Space (as in the band from Liverpool who did Female of the Species)

[Kankurette]

One of the most hated bands of the Britpop era by the music press, and still going, albeit with a new line-up[nb]Of the original members, only Tommy and Franny are left, since Andy's dead, Leon's in Australia, Jamie and Tommy just can't work together - he did come back for the original reunion in 2011, but left a bit later - and Yorkie and Franny hate each other, plus Yorkie's doing his own thing and finds the idea of Space getting back together a bit corny.[/nb]. Not to be confused with the French lads who did Magic Fly.

They've released two albums post-reunion: Attack of the Mutant 50ft Kebab, which is mainly songs by the Drellas (the band Tommy formed after Space split, which also featured Phil Hartley, the current bassist), and Give Me Your Future, which is basically what a Franny album would sound like. It's very synthpop-influenced. They've got another one in the pipeline called Music for Pleasure, Music for Pain, but given how badly GMYF was managed and how long it took to come out, and COVID, fuck knows what's happening now. It sounds like they're doing a Sleater-Kinney and trying to go back to the old sound.

[Custard]

As said in the other thread, I love them. Deffo one of the best bands to come out of the Britpop era

Still not heard the last album, Give Me Your Future. Might correct that today!

[Kankurette]

It's a bit of a bugger to get hold of, but it is on Spotify. There's one song on it called Killswitch which is such an obvious single I'm surprised they didn't release it.

Mothership video here. The video is basically Franny playing keyboards and talking, and it's weird because he does NOT look like that now. Andy Wilton, the Geordie bloke who does some of Space's live videos (Drop Dead, Mr Psycho and Blow Up Doll), filmed one of Dust's gigs, I think it's on Youtube somewhere.

The four current members are all doing side projects. Tommy released a solo album last year called Marionette (which is pretty good, although the lyrics are dodgy, and Phil produced it), Allan and Phil are in Super Fast Girlie Show, Phil also plays with Louis Berry, and Franny is doing some synthwave stuff under the name of Super Pixel Chix though last time I checked most of his Twitter feed for that project was him trolling Man City fans as opposed to posting any music.

[Pauline Walnuts]

I did once have a dream where I was desperate to get the fancy metal robot shaped second CD of Female of the Species.

That's all I got.

[dr beat]

Got a lot of time for Space, particularly after they did a pre-match spot at Widnes Rugby League during our wretched 2018 campaign in which we won just 4 games.  They did a really nice interview for the Widnes website in which they said they were all now Vikings fans.

We now know that at the time, Widnes were bankrupt and I wonder if they got paid.

[thelittlemango]

Always liked Space since I met them when I was 11 at V96.

They were staying in the same Premier Inn as me and my mum and I was hanging around the bar (the only kid there, I'm not sure why they let me stay) looking out for members of bands so I could get their autographs. Bumped in Jamie, who to this day is possibly the nicest person from a band I've met, he asked my name and then for the rest of the night kept hearing him shout it and ask where I was and joking about getting me a pint before introducing me to the rest of the band (also lovely) and then to their manager. Before they left the next morning him and his manager said they were doing a video shoot in the coming weeks and I should come along to it, but my mum butted in and said that I had to go to school, fucked it, dreams crushed.

[Kankurette]

Aww! First time I met them was at a special gig for fans in 2002, just after Jamie had left. A few of the songs from that gig ended up on Suburban Rock 'n' Roll and others were B-sides.

Got a lot of time for Space, particularly after they did a pre-match spot at Widnes Rugby League during our wretched 2018 campaign in which we won just 4 games.  They did a really nice interview for the Widnes website in which they said they were all now Vikings fans.

We now know that at the time, Widnes were bankrupt and I wonder if they got paid.

I remember that. Didn't they get into trouble because one of the band was smoking weed?

[Gulftastic]

I saw them at Leeds T&C in the late 90's and I remember enjoying it a lot. I was on a free ticket because I knew the door staff and I was pretty leathered, but my memory is a good one.

[Jockice]

I liked Spiders but haven't really followed them since. May look up some of their later stuff now. A lot of people did seem to hate them or be embarrassed to admit they liked them back in the day though. Not sure why.

Anyway you know how you sometimes get a song that reminds you of a certain event in your life? Well Avenging Angels always reminds me of waiting at the junction to turn onto the main road while driving to work one day.

[Kankurette]

I think a lot of journalists saw them as a novelty band for some reason. There was one review of Spiders which basically said, "Fuck you, Space, we really want to hate this album but we actually like it." A lot of the journalists who loved Catatonia really hated Space, particularly Everett True.

Even on here I feel a bit embarrassed to admit liking them.

