishnavism
tradition in 1997 and has a spiritual Hare Krishna
name Krishna Kantha dasa. The same year he wrote a foreword to a book by Bhaktivinoda Thakur
translated into English from Bengali and titled Sri Siksastaka
, an esoteric bhakti
publication.
Mills became famous in the UK as the lead singer/songwriter in the Indian-influenced 90s Indie/rock band Kula Shaker
in 1996. Kula Shaker's first album K became the best-selling debut album since Oasis
' Definitely Maybe
in the UK, and the band had a string of UK hit singles, culminating in 1997's 'Hush' which peaked at #2 there. He was one of a clutch of mid-1990s Britpop stars to rise to prominence in the media, before making a series of remarks about swastikas and being accused by newspapers such as The Independent of harbouring Nazi
sympathies. He later clarified that this was not what he had meant by the remarks about swastikas.
In 1997, Mills contributed vocals to the nine-minute song 'Narayan' on The Prodigy
's third album The Fat of the Land
. The album's success introduced Mills' work to a new group of music fans.
Following Kula Shaker's breakup in 1999, he spent two years experimenting with new musical ideas, touring briefly in the UK with as part of a band called Pi. A disagreement over the quality of an album proposed for release saw Mills depart from his UK record company in 2001.
In early 2002 the speedy formation of a new band called The Jeevas
with Andy Nixon and Dan McKinna (previously both of the band Straw
) led to relative success, with the first album selling over 100,000 copies in Japan. Sales elsewhere were low but the band remained a hot ticket in smaller UK venues. Despite extensive touring and sizeable hardcore fanbase, The Jeevas
split in early 2005, with Dan and Andy forming a new band named The Magic Bullet Band.
During 2004 The Jeevas and a reformed Kula Shaker
(without original keyboardist Jay Darlington
) contributed to a charity album with the California
n School of Braja which Crispian masterminded. The sessions with Kula Shaker went so well that the band decided to reform permanently. 2006 saw their return to the live scene in the UK with the addition of new keyboardist Harry Broadbent, and the release of an EP The Revenge of the King. Their third album Strangefolk
was released in 2007 and their fourth, Pilgrims Progress, in 2010.
Crispian is currently working on a film project entitled The Winged Boy, produced by Stephen Fry
, and is also contributing to the soundtrack. As of 2009, Crispian was no longer involved in the production of the film.
In June 2010 Mills released his 4th Album with Kula Shaker, Pilgrims Progress. Mills is slated to direct A Fantastic Fear of Everything
an upcoming film starring Simon Pegg
. It has been described as a low-budget British "semicomedy" about a writer who becomes obsessed with murder and murdering.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
. He is the son of actress Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
and director Roy Boulting, the grandson of John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
and Mary Hayley Bell
Mary Hayley Bell
Mary Hayley Bell, Lady Mills was an English actress, writer and dramatist.Mary Hayley Bell was born in Shanghai, China, where her father served in the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, and the family later moved to Tianjin . It was there that she first met John Mills, although exactly when is not...
(Lady Mills), nephew of Juliet Mills and Jonathan Mills, and half-brother to Jason "Ace" Lawson. He has been married to the model Joanne Mills (née Branfoot) since 1995. They currently reside in Bath with their son, Keshava.
Active since 1988, Mills is best known as the frontman of the psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
indie
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
. Following the band's breakup in 1999, he remained with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
(a subsidiary of Sony BMG), and toured with a set of session musicians (including a support slot for Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
) under the name Pi, although no official studio recordings were released in full. After the label rejected the Pi album, Mills disappeared for a short time, returning in 2002 as frontman and lead guitarist of back-to-basics rock outfit The Jeevas
The Jeevas
The Jeevas were an English rock band. Its members were Crispian Mills , Andy Nixon , and Dan McKinna . Mills was previously the vocalist of Kula Shaker. Nixon and McKinna were previous members of Straw...
, who disbanded in 2005 to make way for a reformed Kula Shaker, who released their third album Strangefolk
Strangefolk (album)
Strangefolk is the third album by Kula Shaker, the first album since the band reformed. The album has received mixed reviews since its release...
in 2007.
