Where Are They Now? Pop Will Eat Itself
Pop Will Eat Itself (hereafter PWEI) was one of my favourite British bands in the late 80s/early 90s. They didn’t really fit in with any genre (Electronic? Industrial? Dance?) which is is why they appealed to me.
The Poppies dissovled in the 90s with leader Clint Mansell moving on to the world of film where he ended up securing some pretty nice commissions for directors like Darren Aronofky.
Now check out what he did in NYC recently. This is from the Brooklyn Vegan:
Film composer (and former Pop Will Eat Itself frontman) Clint Mansell wrapped up two consecutive night performances at Church of St. Paul the Apostle last night (April 4) as part of the Wordless Music Series. Director Darren Aronofky, whose films have all featured Mansell scores, introduced the evening. Helping him realize his music in a live setting were Chris Vrenna (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson), frequent soundtrack collaborator Carly Paradis, plus Mike Fonte and Brian Emrich, a string quartet, not to mention vocalists Emily Wells and Peter Broderick. Selections came from his soundtracks to Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, The Fountain, Moon and this year’s Stoker.
Plenty more (including LOTS of pictures) can be found here.
It's quite possible I've listened to Dos Dedos Mis Amigos more than any other album ever. Rarely left my Discman in high school. Shame that was basically it.
The new PWEI album, with I believe Graham Crabb as the only original member, isn't awful, but it's just not as special as any of their earlier releases.
Still listen to them regularly.
Been a major fan of the Poppies sicne the early 90s when I first heard Wise Up Sucker. Been one of my favs ever since.
The newwest album was pretty good, but nowhere near as good as their older stuff. For a better look at PWEI music, check out Vile Evils. This is their other band. I believe it's Graham Crabb and at least one of the original members of PWEI. The music that Vile Evils put out is better than the newest PWEI release.
Vile Evils were great. Clint even sings on one of their first tracks, Demon.
I also really enjoyed Bentley Rhythm Ace, Richard March's post-PWEI band. People always want to know what the band is when I play Let There Be Flutes at parties.