The Seahorses
Encyclopedia
The Seahorses were an English
rock
band
, formed in 1996 by guitarist John Squire
, following his departure from The Stone Roses
.
The band released one album in 1997 and began work on a follow up, before splitting up due to musical differences during recording sessions in January 1999.
playing in local covers band The Blueflies, with whom Fletcher was filling in for the bands regular bass player who had pulled out of the gig at the last minute due to RSI pains. He then auditioned two singers - Sean O'Brien, previously of Warrington
band "The Steamboat Band" and Chris Helme
, who was spotted by a friend of Squire's guitar tech busking
outside Woolworths in York
. Following several auditions and the prompting of his manager, Squire eventually settled on Helme, despite being hesitant because he "closed his eyes when he sang and only folk singers do that".
Squire, Helme and Fletcher rented a cottage in Coniston, Cumbria
to write and rehearse in the summer of 1996. Numerous drummers were auditioned before recruiting Andy Watts, who had previously been in bands with Fletcher and also knew Helme. The delay in recruiting a drummer for the band was due to Squire's desire to get a drummer who could also sing backing vocals. It had previously been rumoured that Reni
was set to join the band.
Just weeks after Watts joined, the band played secret warm up gigs in Buckley
, Greenock
and Lancaster
, before heading to North Hollywood to record with David Bowie
and T. Rex
producer Tony Visconti
.
The band's debut album, Do it Yourself, was released in June 1997 on Geffen Records
with whom Squire was still signed to following his departure from the Stone Roses, and received mixed reviews. One of the songs on the album, "Love Me and Leave Me", was co-written with Liam Gallagher
of Oasis
, with whom the band toured with in 1997.
Shortly before the release of the single "Love Me And Leave Me", it was announced that drummer Andy Watts was leaving the group to spend more time with his family. Watts later revealed that he was actually asked to leave by the band's manager Steve Atherton at a meeting with the band's accountants, on behalf of the band, because Squire did not approve of the drummer's excessive behaviour on tour, and felt he did not fit in with the desired image for the band. Helme also commented at the time that Watts was "playing like an arse", which Watts later attributed to his cocaine
habit at the time.
Watts was temporarily replaced by Mal Scott, who toured with the band throughout 1997 and played on the stand-alone Squire/Helme co-write single "You Can Talk To Me" in December 1997 and Toby Drummond.
In 1998, the band began work on a follow up album with another new drummer, Mark Heaney. The band previewed several new songs during secret fan club gigs and festival appearances including City In The Sky, 700 Horses, Tombraid and two Helme compositions Won't Let You Fall and Moth.
The band entered Olympic Studios
with producer David Bottrill
in January 1999 to record the album, with the working titles of 'Minus Blue' and 'Motocade', and things came to a head - the sessions were abandoned and the band split after Squire walked out of the studio and did not return.
The band's split was officially announced on the 23 January 1999, with a press release citing musical differences. A spokesman for the band later informed the NME that Squire had "become increasingly dissatisfied with the material being produced by Helme until it reached a point where their partnership was no longer possible".
Despite having previewed fully formed songs including two of his own compositions, Helme would later claim in 2001 that his contributions were being ignored and that the songs the band were working on were "unfinished tunes with unfinished lyrics, and they're all John's songs". Squire commented at the time that "I'd say the ratio of songwriting is the same as before; Chris and I help each other out with songs, but we haven't done that many strict collaborations", and sources close to the band confirmed that the band had worked on a number of his songs that were set to appear on the album.
Helme admitted in 2011 that he had been unhappy with Squire writing the majority of the bands material and therefore picking up the majority of the bands publishing. He attempted to establish a solo career whilst still in the Seahorses, but claimed that the Seahorses' management informed him that they would sue him if he started touring playing his own material whilst still in the band. This subsequently led to trust issues between Helme and Squire, and Helme began drinking heavily and turning up for rehearsals "hung over and stinking" to the increasing irritation of Squire.
