The Auteurs
Encyclopedia
The Auteurs were a British alternative rock
band
of the 1990s, and a vehicle for the songwriting talents of Luke Haines
(guitar
, piano
and vocals).
, Haines created the Auteurs with his then-girlfriend Alice Readman on bass guitar
, former classmate Glenn Collins on drum
s, and later added James Banbury on cello
. Their first single
"Showgirl
" was praised by the United Kingdom
music magazine
, Melody Maker
, and led to the band gaining a recording contract
with Hut
. The album
, New Wave
(1993), was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize and saw The Auteurs associated with the emerging Britpop
genre.
However this association never sat well with Haines who frequently made derogatory remarks about his peers. After New Wave, the band remained on the fringes of the music scene. Drummer Glen Collins was replaced by Barny C. Rockford, after being headhunted from "Out Of My Hair"
by producer Phil Vinall. Their next album Now I'm a Cowboy
(1994), built on the themes of New Wave and contained Haines' best known song, "Lenny Valentino". Demonstrating, again, their difference from their musical peers, the band's next release was The Auteurs Vs. µ-Ziq, Auteurs songs remix
ed by producer
µ-Ziq (aka Michael Paradinas
). In interviews at the time Haines claimed he found contemporary techno
and house music
more interesting than most Britpop bands.
In 1996 The Auteurs released After Murder Park
, produced by Steve Albini
, and it included "Land Lovers", "Unsolved Child Murder", and "Buddha". The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios
following a year during which Haines had spent most of his time in a wheelchair after jumping off a wall to avoid the strains of touring. Haines then went on to create a band and release an album, based on aspects of the Baader Meinhof
terrorist organisation, entitled Baader Meinhof. "Baader Meinhof" supported "The Auteurs" at a London show in Camden's "Dingwalls". This saw the band play two sets in different guises, with a few extra musicians coming in and out. The last Auteurs record, How I Learned to Love the Bootboys
, was released in 1999.
Alice Readman left the band around the time of the last album, and was replaced by various musicians for live/touring purposes.
Haines also worked as one third of the art-pop band Black Box Recorder, and in 2001 released the soundtrack
album to the film, Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry
, rapidly followed by his first solo album proper, The Oliver Twist Manifesto
. 2003 saw him release Das Capital
, a collection of re-recorded Auteurs era songs, with a couple of new tracks, apparently intended as closure for that band.
Banbury went on to record an album with Paul Morley
under the name Infantjoy, and entitled Where the Night Goes. It features a vocal performance by Sarah Nixey
of Black Box Recorder singing a version of Japan's
"Ghosts
". An Infantjoy album, With, was released in 2006 with collaborators including Tunng
, Isan
and Populous. James Banbury is currently working with Pete Davis under the name dadahack. Their debut album "TAP3" is a hybrid cassette/mp3 playing device and was released in April 2010.
Several bands influenced by the Auteurs have taken their names from the band's songs. The Polish
band Lenny Valentino
took its name from The Auteurs' song on their album Now I'm a Cowboy and the Minneapolis based band, Valet, took its name from the song "Valet Parking" from New Wave.
In January 2009, Haines released a book entitled Bad Vibes, which serves dually as an autobiographical
account of his years with The Auteurs, and as a record of the Britpop movement of the 1990s. Throughout the book, he never refers to James Banbury by name, referring to him simply as "the Cellist", although he is named in full in the acknowledgements.
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
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
of the 1990s, and a vehicle for the songwriting talents of Luke Haines
Luke Haines
Luke Haines is an English musician, songwriter and author, who has recorded music under various names and with various bands, including The Auteurs, Baader Meinhof and Black Box Recorder.-'New Wave':...
(guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and vocals).
Career
Formerly of the band The ServantsThe Servants
The Servants was an indie band formed in 1985 in Hayes, Middlesex, England by singer and songwriter David Westlake. The Servants were on 1986’s NME-associated C86 compilation, and the greatly expanded 48-song reissue version in 2006. The Servants was the original home of Luke Haines...
, Haines created the Auteurs with his then-girlfriend Alice Readman on bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, former classmate Glenn Collins on drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, and later added James Banbury on cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
. Their first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Showgirl
Showgirl (song)
"Showgirl" is the debut single by The Auteurs.- Tracklist :# "Showgirl"# "Glad to Be Gone"# "Staying Power"...
" was praised by the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
, and led to the band gaining a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Hut
Hut Records
VC Recordings trading as Hut Records was a British record label brand which was started in 1990 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Virgin Records...
. The album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, New Wave
New Wave (The Auteurs album)
New Wave is the 1993 debut album by british alternative rock band The Auteurs.-Track listing:*CD/LP # "Showgirl" - 4:06# "Bailed Out" - 3:44# "American Guitars" - 3:31# "Junk Shop Clothes" - 2:42# "Don't Trust the Stars" - 2:25...
