HISTORY
 KENICKIE's history and development, 1994 - 1998 ONCE UPON A TIME, there were two little girls. The first girl was called Marie, whilst the second girl was known as Lauren. Both girls formed a friendship at Primary school "we had a mutual love of Supergran" and little did they know, they were about to embark on a journey which would change their lives forever..... And so it began..... At the age of 12, Emmy-Kate joined Catholic girl's school "St. Anthony's" where she soon befriended Marie and Lauren. Marie and Lauren would bunk off to write the Panky Boy Daily - a fanzine which they gave up because they couldn't be bothered. At the age of 15, their Saturday mornings were spent at Sunderland's Mowbray Park, drinking lager. Emmy-Kate's promise as an actress - she was in Byker Grove - was cut sort by her youthful high spirits. Instead of going to drama class, Emmy would prefer to hang out with her friends, just as any typical teenager would desire. However, as well as these natural, normal desires, Emmy, Marie, and Lauren also had other aspirations. The girls worked out what they would do if they were to form a band, although they hadn't officially started one. "We just thought, we could do this if we want" says Lauren. The first step was to decide everyone's role in the band. It was soon decided that Lauren would sing and play guitar. Marie would also play guitar (she only knew one chord at that time), and Emmy-Kate settled for bass guitar on the premise that she couldn't play keyboards. The drummer vacancy was duly filled by Lauren's brother, Pete, who was already drumming for local bands. August 1994: The girls, aged 16, accompanied by Pete (19), decided to call their band KENICKIE - in reference to John Travolta's sidekick in the 1978 musical, "Grease". Incidentally, Lauren, Marie, and Emmy-Kate were all born in 1978. The band's influences include Iggy Pop, the Manic Street Preachers, Blondie, and Nirvana. One of the very first songs the band wrote at the age of 16 was 'Walrus'; written by Emmy-Kate Montrose. The song, influenced by a resentful dinner lady, includes the lamentable line, "Why are you so ugly?". A week or so after this song was written, the girls went to watch a Sunderland band Pete was drumming for. The band were attempting to do a cover of Daniel Johnston's 'Speeding Motorcycle', but the singer did not know the words. "I got really pissed...and being drunk, I went on stage and I was singing it." recalls Lauren Laverne. After it, the head of a record label called Slampt came up to me and said, 'You're really good,' and I said, slurring, 'I've got a band and my friends are in it.' I was lying, but we got a gig." After hurriedly putting together a set of songs, KENICKIE made tracks to their very first venue: A Sunderland pub called "The Broken Doll". Soon after, they sped down the A1 towards London for their very first capital performance and supported a new Creation signing who they only refer to as "Three Colours Fred", who apparently, weren't very nice to them. "We went to Pizza Hut with a man from a record company," says Lauren, "And I remember he spent £50 on us. I remember thinking £50 was so much money. We said after, 'I can't believe he's just wasted that on pizzas.' Why didn't he just give us the money to buy clothes?" Emmy-Kate: "We were at college, coming down to London and playing at the Brixton Academy. The next day we were back in class." 
John Peel played their eight-track demo before it was released as debut single 'Catsuit City' on Newcastle indie label Slampt in April 1995. 'Catsuit City' was released when Lauren, Marie, and Emmy-Kate were just 16 years old. To put this into perspective, this was younger than when The Beatles debuted.
KENICKIE contributed a track called 'Rebel Assault' to a Slampt lo-fi compilation entitled, 'Elastic Jet Mission', before finally releasing their second seven-inch, 'The Skillex EP'; released on Simon Williams' hip and collectable Fierce Panda label. 'Come Out 2 Nite', one of the tracks on 'The Skillex EP', was later voted number one record by John Peel in his "Festive Top 50". Creation, amongst several other record labels offered KENICKIE a deal: Alan McGee approached the band in February 1995 around 10 weeks after their first gig. Lauren: "We hired a rehearsal studio and he offered us a publishing deal on the spot. I couldn't believe it - here I was doing History at college, and me mates would be going to the pictures while I'm meeting Oasis's boss." However, the band finally settled for Bob Stanley's EMIDisc label. Bob Stanley was first alerted to Kenickie's talents by 'Denim' leader Laurence. "They make fresh and amusing pop," says Stanley. "I started following them around the country, seeing every gig I could." Launched under the control of St Etienne's Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs with EMI A&R director Tris Penna, KENICKIE were the first band to be signed to the newly set-up label. Bob Stanley had shown an interest in the group from the moment "Catsuit City' was released, and is famous for saying the band would be millionaires before they reached 20. Tris Penna, EMIDisc: "We talked about EMIDisc as a 'sub label' for new talent, and Kenickie were the perfect first signing. They've got great songs and fantastic personalities - Lauren in particular, has that special something. She looks good and is confident without being arrogant." EMI bought the copyrights to the Catsuit City tracks for approximately £5000. Slampt thought that the band were going to buy them and they were tricked into receiving cash from a major label. As a consequence, the relationship between Slampt and KENICKIE deteriorated. Lauren: "We were never gagging to be pop stars," adds Lauren. "It's nice, it's fine, but that doesn't mean that the only thing in my life is to sing in a fucking band." After signing to EMIDisc, KENICKIE relocated to London - paid for originally by EMI. The move from Sunderland was inevitable due to the expense of having to commute from Sunderland to London three times a week. In January 1996, KENICKIE were opening at The Ramones' last ever gig at Brixton Academy and taking the NME Brats night by storm. KENICKIE's first EMIDisc single was 'Punka': The song contains a lethally sarcastic tone, negating the self-righteous, self-defeating stance of indie purism: A stance adhered to by the Geordie lo-fi Slampt label. Emmy: "You only realise how stupid it is when you start explaining it to someone totally outside it all, like your mam. She goes, 'wait a minute - they don't WANT to sell records? They like music and they don't want people to know about them...?" So how do KENICKIE describe themselves? Lauren: "Classy as fuck yet cunning as a bastard! And the Kenickie motto is: dignity, dignity, dignity. The second KENICKIE single on EMIDisc to be released was "Millionaire Sweeper". Despite only reaching Number 62 in the charts, a successful national tour soon followed. Emmy: "We're bored of seeing bands without star quality. That's why we formed - we were really bored of going to see boy bands who come on and go, 'here are some songs I wrote about girls and I'm wearing the same clothes I wore when I wrote the songs.' We thought, 'We could do much better.' " Marie: "Being in a band, if you do it right, it's the best thing you could ever do with your life. Better than all that cure for cancer bollocks." Kenickie's third EMIdisc release, "In Your Car" (released 30.12.1996) slammed it's way into the charts at number 24, and thus paved the way to an historic 'Top Of The Pops' debut. The band also appeared on "Later with Jools Holland" on New Years Eve/Day as well as securing air time on other prime-time shows. The fourth Kenickie single to be released via EMIDisc, 'Nightlife' peaked at number 27 in the charts. By April/May 1997, media interest grew, and the music press raved over the imminent new album, "At the Club". The 14 track album was finally released to an eager audience on 12.05.1997 and reached number 9 in the album charts: An extraordinary achievement. Marie: "You know that bit when Marilyn Monroe's skirt blows up? We're like that again and again for our whole lives. A moment of exquisite glamour for a whole lifetime." |