Mills' vocal style reflects his influences, demonstrating the soft, melodic qualities of 1960s pop, a more scratchy, textured folk leaning in the style of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, held together by a heavier, late-1970s rock-esque howling delivery. His lyrics are similarly varied, and demonstrate themes such as love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
, wisdom
Wisdom
Wisdom is a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgements and actions in keeping with this understanding. It often requires control of one's emotional reactions so that universal principles, reason and...
, and mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
alongside political commentary, social observations and popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
. As a guitarist, Mills is self-taught, and has observed that his "style is all about [his] right hand," as seen through his penchant for the slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
technique. He is also a frequent user of the wah-wah pedal
Wah-wah pedal
A wah-wah pedal is a type of guitar effects pedal that alters the tone of the signal to create a distinctive effect, mimicking the human voice...
and is also known to play the harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
and the sarod
Sarod
The sarod is a stringed musical instrument, used mainly in Indian classical music. Along with the sitar, it is the most popular and prominent instrument in the classical music of Hindustan...
.
Youth and education
Crispian Mills was born in HammersmithHammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 18 January 1973. His mother, Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
had made her name as a child star in the 1960s, and met Crispian’s father, Roy Boulting, on the set of light British comedy The Family Way
The Family Way
The Family Way is a 1966 British comedy-drama film based on Bill Naughton's play All in Good Time . It began life in 1961 as a television play entitled Honeymoon Postponed....
. At the time, Boulting was still married to his third wife Sandra. Boulting was 33 years Mills' senior, and only five years younger than her father, Sir John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
. The pair went on to marry in 1971. The family lived on Belgrade Road, in the south-west London district of Hampton
Hampton, London
Hampton is a suburban area, centred on an old village on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England. Formerly it was in the county of Middlesex, which was formerly also its postal county. The population is about 9,500...
, and had an additional seat at Cobstone Windmill
Cobstone Windmill
Cobstone Mill was built around 1816 and is located in the civil parish of Ibstone in Buckinghamshire, England, and overlooks the village of Turville. It is sometimes referred to as Turville Windmill. It is a smock mill that replaced the original mill that had stood there since the 16th century...
at Ibstone
Ibstone
Ibstone is a village and civil parish within Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills on the border with Oxfordshire, about two miles south of Stokenchurch....
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. The marriage did not last, and the pair split in 1975, followed by an official divorce in 1977. At this point, Hayley was pregnant again by actor Leigh Lawson
Leigh Lawson
Leigh Lawson is a film and stage actor, director, and writer.-Career:Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Lawson has acted in film and television since the early 1970s, directed plays in the West End and on Broadway...
with her second son, Jason. Crispian did not see his father again until he was 16. Boulting has since explained why that was:
The new family split their time between Hampton and Lawson's Coventry residence. Hayley had given up working to raise her sons during their early years, a sacrifice which to this day, Crispian values very highly. Crispian's maternal grandparents also played a vital role in their upbringing, particularly his grandfather John Mills, who Crispian describes as having been "the one consistent man in my life." Indeed, the young Mills believed his grandfather to be a genuine knight in shining armour Sir John can also be credited with introducing Crispian to music, by singing old cowboy songs to send him to sleep as a child. Crispian would go on to cover one of those songs, "Rio Grande" with his post-Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
band The Jeevas
The Jeevas
The Jeevas were an English rock band. Its members were Crispian Mills , Andy Nixon , and Dan McKinna . Mills was previously the vocalist of Kula Shaker. Nixon and McKinna were previous members of Straw...
. "I count myself to be very fortunate," says Mills, "in having been brought up by people who are very open-minded and who are genuinely in love with the arts. If I've inherited anything from my family, it's that love of the creative process and that awareness of the privilege which being a part of it represents. That comes from my father too...I couldn't escape from it, and never felt I wanted to."