Squire would later comment on his reasons for ending the band that "I thought, 'This sounds shit, we don't deserve to be in this place.' The band sounded complacent. I don't suppose it was anyone's fault. Maybe it got far too much attention for very little effort in the early stages, because of what I'd done in the past."
readers spotted it was an anagram
of He Hates Roses, and wrote in to the paper. Other anagrams include The Rose Ashes, and by dropping the definite article
, She's A Rose. Squire responded "That's pure coincidence. I chose the name because at the time, I kept seeing them everywhere and because some people think they don't exist. They are unusual because it is the male of the species who gets pregnant."
Following the controversy, Squire changed the band's name The Seahorses to simply Seahorses. The name change was short lived however, becoming the subject of a dispute when another band revealed they had already been performing as Seahorses for several years.
bassist Simon Jones
along with new vocalist Duncan Baxter as John Squire's Skunkworks, but left prior to the band releasing material as The Shining
. He later released two solo albums and toured both, before announcing he was quitting music to concentrate on his art.
Heaney formed The Shining who split after releasing one album and carried on working as a drum teacher and session musician, appearing on Squire's first solo album Time Changes Everything and working with Gang Of Four
, Badly Drawn Boy
and Klaxons
.
Helme pursued a solo career deal and went on to attack John Squire in the press, describing his material as "muso wank". He then formed The Yards with Stuart Fletcher and former Shed Seven
guitarist Paul Banks
in 2001, who released two albums on their own "Industrial Erotica" label before splitting in November 2009 and has since resurrected his solo career with the self released album "Ashes". He later commented on his relationship with Squire that "I don’t have any contact with him now, I didn’t really when I was in the band - he was quite elusive.
Fletcher is still active in the local York music scene. He regularly performs in covers band "The Mothers" and also played with Rick Witter
in his short lived post-Shed Seven
band Rick Witter & The Dukes
.
The band's first drummer Watts fronted the short lived Mozer, who split prior to releasing anything. In 2004 he began performing sporadic solo acoustic shows around London.
Singles:
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...
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
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...
, formed in 1996 by guitarist John Squire
John Squire
John Thomas Squire is an English musician, songwriter and artist.Squire is best known as the guitarist for The Stone Roses, a rock band in which he formed a songwriting partnership with lead singer Ian Brown. After leaving The Stone Roses he went on to found The Seahorses and has since released...
, following his departure from The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
.
The band released one album in 1997 and began work on a follow up, before splitting up due to musical differences during recording sessions in January 1999.
History
Formed in 1996 following his departure from The Stone Roses, Squire first recruited bassist Stuart Fletcher who he saw by chance at the Fibbers venue in YorkYork
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
playing in local covers band The Blueflies, with whom Fletcher was filling in for the bands regular bass player who had pulled out of the gig at the last minute due to RSI pains. He then auditioned two singers - Sean O'Brien, previously of Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
band "The Steamboat Band" and Chris Helme
Chris Helme
Chris Helme is an English singer-songwriter who briefly shot to fame as the frontman of The Seahorses, the band formed by The Stone Roses guitarist John Squire.-Early Days:...
, who was spotted by a friend of Squire's guitar tech busking
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
outside Woolworths in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. Following several auditions and the prompting of his manager, Squire eventually settled on Helme, despite being hesitant because he "closed his eyes when he sang and only folk singers do that".
Squire, Helme and Fletcher rented a cottage in Coniston, Cumbria
Coniston, Cumbria
Coniston is a village and civil parish in the Furness region of Cumbria, England. It is located in the southern part of the Lake District National Park, between Coniston Water, the third longest lake in the Lake District, and Coniston Old Man; about north east of Barrow-in-Furness.-Geography and...
to write and rehearse in the summer of 1996. Numerous drummers were auditioned before recruiting Andy Watts, who had previously been in bands with Fletcher and also knew Helme. The delay in recruiting a drummer for the band was due to Squire's desire to get a drummer who could also sing backing vocals. It had previously been rumoured that Reni
Reni
-People:* Guido Reni , Italian Baroque painter* Alan Wren , nicknamed Reni, drummer for The Stone Roses* Reni Mimura, a Japanese pop singer who is known for using cosplay in her performances....
was set to join the band.