[Jockice]

I think a lot of journalists saw them as a novelty band for some reason. There was one review of Spiders which basically said, "Fuck you, Space, we really want to hate this album but we actually like it." A lot of the journalists who loved Catatonia really hated Space, particularly Everett True.

Even on here I feel a bit embarrassed to admit liking them.

Yeah my girlfriend at the time saw them as some sort of guilty pleasure. I mean it's not like they're the Nolan Sisters or something.
Mind you, she ensured that I now never listen to Eels or Super Furry Animals voluntarily because she was a fan of both. And yes, I know it was a long time ago. But it wasn't a pleasant break-up and although we made up after a chance meeting last year those bands are still dead to me.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I never really actively hated them or anything but I really didn't like Female of the Species, not for its content, just found it quite sonically unpleasant.

For the most part I couldn't understand why they were so BIG on both the love/hate thing, they were quite divisive eh.

[Kankurette]

Melody Maker had some really weird criticisms of Space. Like 'Begin Again would be danced to at Countdown's Christmas party', 'Avenging Angels is the song Alan Partridge would trim his nose hair to' and 'Tommy sounds like a ferret with bladder problems'. Select also did this review of Tin Planet, accompanied by a picture of a grinning Tommy carrying an inflatable guitar and taking a selfie in front of Mount Rushmore, with the presidents replaced by Bobby Gillespie, Thom Yorke, Jason Pierce and Richard Ashcroft. By John fucking Harris. How can you even compare Space to The Verve, Radiohead, Spiritualized or Primal Scream? They're nothing alike.

[Goldentony]

they're definitely better than The Verve and Primal Scream at least, neither have bettered Charlie M

[Kankurette]

I always found The Verve really dirgey, except Lucky Man.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

I quite like those Melody Maker criticisms of Space, especially the Alan Partridge one. We don't have to pretend to like " Loaded" magazine, Chris Evans or Mark E. Smith Lookalike even in those days type Zoe Ball anymore, so why should we give even a seconds thought towards critical re -evaluationof  those lucky enough to be Two- And-A-Half As Opposed To One  Hit  Wonders Scouse Gits? Bad luck on not getting your ridiculously titled third album officially released at the time, like, las. Well done on just about managing to scrape a living from your rinky- dink novelty tunes nowadays, fair play to yers. Ever considered covering " Lily The Pink" ?

[badaids]

First two Verve albums, when they were an actual band, are fucking brilliant.  Everything else is complete toss.

[The Culture Bunker]

Even on here I feel a bit embarrassed to admit liking them.

I can't think why. As much as Space don't do a lot for me (no real dislike, but filed in the 'harmless but never going to buy' department of my mind), I'll happily rep for Haircut 100, A Flock of Seagulls and all manner of other acts plenty would have down as naff as fuck. I can love My Bloody Valentine but also enjoy some out-and-out pop music too. It's fine to tell folk to get fucked if they have a go at your tastes.

Mind, I remember being a teen in the mid 90s and taking pelters for stating ABC's 'The Lexicon of Love' was a masterpiece. Skip forward 20 years and all yer music mags have it down as one of the all-time classics - needless to say etc etc. So you may well be left feeling smug about Space yet.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

ABC's 'The Lexicon Of Love' is a load of insipid old shite an'all. Fucking Hell, is someone going to stick up for Kid Creole and the Coconuts next?

[Kankurette]

I quite like those Melody Maker criticisms of Space, especially the Alan Partridge one. We don't have to pretend to like " Loaded" magazine, Chris Evans or Mark E. Smith Lookalike even in those days type Zoe Ball anymore, so why should we give even a seconds thought towards critical re -evaluationof  those lucky enough to be Two- And-A-Half As Opposed To One  Hit  Wonders Scouse Gits? Bad luck on not getting your ridiculously titled third album officially released at the time, like, las. Well done on just about managing to scrape a living from your rinky- dink novelty tunes nowadays, fair play to yers. Ever considered covering " Lily The Pink" ?

Nobody's saying you have to like them, JFC. So what if someone does like Kid Creole and the Coconuts? Or ABC? Do people on CaB have to pass some kind of test before we're allowed to talk about what music we like?

Not everyone has to like the kind of bands that play ATP (not that I don't, Sleater-Kinney would definitely be in my top 10 bands if I had to make one and I liked Shellac last time I saw them, even though it was on election night, which ruined it somewhat).

[Lungpuddle]

This thread has inspired me to listen to all of Space in chronological order in order to give an informed opinion on their discography. So far I've found it all really enjoyable (I'm up to Mister Psycho, mind).