Crispian commenced his education at the Mall School, Twickenham then Highgate School
Highgate School
-Notable members of staff and governing body:* John Ireton, brother of Henry Ireton, Cromwellian General* 1st Earl of Mansfield, Lord Chief Justice, owner of Kenwood, noted for judgment finding contracts for slavery unenforceable in English law* T. S...
in north London. His background meant that family friends were people like Richard Attenborough
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
and Sir Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, although Crispian has often remarked that he was rarely star-struck as they were "just people," to one accustomed to the company of famous actors. As a result of this, and his mother's experiences as a child actress, the young Mills believed that making films was to be his next step. "I grew up with pictures of my mum looking very very young, standing with John Wayne or Walt Disney. That did something to my head, I thought that was kind of normal. That's what happens, you get to twelve, you start making movies. It was only when I got to twelve that I realised, obviously, that wasn't the case. Instead, he was sent to Stowe School
Stowe School
Stowe School is an independent school in Stowe, Buckinghamshire. It was founded on 11 May 1923 by J. F. Roxburgh, initially with 99 male pupils. It is a member of the Rugby Group and Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school is also a member of the G20 Schools Group...
(Chatham House, with school number 606), Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, to continue his education. Despite enjoying the experience initially, he left after a year (Possibly due to homesickness since he would frequently be found crying in Addington dormitary by the Matron Mrs Adcock), telling his mother, "I'm out. If you make me stay there any longer, I'm gonna become a communist!" His opinions on public school have mellowed over the years, and he concedes that "public school people aren't all monsters," and blames any monstrous tendencies on the trend that allows older pupils to discipline the younger ones. Hayley took the plea of her eldest son seriously, and he was promptly enrolled at the local comprehensive.
It was around this time when Mills first started to consider ideas of spirituality, and mortality. "If I ever had a Road-to-Damascus, it was when I was 11," he recalls. "I woke up one night, at home in bed, and realised I was going to die. I don't mean 'tomorrow' or 'in a year'. It wasn't a prediction. It was just suddenly understanding fully that death would come. I remember talking about it at the time. Everyone thought there was something wrong with me." To address these new feelings on life and death, Crispian borrowed the Mahābhārata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, one of the two major Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
epics
EPICS
The Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System is a software environment used to develop and implement distributed control systems to operate devices such as particle accelerators, telescopes and other large experiments. EPICS also provides SCADA capabilities...
of ancient India
Epic India
Epic India is the geography of Greater India traditionally around early 10th century BC and later on from the Sanskrit epics, viz. the Mahabharata and the Ramayana as well as Puranic literature ....
, from his mother, and took to reading it. He also became vegetarian, although concedes that this was largely due to meeting "a really attractive girl who was vegetarian." Subsequently, Mills has had involvement with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...
(the "Hare Krishna" movement).
Throughout his youth, Crispian had been exposed to a wide variety of music. One of his earliest musical memories was "Puff, the Magic Dragon
Puff, the Magic Dragon
"Puff, the Magic Dragon" is a song written by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow, and made popular by Yarrow's group Peter, Paul and Mary in a 1963 recording. The song achieved great popularity and has entered American and British pop culture.-Lyrics:...
" by Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary were an American folk-singing trio whose nearly 50-year career began with their rise to become a paradigm for 1960s folk music. The trio was composed of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers...
, which he believes "summed up [his] childhood." As a general rule, Mills was uninspired by the then-current music scene, and found that he was able to identify with older records, which he felt had honesty and genuine youth. However, there were a couple of exceptions to this rule: he distinguished "Stand and Deliver
Stand and Deliver (song)
"Stand and Deliver" was Adam and the Ants' most successful single. It entered the UK Top 40 at Number One and stayed there for five weeks. It was featured on their Prince Charming album...
" by Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants were a British rock band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The original group, which existed from 1977 to 1980, became notable as a cult band marking the transition from the late-1970s punk rock era to the post-punk and New Wave era...
- the first single he ever bought - by virtue of its drama and longevity. In terms of albums, his first purchase was "Too Tough to Die
Too Tough to Die
Too Tough to Die is the eighth studio album by the American punk rock band The Ramones. It was released on October 1,1984. It is the first Ramones album to feature new drummer Richie Ramone...
