Celebrating three decades at the forefront of music, internationally acclaimed rock stalwarts Feeder made an unlikely fusion of Welsh and Japanese influences to become one of the world’s biggest artists. Formed in Newport in 1992, the band consisting of lead guitarist Grant Nichols, drummer Jon Lee originally went under the name of Reel but when bassist Simon Bight joined, the original lineup was complete. Yet in 1995 Japanese bass guitarist Taka Hirose introduced a new dimension which became integral to the music scene of the mid nineties by offering something slightly different to the self indulgent guitar sounds of Britpop. This was music that easily transcended geography and unlike Blur and Oasis and the like, Feeder’s repertoire adopted a slightly more transatlantic approach which would identify them with the American market, setting them apart from their contemporaries.
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Released in May 1997, Feeder’s debut studio album Polythene peaked at number 65 in the album charts but its acclaim helped to counterbalance what it lacked in commercial success. With singles including Stereo World and Crash, the record unfortunately failed to make an impact on the nineties soft rock scene. It was clear that their transatlantic sound didn’t make them fit into the rhetoric of Britpop and the band now looked further afield to reach their required audience. Electric guitars, defiant, empowering vocals and a heavy bass beat were definitely not what people associated with self celebratory soft rock. This may be one of the reasons as to why Polythene failed to meet Feeder’s expectations but in hindsight one might consider where British music was at this time and the stark differences between these two styles. Yet commercial success and critical acclaim don’t always necessarily go hand in hand and singles and album charts aren’t the only barometers of popularity.
Their follow up album Yesterday Went Too Soon became the first to make the Top 20. Containing the tracks Day In Day Out Insomnia, this proved to be Feeder’s last release of the nineties and offered them obvious progression. Despite moderate success in Britain, the band had yet to establish themselves as one of the protagonists of the British rock scene. This was all about to change with the release of their third album Echo Park. As a songwriter, Nichols has been the prolific creative hotbed for Feeder, frequently penning songs for other artists. While working on the album, he wrote something that was meant to be for another artist with themes of unbridled positivity and self celebration. Buck Rogers was never meant to be a Feeder song but on recording the track, they found something they liked and decided to keep it for themselves.
Ironically the song which was almost cast away, ended up giving Feeder their biggest hit and one of Britain’s most enduring festival anthems. Buck Rogers has since become bigger than the band ever imagined and remains a shorthand for Feeder as a whole. As soon as the crowd hear the iconic guitar riff, it normally signals pandemonium and the guys never tire of seeing the elation in people’s faces as they realise what song is being played. Over twenty years later, Buck Rogers seems as relevant as ever and its positive, self celebratory tone is the perfect complement for any occasion. Today, fans who weren’t even alive when the single was released now have an overwhelming affinity with it and that’s surely the sign of a bonafide classic.
In 2002 Feeder were riding high and looking to defy the expectations of the Britpop generation and break America. However, tragedy was about to strike as on the 7th January 2002 drummer Jon Lee was found dead in a hotel room in Florida beside a handwritten suicide note. This shook the band to the core and Grant and Taka figured that this would signal the abrupt and harrowing end of Feeder. For the next few months the band grieved Jon’s tragic loss, not even considering a way of continuing the band’s upward trajectory. Yet slowly they began to heal and Grant returned to the art of songwriting. Yet their future repertoire would now take on a harder, emotional tone which reflected the loss which they each experienced. Lee may be gone but both his musical repertoire together with the emotional output following his death, his musical influence on the band will live forever.
Still a favourite on the festival circuit, Feeder continue to delight live audiences with their back catalogue of soft rock positivity. The sentiment of their discography transcends eras, geography and culture which makes them a perfect complement to any festival lineup. Thirty years on, they are still as part of the musical landscape as they were in 1994 and this is testament to their creativity, reputation and more importantly, talent, it was a great pleasure to welcome Feeder to Beyond The Title and may they long preside over Britain’s varied musical heritage.
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