Just weeks after Watts joined, the band played secret warm up gigs in Buckley
Buckley
Buckley is a town and community in Flintshire, located in north-east Wales. It is situated 2 miles from the county town of Mold and is contiguous with the nearby villages of Ewloe, Alltami and Mynydd Isa...
, Greenock
Greenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
and Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
, before heading to North Hollywood to record with David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
and T. Rex
T. Rex (band)
T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
producer Tony Visconti
Tony Visconti
Anthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers; his lengthiest involvement with any artist is with David Bowie: intermittently from Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity to 2003's Reality, Visconti...
.
The band's debut album, Do it Yourself, was released in June 1997 on Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
with whom Squire was still signed to following his departure from the Stone Roses, and received mixed reviews. One of the songs on the album, "Love Me and Leave Me", was co-written with Liam Gallagher
Liam Gallagher
William John Paul "Liam" Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, the former frontman of the English rock band Oasis and currently of the band Beady Eye. Gallagher's erratic behaviour, distinctive singing style, and abrasive attitude have been the subject of commentary in the press...
of 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...
, with whom the band toured with in 1997.
Shortly before the release of the single "Love Me And Leave Me", it was announced that drummer Andy Watts was leaving the group to spend more time with his family. Watts later revealed that he was actually asked to leave by the band's manager Steve Atherton at a meeting with the band's accountants, on behalf of the band, because Squire did not approve of the drummer's excessive behaviour on tour, and felt he did not fit in with the desired image for the band. Helme also commented at the time that Watts was "playing like an arse", which Watts later attributed to his cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
habit at the time.
Watts was temporarily replaced by Mal Scott, who toured with the band throughout 1997 and played on the stand-alone Squire/Helme co-write single "You Can Talk To Me" in December 1997 and Toby Drummond.
In 1998, the band began work on a follow up album with another new drummer, Mark Heaney. The band previewed several new songs during secret fan club gigs and festival appearances including City In The Sky, 700 Horses, Tombraid and two Helme compositions Won't Let You Fall and Moth.
The band entered Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios was a renowned independent commercial recording studio located at 117 Church Road, Barnes, South West London, England. The studio is best known for the huge number of famous rock and pop recordings made there from the late 1960s onward....
with producer David Bottrill
David Bottrill
David Bottrill is a Canadian record producer. He has won three Grammys. Currently, he owns Rattlebox Studios in Toronto, Ontario with producer Brian Moncarz...
in January 1999 to record the album, with the working titles of 'Minus Blue' and 'Motocade', and things came to a head - the sessions were abandoned and the band split after Squire walked out of the studio and did not return.
The band's split was officially announced on the 23 January 1999, with a press release citing musical differences. A spokesman for the band later informed the NME that Squire had "become increasingly dissatisfied with the material being produced by Helme until it reached a point where their partnership was no longer possible".
Despite having previewed fully formed songs including two of his own compositions, Helme would later claim in 2001 that his contributions were being ignored and that the songs the band were working on were "unfinished tunes with unfinished lyrics, and they're all John's songs". Squire commented at the time that "I'd say the ratio of songwriting is the same as before; Chris and I help each other out with songs, but we haven't done that many strict collaborations", and sources close to the band confirmed that the band had worked on a number of his songs that were set to appear on the album.
Helme admitted in 2011 that he had been unhappy with Squire writing the majority of the bands material and therefore picking up the majority of the bands publishing. He attempted to establish a solo career whilst still in the Seahorses, but claimed that the Seahorses' management informed him that they would sue him if he started touring playing his own material whilst still in the band. This subsequently led to trust issues between Helme and Squire, and Helme began drinking heavily and turning up for rehearsals "hung over and stinking" to the increasing irritation of Squire.
Squire would later comment on his reasons for ending the band that "I thought, 'This sounds shit, we don't deserve to be in this place.' The band sounded complacent. I don't suppose it was anyone's fault. Maybe it got far too much attention for very little effort in the early stages, because of what I'd done in the past."
Name
The origin of the name The Seahorses has been the subject of various conspiracy theories after a pair of NMENME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
readers spotted it was an anagram
Anagram
An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...
of He Hates Roses, and wrote in to the paper. Other anagrams include The Rose Ashes, and by dropping the definite article
Definite Article
Definite Article is the title of British comedian Eddie Izzard's 1996 performance released on VHS. It was recorded on different nights at the Shaftesbury Theatre...