" by Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
. However, it was hearing "You Really Got Me
You Really Got Me
"You Really Got Me" is a rock song written by Ray Davies and performed by his band, The Kinks. It was released on 4th August 1964 as the group's third single, and reached Number 1 on the UK singles chart the next month, remaining for two weeks...
" by English rock group The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
that inspired him to become a guitarist. "It was like walking into a temple, a moment when my life changed," he says. "I'd grown up listening to Boy George and Duran Duran on the radio. But You Really Got Me. Chung! This is your destiny! After that, as soon as I picked up a guitar, all I wanted to do was become brilliant. I practised, I studied tapes, I was a guitar worshipper. "Through the guitar, Mills also discovered Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
, and has cited their lead guitarist Ritchie Blackmore
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
as a major influence on his style.
Crispian studied at Richmond upon Thames College
Richmond upon Thames College
Richmond upon Thames College is a further education college in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, which provides education primarily to 16-19 year olds...
where he met future band-mate Alonza Bevan
Alonza Bevan
Alonza George Bevan is best known as the bassist for the English rock band, Kula Shaker.In between Kula Shaker splitting in 1999 and reforming in 2006, Bevan played in a number of groups including Johnny Marr's band, The Healers.- References :...
.
As he grew older, Mills started to delve deeper into psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
music, and spent most of his A-Level years taking LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
and listening to The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
. Acid gave the teenaged Mills a change of perspective, but he soon realised that drugs alone would not bring him the enlightenment he sought. Watching close friends go "over the edge" on hallucinogenic drugs ultimately convinced Crispian that there were other ways of changing one's perspective.
Fame and music career
Crispian Mills in an interview with a leery New York journalist stated, "You can sing about things like premature teenage sex, or you can sing about everlasting, universal truth." In the perspective of this Hindu philosophy his band debuted the song Govinda at an outdoor festival in England. "We found our way onto the Hare Krishna stage, and we just started jamming on 'Govinda'." Shortly thereafter, Crispian toured IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
for the first time with his mystical friend and tour guide, Mathura, while the other band members stayed behind in England. He was initiated
Sampradaya
In Hinduism, a sampradaya can be translated as ‘tradition’ or a ‘religious system’, although the word commands much more respect and power in the Indian context than its translations in English does...
in Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Gaudiya Vaishnavism is a Vaishnava religious movement founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in India in the 16th century. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gauḍa region with Vaishnavism meaning "the worship of Vishnu"...
tradition in 1997 and has a spiritual Hare Krishna
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...
name Krishna Kantha dasa. The same year he wrote a foreword to a book by Bhaktivinoda Thakur
Bhaktivinoda Thakur
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur , a prominent figure among the Gaudiya Vaishnavas of Bengal, was born Kedarnath Datta in the town of Birnagar, Bengal, India. He was the son of Raja Krsnananda Datta and Jagat Mohini Devi...
translated into English from Bengali and titled Sri Siksastaka
Siksastaka
The Siksastaka is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu prayer of eight verses composed in the Sanskrit language. They are believed to be the only verses left personally written by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, with the majority of his philosophy being codyfied by his primary disciples, known as the Six Goswamis of...
, an esoteric bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
publication.
Mills became famous in the UK as the lead singer/songwriter in the Indian-influenced 90s Indie/rock band Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
in 1996. Kula Shaker's first album K became the best-selling debut album since Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
' Definitely Maybe
Definitely Maybe
Definitely Maybe is the debut album by English rock band Oasis, released in August 1994. It was an immediate commercial and critical success in the UK, having followed on the heels of singles "Supersonic", "Shakermaker" and "Live Forever"....
in the UK, and the band had a string of UK hit singles, culminating in 1997's 'Hush' which peaked at #2 there. He was one of a clutch of mid-1990s Britpop stars to rise to prominence in the media, before making a series of remarks about swastikas and being accused by newspapers such as The Independent of harbouring Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
sympathies. He later clarified that this was not what he had meant by the remarks about swastikas.
