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| Photo credit unknown |
But was it THE starting point? Not really. Before the studio album was out, Placebo had already three singles released, played numerous gigs in the UK as well as in some other European countries, have even been to USA once, and went to support ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ on tour to perform in front of thousands of people. Sharing the stage with the legendary artist was undoubtedly game-changing for Placebo.
๐ Particularly, ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ in its original version was released as a split single with the band Soup back in October 1995. Then, two Placebo’s singles, ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ and ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ, was out respectively on February 5th and June 3rd, 1996.
The tour with ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ started on February 8th, 1996, in Milan, Italy and lasted until the show in Rotterdam, Netherlands on July 16th. ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐, the album ๐ท๐ณ๐จ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ถ has finally saw daylight.
๐ I chronologically collected several interesting ๐๐๐๐๐๐ from the old articles which to me, sound like they could really ‘predict the future’.
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| Photo credit: Hayley Madden, 1996 |
The second thing is ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฌ. "Since I was born I started to decay" or "Two holes in a paper bag/ Greatest lay I ever had" (Nancy Boy).
"We are the pie in the face people," says Molko. "Being from an acting background, the thing that always interested me was placing myself in the most vulnerable position possible and to see what came out of that. It's better that you have these quite either violent or hard emotions."
And the thing about Placebo is ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ฌ.”
(๐๐๐ธ "๐ผ๐๐ก๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ค ๐ค๐๐กโ ๐ต๐๐๐๐", ๐๐๐ฃ'95)
๐ข “Of course, in those days half the audience were record company sharks – by their fifth gig, ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐จ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ since, ooh, The Roaring Boys, as their broken bauble melodies and their ambivalent looks added up to pound, dollar and shekel signs in blank A&R eyes.”
(๐๐๐ธ "๐๐๐๐๐๐๐", 1996)
๐ข “A LITTLE gender-uncertainty never hurt any band, and it might prove the making of Placebo. The Swedish-American trio is fortunate in boasting a singer, Brian Molko (the American), who is ambiguous enough to enrapture the sexually-confused, yet just robust enough not to alienate the lads. This versatility must have figured in the record-company bidding war that took place just after Christmas, landing Placebo with the kind of fat contract new bands fantasise about.
But the band is more than just one pretty and two average faces. Their thumping guitar-based sound is, so the pundits predict, where rock is going this year. It's been there many times before, of course, but this time the way was paved by 1995's Britpop-mania, its diametric opposite.
With just two singles under their belts, Placebo sold out this Camden club, which was heaving with hormone-throbbing youth. The tiny Molko was the object of their desire, reducing bassist Stefan Olsdal and drummer Robert Schultzberg to the role of sidemen, which they'll have to get used to because ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐จ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ.”
(๐โ๐ ๐บ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ "๐ฟ๐๐๐๐๐", ๐น๐๐'96)
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| Photo credit unknown |
(๐โ๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก "๐ด๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ค๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐", ๐ฝ๐ข๐'96)
๐ข “Placebo's music occasionally recalls Sonic Youth, but ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ค๐จ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐๐ง๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐. When the anti-Brit bands anti-lads backlash kicks in, this trio of gender-confusing, non-Brits (one American, two Europeans) are going to be very well-placed indeed.”
(๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ "๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ โ๐๐๐", ๐ฝ๐ข๐'96)
I hope you enjoyed the journey, soulmates! Let me know your thoughts you’ve got while reading the quotes!
Post by Olga
