Issue 155

Placebo

14th May 2007

Sometimes described as a glam version of Nirvana, Placebo have sold millions of albums worldwide and are one of the most popular rock bands in the UK today.

The band was formed by front man Brian Molko, who's part Scottish and American but raised in Britain. Molko met bassist Stefan Olsdal (from Sweden) in 1994 in London and formed their first group, Ashtray Heart taking influence from Sonic Youth, the Pixies and the Smashing Pumpkins.

Robert Schultzberg became their drummer and then in 1996 they were signed to Caroline Records, which issued their debut self-titled album in 1996.

The album was a surprise hit in the UK, with singles such as Nancy Boy hitting the top of the charts. The band hit the big time in the music weeklies and supported Sex Pistols, U2 and Weezer on tour.

Molko and Olsdal then fell out with drummer Schultzberg, as they hadn't seen eye to eye since the band got signed. Steve Hewitt, the band's only British member, then became the band's new drummer and since then they've gone from strength to strength.

In 1997 David Bowie personally invited them to come to New York play at his 50th birthday party at Madison Square Garden. A year later, Placebo switched to Virgin Records and released their next album, Without You I'm Nothing.

The album was another hit in Britain, and the band were asked to cover T Rex's 20th Century Boy for the film Velvet Goldmine, in which they also appeared to perform the song.

Placebo's third album, Black Market Music, combined different elements to their usual rock sound and sold one million copies and reached the number one spot across Europe.

When asked about the album title in a recent interview, Molko simply said the title was chosen to "create the idea of it being something illicit, controlled, under the counter, and forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge."

In 2003, Sleeping with Ghosts was released. It reached top ten in the UK and sold 1.5 million copies worldwide. The album tour saw them play to 18,000 fans at the Bercy in Paris, where they were joined onstage by Robert Smith from the Cure. Other collaborations have included Frank Black from the Pixies, Michael Stipe and Davie Bowie.

Their singles collection, Once More With Feeling: Singles 1996-2004, was subsequently released and their fifth album, Meds, was released in 2006.

Fronted by the almost androgenous Brian Molko, Placebo manage to present a mixture of Euro-rock combined with British Indie influence and Molko's vocals make the band that more unique.

Molko's keen to point out that being in a successful group isn't all about image, but being in a band means that people do want to almost be transported to an alternate reality when going to a gig, in a recent interview Molko added that "they [the fans] want to see something that's larger than life. That's what rock and roll is about, from Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Lou Reed onwards.

We prefer the kind of stage show that's more performing rather than look like you just came off the street. I think with Placebo you get the whole package.

You get passion and honesty, the communication of emotion, which is extremely important, and you get a strong image and powerful music as well. That's why it works so well, because all the elements are in place."

This Summer the band are playing festivals all over Europe including the Red Rock Festival in Luxembourg, the Bobital Festival in France, the Montreux Jazz festival in Switzerland and of course, most importantly, at Fflam Festival on July 13-15 in Swansea.

Amy Wilkinson