In 1997, Mills contributed vocals to the nine-minute song 'Narayan' on The Prodigy
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...
's third album The Fat of the Land
The Fat of the Land
The Fat of the Land is the third studio album by The Prodigy. The album was released by XL Recordings on 30 June 1997 and on 1 July 1997 in the United States by Maverick Records...
. The album's success introduced Mills' work to a new group of music fans.
Following Kula Shaker's breakup in 1999, he spent two years experimenting with new musical ideas, touring briefly in the UK with as part of a band called Pi. A disagreement over the quality of an album proposed for release saw Mills depart from his UK record company in 2001.
In early 2002 the speedy formation of a new band called The Jeevas
The Jeevas
The Jeevas were an English rock band. Its members were Crispian Mills , Andy Nixon , and Dan McKinna . Mills was previously the vocalist of Kula Shaker. Nixon and McKinna were previous members of Straw...
with Andy Nixon and Dan McKinna (previously both of the band Straw
Straw (band)
Straw were an English pop band that released one album, Shoplifting, in 1999.-History:Straw was formed in Bristol by Mattie Bennett and Roger Power , formerly of The Blue Aeroplanes. Later adding keyboardist Mark "Duck" Blackwell, the group signed to Arista Records under the moniker "Please" with...
) led to relative success, with the first album selling over 100,000 copies in Japan. Sales elsewhere were low but the band remained a hot ticket in smaller UK venues. Despite extensive touring and sizeable hardcore fanbase, The Jeevas
The Jeevas
The Jeevas were an English rock band. Its members were Crispian Mills , Andy Nixon , and Dan McKinna . Mills was previously the vocalist of Kula Shaker. Nixon and McKinna were previous members of Straw...
split in early 2005, with Dan and Andy forming a new band named The Magic Bullet Band.
During 2004 The Jeevas and a reformed Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(without original keyboardist Jay Darlington
Jay Darlington
Jay Darlington is an English keyboardist who has played as a member of the band Kula Shaker and as a live member of Oasis.-Early life and Kula Shaker: 1968-1999:...
) contributed to a charity album with the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
n School of Braja which Crispian masterminded. The sessions with Kula Shaker went so well that the band decided to reform permanently. 2006 saw their return to the live scene in the UK with the addition of new keyboardist Harry Broadbent, and the release of an EP The Revenge of the King. Their third album Strangefolk
Strangefolk (album)
Strangefolk is the third album by Kula Shaker, the first album since the band reformed. The album has received mixed reviews since its release...
was released in 2007 and their fourth, Pilgrims Progress, in 2010.
Crispian is currently working on a film project entitled The Winged Boy, produced by Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, and is also contributing to the soundtrack. As of 2009, Crispian was no longer involved in the production of the film.
In June 2010 Mills released his 4th Album with Kula Shaker, Pilgrims Progress. Mills is slated to direct A Fantastic Fear of Everything
A Fantastic Fear of Everything
A Fantastic Fear of Everything is an upcoming film starring Simon Pegg, written and directed by Crispian Mills with Chris Hopewell as co-director. It has been described as a low-budget British "semicomedy" about a children’s author-turned crime novelist who has become obsessed with murder and...
an upcoming film starring Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
. It has been described as a low-budget British "semicomedy" about a writer who becomes obsessed with murder and murdering.
Albums
- K - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(1996) - Peasants, Pigs & AstronautsPeasants, Pigs & AstronautsPeasants, Pigs & Astronauts is the second album by the British indie and psychedelic rock band Kula Shaker. The album was released on 8 March 1999 and reached #9 in the UK Albums Chart, during a chart stay of 10 weeks. It was less successful in the U.S., however, where it failed to break into the...
- Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(1999) - 1,2,3,4 - The JeevasThe JeevasThe Jeevas were an English rock band. Its members were Crispian Mills , Andy Nixon , and Dan McKinna . Mills was previously the vocalist of Kula Shaker. Nixon and McKinna were previous members of Straw...
