Smaller were an alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band from Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, England, active during the 1990s. They had hits with "Wasted" and "Is" in 1996 and 1997.

History

The band was formed in the early 1990s by former Cook da Books

Cook da Books

Cook da Books were a British new wave group active in the 1980s.-History:Cook Da Books formed in 1980 in Fazakerley, Liverpool, composed of former members of The Dogems and Brooklyn...

 guitarist/singer Peter "Digsy" Deary, his brother Stephen (drums), Jason Riley (guitar/vocals), and Paul Cavanagh (bass guitar). The band's debut release was the single "God I Hate This Town" in 1995. They recorded a session for John Peel

John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...

's BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

 show in November that year. A second single failed to chart, but they broke into the UK top 75

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 with "Wasted" in September 1996. Their next single, "Is", which featured Noel Gallagher

Noel Gallagher

Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...

 on guitar, gave them their biggest hit, reaching number 55 in the UK in March 1997. The band's debut album, Badly Badly, was released in April 1997, featuring further contributions from Gallagher. A second album was recorded, featuring a guest appearance from Richard Hawley

Richard Hawley

Richard Hawley is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer. After his first band Treebound Story broke up, Hawley found success as a member of Britpop band Longpigs in the 1990s. He later joined the band Pulp, led by his friend Jarvis Cocker...

, but it remained unreleased, and the band split up.

The band's lyrical themes included relationships, financial problems, and Digsy's experiences with drugs.

Digsy went on to front The Sums.

Singles

• "God I Hate This Town" (1995), Better
• "Stray Dogs and Bin Bags" (1996), Better
• "Wasted" (1996), Better - UK #72
• "Is" (1997), Better - UK #55