Spiritualized
Encyclopedia
Spiritualized are an English space rock
Space rock
Space rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early, mostly British, 1970s progressive and psychedelic rock bands such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by electric organs, synthesizers, experimental...

 band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire
Rugby, Warwickshire
Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...

 by Jason Pierce
Jason Pierce
Jason Pierce , also known as J. Spaceman or Spaceman, is an English musician. He was formerly the joint leader – with Peter Kember – of the alternative rock band Spacemen 3, and is now the leader and sole permanent member of the band Spiritualized.In between his work with Spiritualized...

 (who often goes by the alias J. Spaceman) after the demise of his previous outfit, space-rockers Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3 were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce. Their music was "colorfully mind-altering, but not in the sense of the acid rock of the '60s; instead, the band developed its own minimalistic psychedelia"...

. The membership of Spiritualized has changed from album to album, with Pierce — who writes, composes and sings all of the band's material — being the only constant member.

Spiritualized have released six studio albums. The best known and most critically acclaimed of these was 1997's Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space is the third studio album by Spiritualized, released in June 1997, and features guest appearances from the Balanescu Quartet, The London Community Gospel Choir and Dr...

, which NME
NME
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...

magazine named as their Album of the Year
NME album of the year
Every December, British music magazine NME compiles a list of what it considers the best albums of the year. It was started in 1974. The list is usually published in one of the issues sold before Christmas – in 2006 it was published in the issue for December the 9th...

.

Biography

Following a breakdown in relations between Spacemen 3 co-frontmen Peter Kember
Peter Kember
Peter Kember is a British musician and producer, more usually known as Sonic Boom, and was a founding member of alternative rock band Spacemen 3....

 and Jason Pierce
Jason Pierce
Jason Pierce , also known as J. Spaceman or Spaceman, is an English musician. He was formerly the joint leader – with Peter Kember – of the alternative rock band Spacemen 3, and is now the leader and sole permanent member of the band Spiritualized.In between his work with Spiritualized...

, the group's bassist Will Carruthers, drummer Jonny Mattock, and guitarist Mark Refoy were asked by Pierce to form a new group alongside local friend Steve Evans, subsequently calling themselves Spiritualized. The band took their name from an adaptation of the text on the back label of a bottle of Pernod. Due to formation from a majority of Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3 were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce. Their music was "colorfully mind-altering, but not in the sense of the acid rock of the '60s; instead, the band developed its own minimalistic psychedelia"...

 members, a technical clause meant that Spiritualized had to maintain the Spacemen 3 recording contract with Dedicated Records
Dedicated Records
Dedicated Records was a British independent record label in the 1990s. It was founded by Doug D'Arcy after leaving Chrysalis Records where he had been Managing Director, later President and director of the Chrysalis group...

.

The first Spiritualized release, in 1990, was a cover of The Troggs
The Troggs
The Troggs are an English rock band from the 1960s that had a number of hits in UK and the US. Their most famous songs include, "Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You", and "Love Is All Around"...

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

Evans was replaced on keyboards by Pierce's then-girlfriend Kate Radley
Kate Radley
Kate Radley was a keyboard player for the British rock band Spiritualized, and was, for part of her tenure with the band, in a long-term relationship with the band's frontman and principal creative force, Jason Pierce...

 for the follow-up single, "Run"/"I Want You". A number of singles followed, before the band, in early 1992, released their first LP Lazer Guided Melodies
Lazer Guided Melodies
Lazer Guided Melodies was the first album by the British space rock group Spiritualized. Recorded by the inaugural line up of the band, consisting of Jason Pierce , Mark Refoy , Will Carruthers , Jonny Mattock and Kate Radley . The album was recorded, mostly in VHF studios in Rugby, from 1990 to...

, which had been recorded in Rugby over the previous two years. A second album, Pure Phase
Pure Phase
Pure Phase is the second album by Spiritualized, released in 1995. The album was recorded in the Moles Studio in Bath, and features contributions from The Balanescu Quartet...

, was released in 1995, and a third Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space is the third studio album by Spiritualized, released in June 1997, and features guest appearances from the Balanescu Quartet, The London Community Gospel Choir and Dr...

emerged in 1997 to critical acclaim and commercial success.

In 1993, Spiritualized were asked to open for Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...

 on the European leg of that band's "Devotional Tour". They were met by intolerant and hostile crowds. Consequently they had to leave after only six shows, Gothenburg, Sweden, being the last. According to sources at Mute Records
Mute Records
Mute is an independent record label based in the UK. It was founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller and featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure and Fad Gadget.-Beginnings:...