(1993), was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize and saw The Auteurs associated with the emerging Britpop
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
genre.
However this association never sat well with Haines who frequently made derogatory remarks about his peers. After New Wave, the band remained on the fringes of the music scene. Drummer Glen Collins was replaced by Barny C. Rockford, after being headhunted from "Out Of My Hair"
Out Of My Hair
Out of My Hair was a British pop/alternative rock band, active in mid 1990s. The band consisted of Simon Eugene, also known as Comfort , Sean Elliot , Kenny Rumbles and George Muranyi ....
by producer Phil Vinall. Their next album Now I'm a Cowboy
Now I'm a Cowboy
Now I'm a Cowboy is the 1994 second album by british alternative rock band The Auteurs.-Track listing:*CD/LP # "Lenny Valentino" - 2:20# "Brainchild" - 3:43# "I'm a Rich Man's Toy" - 2:54# "New French Girlfriend" - 4:15...
(1994), built on the themes of New Wave and contained Haines' best known song, "Lenny Valentino". Demonstrating, again, their difference from their musical peers, the band's next release was The Auteurs Vs. µ-Ziq, Auteurs songs remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed by producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
µ-Ziq (aka Michael Paradinas
Mike Paradinas
Michael Paradinas , who works primarily under the name μ-Ziq in addition to a large number of aliases, is a British musician in the field of electronic music.-History:...
). In interviews at the time Haines claimed he found contemporary techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
and house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
more interesting than most Britpop bands.
In 1996 The Auteurs released After Murder Park
After Murder Park
After Murder Park is the 1996 third album by british alternative rock band The Auteurs.-Track listing:*CD/LP # "Light Aircraft on Fire" – 2:17# "The Child Brides" – 4:26# "Land Lovers" – 2:31...
, produced by Steve Albini
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
, and it included "Land Lovers", "Unsolved Child Murder", and "Buddha". The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
following a year during which Haines had spent most of his time in a wheelchair after jumping off a wall to avoid the strains of touring. Haines then went on to create a band and release an album, based on aspects of the Baader Meinhof
Red Army Faction
The radicalized were, like many in the New Left, influenced by:* Sociological developments, pressure within the educational system in and outside Europe and the U.S...
terrorist organisation, entitled Baader Meinhof. "Baader Meinhof" supported "The Auteurs" at a London show in Camden's "Dingwalls". This saw the band play two sets in different guises, with a few extra musicians coming in and out. The last Auteurs record, How I Learned to Love the Bootboys
How I Learned to Love the Bootboys
How I Learned to Love the Bootboys is the fourth and final album by british alternative rock band The Auteurs.-Track listing:*CD/LP #"The Rubettes" - 3:27#"1967" - 2:42#"How I Learned to Love the Bootboys" - 3:05...
, was released in 1999.
Alice Readman left the band around the time of the last album, and was replaced by various musicians for live/touring purposes.
Haines also worked as one third of the art-pop band Black Box Recorder, and in 2001 released the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
album to the film, Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry
Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry
Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry is the penultimate novel by the late British avant-garde novelist B. S. Johnson. It is the metafictional account of a disaffected young man, Christie Malry, who applies the principles of double-entry bookkeeping to his own life, "crediting" himself against society...
, rapidly followed by his first solo album proper, The Oliver Twist Manifesto
The Oliver Twist Manifesto
The Oliver Twist Manifesto is a 2001 album by Luke Haines. It is subtitled What's Wrong With Popular Culture.-Track listing:# "Rock 'N' Roll Communique No 1" – 2:05# "Oliver Twist" – 3:23# "Death of Sarah Lucas" – 2:44...
. 2003 saw him release Das Capital
Das Capital (album)
Das Capital is Luke Haines' tribute to himself. The album features orchestral re-recordings of some of his older songs from The Auteurs and Baader Meinhof periods, along with some new tracks.-Track listing:All tracks by Luke Haines...
, a collection of re-recorded Auteurs era songs, with a couple of new tracks, apparently intended as closure for that band.
Banbury went on to record an album with Paul Morley
Paul Morley
Paul Morley is an English journalist, who wrote for the New Musical Express from 1977 to 1983, during one of its most successful periods, and has since written for a wide range of publications...
under the name Infantjoy, and entitled Where the Night Goes. It features a vocal performance by Sarah Nixey
Sarah Nixey
Sarah Nixey is a British singer songwriter, best known as the vocalist in Black Box Recorder. Her debut solo album, Sing, Memory, was released on 19 February 2007, followed by Brave Tin Soldiers, released 9 May 2011...
of Black Box Recorder singing a version of Japan's
Japan (band)
Japan were a British New Wave group, formed in 1974 in Catford, South London. The band achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they were often associated with the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement .- History :The band began as a group of friends...
"Ghosts
Ghosts (Japan song)
"Ghosts" was a single by the British band Japan from the 1981 album Tin Drum. It reached number five in the UK Singles Chart in 1982. Although it was their biggest hit, this was not enough to stop the band splitting a few months later....