(2002) - Cowboys and IndiansCowboys and Indians (album)Cowboys and Indians is an album by The Jeevas, released October 6, 2003.-Track listing:All songs by Crispian Mills, unless otherwise noted.# "Black & Blue"# "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?" # "Healing Hands"# "The Way You Carry On"...
- The JeevasThe JeevasThe Jeevas were an English rock band. Its members were Crispian Mills , Andy Nixon , and Dan McKinna . Mills was previously the vocalist of Kula Shaker. Nixon and McKinna were previous members of Straw...
(2003) - School Of Braja - School Of Braja (2006)
- StrangefolkStrangefolk (album)Strangefolk is the third album by Kula Shaker, the first album since the band reformed. The album has received mixed reviews since its release...
- Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(2007) - Pilgrims Progress - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(2010)
EPs
- Summer Sun EPSummer Sun EPSummer Sun E.P. is an EP by Kula Shaker. All the tracks on the EP had previously appeared as B-sides to the band's UK singles.-Track listing:# "Govinda '97, Hari & St. George"# "Gokula"# "Dance in Your Shadow"# "Raagy One "...
- Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(1997) - The Revenge of the King - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(2006) - Freedom Lovin' People EP - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(2007)
Compilation albums
- Kollected - The Best ofKollected - The Best ofKollected: Best of is a 2002 compilation album by Kula Shaker.-Track listing:# "Sound of Drums"# "Into the Deep"# "Grateful When You're Dead/Jerry Was There"# "108 Battles "# "Start All Over"# "Hey Dude"# "Drop in the Sea"...
- Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(2002) - Tattva - The Very Best Of - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(2007)
Singles
- "Tattva (Lucky 13 Mix)" - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(1996) - "Grateful When You're Dead" - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(1996) - "Tattva" - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(1996) - "Hey Dude" - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(1996) - "Govinda" - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(1996) - "Hush" - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(1997) - "Sound Of Drums" - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(1998) - "Mystical Machine Gun" - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(1999) - "Shower Your Love" - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(1999) - "Scary Parents" - The JeevasThe JeevasThe Jeevas were an English rock band. Its members were Crispian Mills , Andy Nixon , and Dan McKinna . Mills was previously the vocalist of Kula Shaker. Nixon and McKinna were previous members of Straw...
(2002) - "One Louder" - The JeevasThe JeevasThe Jeevas were an English rock band. Its members were Crispian Mills , Andy Nixon , and Dan McKinna . Mills was previously the vocalist of Kula Shaker. Nixon and McKinna were previous members of Straw...
(2002) - "Virginia" - The JeevasThe JeevasThe Jeevas were an English rock band. Its members were Crispian Mills , Andy Nixon , and Dan McKinna . Mills was previously the vocalist of Kula Shaker. Nixon and McKinna were previous members of Straw...
(2002) - "Ghost (Cowboys In The Movies)" - The JeevasThe JeevasThe Jeevas were an English rock band. Its members were Crispian Mills , Andy Nixon , and Dan McKinna . Mills was previously the vocalist of Kula Shaker. Nixon and McKinna were previous members of Straw...
(2002) - "Once Upon A Time In America" - The JeevasThe JeevasThe Jeevas were an English rock band. Its members were Crispian Mills , Andy Nixon , and Dan McKinna . Mills was previously the vocalist of Kula Shaker. Nixon and McKinna were previous members of Straw...
(2003) - "The Way You Carry On" - The JeevasThe JeevasThe Jeevas were an English rock band. Its members were Crispian Mills , Andy Nixon , and Dan McKinna . Mills was previously the vocalist of Kula Shaker. Nixon and McKinna were previous members of Straw...
(2003) - "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?" - The JeevasThe JeevasThe Jeevas were an English rock band. Its members were Crispian Mills , Andy Nixon , and Dan McKinna . Mills was previously the vocalist of Kula Shaker. Nixon and McKinna were previous members of Straw...
(2003) - "Second Sight" - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(2007) - "Out On The Highway" - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(2007) - "Peter Pan R.I.P" - Kula ShakerKula ShakerKula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
(2010) - "Healing Hands" - Crispian Mills (2010)