, people in charge thought Depeche Mode's singer Dave Gahan was a Spiritualized fan which led to booking them.

The musical style of Spiritualized relies heavily on sustained 'pedal
Pedal tone
Pedal tones are special notes in the harmonic series of cylindrical-bore brass instruments. A pedal tone has the pitch of its harmonic series' fundamental tone. Its name comes from the pedals of a pipe-organ. Cylindrical brasses do not naturally vibrate at this frequency.A closed cylinder...

' notes and drones. Lazer Guided Melodies and Pure Phase
Pure Phase
Pure Phase is the second album by Spiritualized, released in 1995. The album was recorded in the Moles Studio in Bath, and features contributions from The Balanescu Quartet...

incorporate elements of the shoegazing
Shoegazing
Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted there until the mid 1990s, with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991...

 style, drones and tremolo. The landmark Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space is the third studio album by Spiritualized, released in June 1997, and features guest appearances from the Balanescu Quartet, The London Community Gospel Choir and Dr...

saw the influence of African-American gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...

 and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 beginning to show, while "walls of sound" modelled after the production styles of Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....

 and Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...

 also made their presence felt. Such influences dominated Spiritualized's next album, Let It Come Down
Let It Come Down (Spiritualized album)
Let It Come Down is the fourth album by the space rock group Spiritualized, released in 2001. It was recorded and produced at Abbey Road and AIR Studios. It took Jason Pierce, Spiritualized's lead singer, guitarist and sole constant member four years to write, perform, produce and release...

, which included over 120 musicians. Amazing Grace favoured a more stripped down sound with the gospel, blues, and soul influences even more dominant than before.

On 15 June 1997, Spiritualized became the last band to play at Factory Records' Manchester nightclub The Haçienda
The Haçienda
Fac 51 Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, England. It became most famous during the "Madchester" years of the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the 1990s it was labelled the most famous club in the world by Newsweek magazine...

.

After several years of work and Pierce's serious illness in July 2005, the album, Songs in A&E
Songs in A&E
Songs in A&E is the sixth studio album by the group Spiritualized and is their first since 2003's Amazing Grace. It was released on May 26, 2008 in the UK on Sanctuary Records and on May 27 in the USA on Fontana Records. It was released on standard CD worldwide, as well as a limited edition book ...

was released on 26 May 2008 in the UK, and on 27 May 2008 in the US. The first single from the 18-track album was "Soul On Fire". The release was backed by an Electric Mainlines UK tour which began in May. Pierce has also scored Harmony Korine
Harmony Korine
The story is told from the perspective of a young man suffering from untreated schizophrenia, played by Ewen Bremner, as he tries to understand his deteriorating world. Julien's abusive father is played by Werner Herzog...

's 2008 film Mister Lonely
Mister Lonely
Mister Lonely is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Harmony Korine, and co-written with his brother Avi Korine.-Plot:A young American man living in Paris scratches out a living as a Michael Jackson look-alike, dancing on the streets, public parks, tourist spots and trade shows. During a show in...

.

Pierce is quoted as saying in a 2008 interview that Spiritualized was scheduled to play the CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...

 collider. "They asked us to do it! We were gonna play in it before they’d thrown the switch. But it was a timing thing—their timings didn’t coincide with ours."

In October and December 2009 the band performed 1997's Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space is the third studio album by Spiritualized, released in June 1997, and features guest appearances from the Balanescu Quartet, The London Community Gospel Choir and Dr...

live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....

-curated Don't Look Back
Don't Look Back (concert series)
Don't Look Back is a yearly series of concerts in which London based promoters All Tomorrow's Parties ask artists and bands to play one of their seminal albums live in its entirety...

 series.

Currently Pierce is "living in the studio," working on a new album that may be released early in 2012 on double six records. The band played some new material over the past 3 years but not much is known. He revealed that on this album he will "embrace" more poppy songs. He also said that the album is partly inspired by the experiences of performing "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" live in its entirety.

