Gene biography
Gene were an English alternative rock quartet that rose to prominence in the mid 1990s. Formed in 1993, they were popularly labelled as a Britpop band and often drew comparisons to The Smiths because of their Morrissey-esque lead singer, Martin Rossiter. Gene's music was influenced by The Jam, The Small Faces, The Style Council and The Clash. They had sold a million records.
History
The Go Hole and Spin
Gene's origins lie in a previous band which was first called The Go Hole, named after a fictional "Beat" club in John Clellon Holmes' novel
Go, and later renamed Sp!n.
The band was formed by Lee Clark (vocals/guitar) and John Mason (bass). Soon afterwards, James joined on drums. A few years later, Clark, Mason and James recruited Mason's brother Steve Mason to play lead/rhythm guitar and thereby free Clark to focus on vocal style, which had been previously limited by his (still) mediocre guitar playing.
Two singles, 'Scratches (in the sand)' and 'Let's pretend' were released in 1990 and 1991 respectively. Then, Sp!n were involved in a road accident. John Mason suffered a serious head injury and went into an 11-day coma. The day prior to the accident, Clark had offered his resignation in a letter to the rest of the band, due to his dissatisfaction with the way the band and its record label, Foundation, were guiding its course. A further EP entitled 'Hot Blood' was released in late-1991.
John Mason, disappointed with the music business, went on to become a writer. Clark briefly recorded demos with Andrew "Snake" Newton, who had been the live sound engineer for Spin, then gave up music to become a primary school teacher. Clark felt he was getting a bit old to be a rock star and decided to play and record only in his own bedroom and indeed returned to this after a hiatus of about ten years.
Wanting to continue together in a band, Steve Mason and James recruited bass player Kevin Miles, who had a long association with the band. After seeing Watford-based Welshman Martin Rossiter cross the floor of a club, Mason approached him and they began to talk. Their meeting ended with Rossiter handing out his business card ("Martin Rossiter: Soothsayer to the Stars") and Mason giving Rossiter a chance to sing with the band. Rossiter appeared on Spin's last demos as "Martin T. Falls" (a nod to the Mancunian band The Fall) shortly before the decision was made to adopt the name Gene.
Rossiter's eloquence and warm, emotive voice proved an effective pairing with Mason's intricate pentatonic guitar riffs, whilst Miles' melodic basslines and James' expertise in various rock drumming styles ensured a solid musical base for the group's successes.
Breakthrough
By the time
NME journalists Keith Cameron and Roy Wilkinson encountered Gene, the band had already gained some live experience and written several songs. Cameron and Wilkinson were impressed enough to form independent record label Costermonger, created with the sole purpose of promoting Gene to a wider audience. Their début release, the double A-sided single "For The Dead" / "Child's Body", was released on the fledgling Costermonger label in May 1994. The single received a great deal of attention from the music press:
Select named it "Single Of The Month", whilst
NME made it their "Single of the Week".
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