, She's A Rose. Squire responded "That's pure coincidence. I chose the name because at the time, I kept seeing them everywhere and because some people think they don't exist. They are unusual because it is the male of the species who gets pregnant."
Following the controversy, Squire changed the band's name The Seahorses to simply Seahorses. The name change was short lived however, becoming the subject of a dispute when another band revealed they had already been performing as Seahorses for several years.
Post-breakup
Following the demise of The Seahorses, Squire continued work with drummer Mark Heaney and ex-VerveThe Verve
The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
bassist Simon Jones
Simon Jones (musician)
Simon Jones is an English bass player. He played bass and provided occasional backing vocals for the English band, The Verve.-Personal life:...
along with new vocalist Duncan Baxter as John Squire's Skunkworks, but left prior to the band releasing material as The Shining
The Shining (band)
The Shining were an English rock band formed in 2000. The band was composed of Duncan Baxter , Dan MacBean , Mark Heaney , Simon Jones , and Simon Tong , the latter two both being members of The Verve....
. He later released two solo albums and toured both, before announcing he was quitting music to concentrate on his art.
Heaney formed The Shining who split after releasing one album and carried on working as a drum teacher and session musician, appearing on Squire's first solo album Time Changes Everything and working with Gang Of Four
Gang of Four (band)
Gang of Four are an English post-punk group from Leeds. Original personnel were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. They were fully active from 1977 to 1984, and then re-emerged twice in the 1990s with King and Gill...
, Badly Drawn Boy
Badly Drawn Boy
Damon Gough is an English alternative music singer/songwriter. He was born on 2 October 1969, in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. He grew up in the Breightmet area of Bolton, Lancashire, England....
and Klaxons
Klaxons
Klaxons are a British indie rock band, based in London. Following the release of numerous 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles "Magick" and "Golden Skans", the band released their debut album, Myths of the Near Future on 29 January 2007....
.
Helme pursued a solo career deal and went on to attack John Squire in the press, describing his material as "muso wank". He then formed The Yards with Stuart Fletcher and former Shed Seven
Shed Seven
Shed Seven are an English indie rock band from York and were one of the groups which contributed to the Britpop music scene that evolved during the 1990s, yet never received the degree of mainstream success achieved by bands such as Oasis and Blur...
guitarist Paul Banks
Paul Banks (Shed Seven)
Paul Banks is a musician, songwriter and lead guitarist with the rock band, Shed Seven.-Professional career:...
in 2001, who released two albums on their own "Industrial Erotica" label before splitting in November 2009 and has since resurrected his solo career with the self released album "Ashes". He later commented on his relationship with Squire that "I don’t have any contact with him now, I didn’t really when I was in the band - he was quite elusive.
Fletcher is still active in the local York music scene. He regularly performs in covers band "The Mothers" and also played with Rick Witter
Rick Witter
Rick Witter is a singer, songwriter and frontman of the York-based Britpop band, Shed Seven.He was educated at Huntington School, York.-Professional career:...
in his short lived post-Shed Seven
Shed Seven
Shed Seven are an English indie rock band from York and were one of the groups which contributed to the Britpop music scene that evolved during the 1990s, yet never received the degree of mainstream success achieved by bands such as Oasis and Blur...
band Rick Witter & The Dukes
Rick Witter & The Dukes
Rick Witter & The Dukes are a British alternative rock band from York, England.-Band members:* Rick Witter * Rob Wilson * Stuart Fletcher * Matt Lunn -History:...
.
The band's first drummer Watts fronted the short lived Mozer, who split prior to releasing anything. In 2004 he began performing sporadic solo acoustic shows around London.
Discography
Albums:- Do it Yourself (1997) UK #2 US #8
Singles:
- "Love Is the Law" (April 1997) UK #3
- "Blinded by the Sun" (July 1997) UK #7
- "Love Me and Leave Me" (September 1997) UK #16
- "You Can Talk to Me" (December 1997) UK #15 U.S. Modern Rock #30