Band members

The band was formed by Pierce who then asked Carruthers, Refoy and Mattock to join him following the impending split of Spacemen 3. Pierce, due to a technical clause, inherited Spacemen 3's new record deal with Dedicated Records. Only Pierce remains from the original line-up of the band. Will Carruthers left the band in 1992 and now records as a solo project under the name Freelovebabies, Carruthers was replaced by Rugby musician Sean Cook from local band Electrahead. Following the completion of recording sessions for Pure Phase, Mark Refoy left in 1994, deciding to concentrate on his own fronted band Slipstream
Slipstream (band)
Slipstream were formed in 1994 after Mark Refoy left Spiritualized. The band consisted of Ian Anderson on guitar, Gary Lennon on bass, Steve Beswick on drums and occasional appearances from Jonny Mattock who had also stopped drumming for Spiritualized later that year...

. He was initially replaced by Kevin Cowen from fellow Rugby band The Darkside
The Darkside
The Darkside were an indie rock band formed in 1989 by former members of Spacemen 3. After releasing two studio albums they split up in 1993.-History:...

, Cowen only completed one gig (Glastonbury 1994) before himself leaving to be replaced first by John Coxon (Spring Heel Jack
Spring Heel Jack
Spring Heel Jack is an English electronic music group consisting of John Coxon and Ashley Wales.Formed in 1993 in London, England, Spring Heel Jack began their career exploring drum and bass and jungle, but have since branched out into free improvisation and jazz, collaborating with many acclaimed...

, Betty Boo) and then later on by Julian Cope
Julian Cope
Julian Cope is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator...

's former guitarist Michael Mooney (Coxon returned to replace Mooney following his eventual departure). Mattock played in The Breeders
The Breeders
The Breeders are an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 by Kim Deal of the Pixies and Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses. The band has experienced a number of line-up changes; the current line-up consists of Kim Deal , her twin sister Kelley Deal , Jose Medeles , Mando Lopez Todd the Fox...

 for a spell (during a lull in Spiritualized activities in 1991, he appears on the Safari EP) and left Spiritualized later in 1994 following the recording of Pure Phase, working as a session musician before joining Lupine Howl
Lupine Howl
Lupine Howl were a rock band formed in Bristol, England in 1999, by Sean Cook , Mike Mooney and Damon Reece . The three had been dismissed from their respective roles in Spiritualized by that band's frontman, Jason Pierce.The first single "Vaporizer" came out in 2000 on their own Vinyl Hiss...

, he was replaced by Damon Reece
Damon Reece
Damon Reece is an English drummer, who has been a member of Spiritualized, Echo & the Bunnymen and Lupine Howl.-Biography:Growing up in Croydon, Reece moved to Liverpool at the age of eighteen and played in various local bands...

. Kate Radley
Kate Radley
Kate Radley was a keyboard player for the British rock band Spiritualized, and was, for part of her tenure with the band, in a long-term relationship with the band's frontman and principal creative force, Jason Pierce...

 appeared for some initial dates promoting Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space is the third studio album by Spiritualized, released in June 1997, and features guest appearances from the Balanescu Quartet, The London Community Gospel Choir and Dr...

, before leaving the band in 1997 with a reported unspecified illness. (Radley had married The Verve
The 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...

's singer Richard Ashcroft
Richard Ashcroft
Richard Paul Ashcroft is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer and occasional guitarist of alternative rock band The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their split in 1999, and continues as a lead vocalist working with guitars and keyboards...

 in 1995, however after a reconciliation with Pierce, she eventually returned to Ashcroft by the time of her illness). Kate was replaced by Thighpaulsandra
Thighpaulsandra
Thighpaulsandra is a Welsh experimental musician and multi-instrumentalist known mostly for performing on synthesizers and keyboards. As Tim Lewis, he began his career working with Julian Cope. A collaboration with Cope in 1993 followed, as the experimental duo Queen Elizabeth...

 from Julian Cope
Julian Cope
Julian Cope is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator...

's band Queen Elizabeth. Sax player Ray 'Moonshake' Dickaty was added to the line-up in 1997, and Gregg Hale (guitar) also augmented the band in 1997 and 1998.

Following promotional activity for Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space is the third studio album by Spiritualized, released in June 1997, and features guest appearances from the Balanescu Quartet, The London Community Gospel Choir and Dr...

, Sean Cook, Damon Reece and Michael Mooney threatened a strike in protest over low salaries and appearance fees. New contracts of employment were drawn up between Pierce and the musicians, and the same contracts were then used to fire them (to general disbelief by the music press at the time). In response, Messrs Cook, Reece and Mooney formed Lupine Howl
Lupine Howl
Lupine Howl were a rock band formed in Bristol, England in 1999, by Sean Cook , Mike Mooney and Damon Reece . The three had been dismissed from their respective roles in Spiritualized by that band's frontman, Jason Pierce.The first single "Vaporizer" came out in 2000 on their own Vinyl Hiss...