The Melody Maker stuff reminds me of NME reviews of the Beautiful South which were basically "bands should not have members over 30 years old" which infuriated me at age of 15 and continues to mildly annoy me to this day. I relate to being embarrassed about some of the bands I like when it comes up in conversation. It's not rational, but it just happens. I think as long as you're not endorsing Cliff Richard, it's alright, but I still get a bit red-in-the-face when my passion for Vic Damone's art is brought up by well-meaning parents trying to show potential girlfriends how eclectic my musical taste is.

Right, while typing that I reached Money, and have heard nothing that isn't fun. I'll come up with some interesting (but possibly bland) takes when I've heard it all hopefully.

[Kankurette]

I have a bit of a complex about my music taste because my brother gave me endless shit over it as a teen and constantly made me feel like an inferior being for not being into Fugazi or Groop Dogdrill or Pantera or whatever, although he also hated it when I DID like the same stuff as him, ie the Manics. Even on here I get self-conscious about admitting to liking certain things, except Sleater-Kinney because they have a decent amount of cred.

Yes I know, dark comedy forum, stop being such a fucking snowflake. I get thinking Space are shit, loads of people did and still do, but I'm not some kind of fucking retard for liking them. I don't know enough about the JAMC, who I know I SHOULD like, to have an informed opinion on them.

Other bands I like, if anyone's interested: Tori Amos, the Manics, Sleater-Kinney, Janelle Monae, the Beatles (sorry), Blur, Regina Spektor, Kate Bush, System of a Down, Catatonia, Emilie Autumn, Radiohead, Hole, Jack Off Jill, and I've been getting into beabadoobee a bit lately as well.

[the science eel]

ABC's 'The Lexicon Of Love' is a load of insipid old shite an'all. Fucking Hell, is someone going to stick up for Kid Creole and the Coconuts next?

They were fabulous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9apbA4Oh0k

Space were fucking tragic, only Skunk Anansie beat them in the worst-band-ever stakes.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Melody Maker had some really weird criticisms of Space. Like 'Begin Again would be danced to at Countdown's Christmas party', 'Avenging Angels is the song Alan Partridge would trim his nose hair to' and 'Tommy sounds like a ferret with bladder problems'. Select also did this review of Tin Planet, accompanied by a picture of a grinning Tommy carrying an inflatable guitar and taking a selfie in front of Mount Rushmore, with the presidents replaced by Bobby Gillespie, Thom Yorke, Jason Pierce and Richard Ashcroft. By John fucking Harris. How can you even compare Space to The Verve, Radiohead, Spiritualized or Primal Scream? They're nothing alike.

I think I might've been a bit young to know what the music press[nb]Although in all honesty, in my teenage years I was much more into hip hop, garage and dnb and largely used the internet, mixmag and dj being largely bollocks.[/nb] were saying about them (I'd have been 9/10 for Female of the Species) but thinking back it kind of felt like the pair up with Katatonia for the Ballad of Tom Jones felt a bit manufactured by the record companies.

I do like Katatonia though. Road Rage always sticks with me because the Lee Harvey/Tracie Andrews thing happened on the a38 not very far from where I grew up.

[Kankurette]

They were mates with Catatonia, they supported them on a tour in 1996.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

They were fabulous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9apbA4Oh0k

Well, at least they weren't Fabulous ( terrible early 90s band comprising NME journos and photographers, and managed by James Brown [ not that one, second " Loaded" mag ref. in thread] ) . Bet no one's going to come in 'ere and stick up for *that* bunch.

[Lungpuddle]

I have a bit of a complex about my music taste because my brother gave me endless shit over it as a teen and constantly made me feel like an inferior being for not being into Fugazi or Groop Dogdrill or Pantera or whatever, although he also hated it when I DID like the same stuff as him, ie the Manics. Even on here I get self-conscious about admitting to liking certain things, except Sleater-Kinney because they have a decent amount of cred.

Yes I know, dark comedy forum, stop being such a fucking snowflake. I get thinking Space are shit, loads of people did and still do, but I'm not some kind of fucking retard for liking them. I don't know enough about the JAMC, who I know I SHOULD like, to have an informed opinion on them.

I get what you mean, my best friend at school once told me every band I like is shit and named three of them to prove it rather than just making a blanket statement. I've been quietly devastated ever since. Being shut down by a Guns'n'Roses fan is a bit too much for me.

For whatever it's worth, I am genuinely enjoying what I'm hearing of Space. I've also realised I heard You and Me Versus the World at the end of Mitchell and Webb's live show. It's a really fun song, even with the bloodshed!

[Kankurette]

OK, Lisa, so what bands would you prefer I liked then?

[Sebastian Cobb]

They were mates with Catatonia, they supported them on a tour in 1996.

Yes sorry updated my post after your reply.

Still to me I feel it felt a bit forced.

[Kankurette]

Weren't Katatonia a Swedish metal band?