". An Infantjoy album, With, was released in 2006 with collaborators including Tunng
Tunng
Tunng are an experimental folk band from the United Kingdom.The band is often associated with the folktronica genre due to the electronic influences evident in some of their work.-Biography:...
, Isan
Isan (band)
Isan are an English electronic music duo. The name was initially explained as Integrated Services Analogue Network - a play on ISDN, reflecting their preference for analogue synthesisers....
and Populous. James Banbury is currently working with Pete Davis under the name dadahack. Their debut album "TAP3" is a hybrid cassette/mp3 playing device and was released in April 2010.
Several bands influenced by the Auteurs have taken their names from the band's songs. The Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
band Lenny Valentino
Lenny Valentino
Lenny Valentino was a dream pop band from Mysłowice, Poland formed in 1998. They disbanded in 2001. Lenny Valentino formed in 1998, with guitarist/vocalist Artur Rojek as the primary songwriter. Mietall Waluś , Michał Koterba , and Wojciech Kuderski completed the band...
took its name from The Auteurs' song on their album Now I'm a Cowboy and the Minneapolis based band, Valet, took its name from the song "Valet Parking" from New Wave.
In January 2009, Haines released a book entitled Bad Vibes, which serves dually as an autobiographical
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
account of his years with The Auteurs, and as a record of the Britpop movement of the 1990s. Throughout the book, he never refers to James Banbury by name, referring to him simply as "the Cellist", although he is named in full in the acknowledgements.
Studio albums
- New WaveNew Wave (The Auteurs album)New Wave is the 1993 debut album by british alternative rock band The Auteurs.-Track listing:*CD/LP # "Showgirl" - 4:06# "Bailed Out" - 3:44# "American Guitars" - 3:31# "Junk Shop Clothes" - 2:42# "Don't Trust the Stars" - 2:25...
(1993) - UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#22 - Now I'm a CowboyNow I'm a CowboyNow I'm a Cowboy is the 1994 second album by british alternative rock band The Auteurs.-Track listing:*CD/LP # "Lenny Valentino" - 2:20# "Brainchild" - 3:43# "I'm a Rich Man's Toy" - 2:54# "New French Girlfriend" - 4:15...
(1994) - UK #17 - After Murder ParkAfter Murder ParkAfter Murder Park is the 1996 third album by british alternative rock band The Auteurs.-Track listing:*CD/LP # "Light Aircraft on Fire" – 2:17# "The Child Brides" – 4:26# "Land Lovers" – 2:31...
(1996) - UK #53 - How I Learned to Love the BootboysHow I Learned to Love the BootboysHow I Learned to Love the Bootboys is the fourth and final album by british alternative rock band The Auteurs.-Track listing:*CD/LP #"The Rubettes" - 3:27#"1967" - 2:42#"How I Learned to Love the Bootboys" - 3:05...
(1999)
EPs
- Live Acoustic EPLive Acoustic EPLive Acoustic is an EP by british alternative rock band The Auteurs. It was recorded in Paris, at Passage du Nord Ouest on February 22nd 1993 and released as mail-order promotional 7".-Track listing:*7" # "Housebreaker"# "Junk Shop Clothes"...
(1993) - The Auteurs Vs. µ-Ziq (remixes), (1994)
- Back with the Killer (1995) - UKUK Singles ChartThe 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 ...
#45 - Kids Issue (1996)
Singles
- "ShowgirlShowgirl (song)"Showgirl" is the debut single by The Auteurs.- Tracklist :# "Showgirl"# "Glad to Be Gone"# "Staying Power"...
" (1992) - "Housebreaker"/"Valet Parking" (1993)
- "How Could I Be WrongHow Could I Be Wrong"How Could I Be Wrong" is the third single by The Auteurs.- Tracklist :# "How Could I Be Wrong"# "High Diving Horses"# "Wedding Day"# "Staying Power"...
" (1993) - "New French Girlfriend" (1993)
- "Lenny ValentinoLenny Valentino (song)- Tracklist :# "Lenny Valentino" # "Car Crazy"# "Vacant Lot"# "Lenny Valentino" # "Disney World"...
" (1993) - UK #41 - "Chinese BakeryChinese Bakery (song)- Tracklist :# "Chinese Bakery"# "Government Bookstore"# "Everything You Say Will Destroy You"...
" (1994) - UK #42 - "Light Aircraft on FireLight Aircraft on Fire"Light Aircraft on Fire" is a song and single by The Auteurs.-Tracklist:# "Light Aircraft on Fire"# "Buddha"# "Car Crash"# "X-Boogie Man"# "Buddha versus the X-Boogie Man"# "Madden on the Moon"...
" (1996) - UK #58 - "The RubettesThe Rubettes (song)- Track listing :# "The Rubettes"# "Breaking Up"# "Get Wrecked at Home"...
" (1999) - UK #66