. Ray Dickaty departed in 2003, quitting to play in the free-jazz Solar Fire Trio.

Retaining only keyboardist Thighpaulsandra
Thighpaulsandra
Thighpaulsandra is a Welsh experimental musician and multi-instrumentalist known mostly for performing on synthesizers and keyboards. As Tim Lewis, he began his career working with Julian Cope. A collaboration with Cope in 1993 followed, as the experimental duo Queen Elizabeth...

 (keyboards), Jason Pierce then debuted a new (and current) line up of Spiritualized, introducing classical percussionist Tom Edwards and former Julian Cope
Julian Cope
Julian Cope is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator...

 string arranger Martin Schellard on bass guitar. Completing the new Spiritualized line-up were guitarist Doggen of Brain Donor
Brain Donor
Brain Donor are an English power trio, formed in July 1999 by Julian Cope and two Spiritualized members, Doggen Foster and drummer Kevin 'Kevlar' Bales...

 and the Julian Cope
Julian Cope
Julian Cope is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator...

 band, Richard Warren
Richard Warren (musician)
Richard Daniel Warren is a British musician, songwriter and producer.He signed his first record deal with Heavenly Records at the height of Britpop in 1996, as one third of The Hybirds....

 and drummer Kevin 'Kevlar' Bales, who is also a member of Brain Donor
Brain Donor
Brain Donor are an English power trio, formed in July 1999 by Julian Cope and two Spiritualized members, Doggen Foster and drummer Kevin 'Kevlar' Bales...

. This line-up finished recording their newest album Songs In A&E
Songs in A&E
Songs in A&E is the sixth studio album by the group Spiritualized and is their first since 2003's Amazing Grace. It was released on May 26, 2008 in the UK on Sanctuary Records and on May 27 in the USA on Fontana Records. It was released on standard CD worldwide, as well as a limited edition book ...

in Nottingham and London. Jonny Aitken stepped in on drums for the recording of Amazing Grace while Kevin Bales was recovering from illness.

Discography

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
UK

US
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...



SWE
Sverigetopplistan
Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....



1992 Lazer Guided Melodies
Lazer Guided Melodies
Lazer Guided Melodies was the first album by the British space rock group Spiritualized. Recorded by the inaugural line up of the band, consisting of Jason Pierce , Mark Refoy , Will Carruthers , Jonny Mattock and Kate Radley . The album was recorded, mostly in VHF studios in Rugby, from 1990 to...

  • Released: March 1992
  • Label: Dedicated
27 - -
1995 Pure Phase
Pure Phase
Pure Phase is the second album by Spiritualized, released in 1995. The album was recorded in the Moles Studio in Bath, and features contributions from The Balanescu Quartet...

  • Released: February 1995
  • Label: Dedicated
  • 20 - -
    1997 Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
    Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
    Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space is the third studio album by Spiritualized, released in June 1997, and features guest appearances from the Balanescu Quartet, The London Community Gospel Choir and Dr...

  • Released: June 1997
  • Label: Dedicated
  • 4 - 41
  • UK
    British Phonographic Industry
    The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...

    : Gold
  • 2001 Let It Come Down
    Let It Come Down (Spiritualized album)
    Let It Come Down is the fourth album by the space rock group Spiritualized, released in 2001. It was recorded and produced at Abbey Road and AIR Studios. It took Jason Pierce, Spiritualized's lead singer, guitarist and sole constant member four years to write, perform, produce and release...

  • Released: September 2001
  • Label: Arista
    Arista Records
    Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...

  • 3 133 47
    2003 Amazing Grace
  • Released: August 2003
  • Label: Dedicated
  • 25 - -
    2008 Songs in A&E
    Songs in A&E
    Songs in A&E is the sixth studio album by the group Spiritualized and is their first since 2003's Amazing Grace. It was released on May 26, 2008 in the UK on Sanctuary Records and on May 27 in the USA on Fontana Records. It was released on standard CD worldwide, as well as a limited edition book ...

  • Released: May 2008
  • Label: Universal
    Universal Records
    Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...

    /Sanctuary
    Sanctuary Records
    Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world...

  • 15 157 48

    External links

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