Kenickie

This article is about the British band. For the stage character Kenickie, see Grease (musical).

Kenickie
Origin	Sunderland, England
Genres	Alternative rock Punk rock Britpop
Years active	1994–1998
Labels	Fierce Panda EMI EMI Disc
Members
Lauren Laverne Marie du Santiago Emmy-Kate Montrose Johnny X

Kenickie were a four-piece rock band from Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. The band were formed in 1994 and consisted of lead vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Lauren Laverne (b. Lauren Gofton), drummer Johnny X (real name Pete Gofton, Lauren's brother), lead guitarist and occasional vocalist Marie du Santiago (b. Marie Nixon) and bass guitarist Emmy-Kate Montrose (b. Emma Jackson). The band's name comes from their favourite character in the 1970s film Grease.

History

Kenickie originally worked with Newcastle punk label Slampt before signing to Saint Etienne's EMI subsidiary, EMIDisc. Kenickie registered in the UK Singles Chart, their highest position being #24 with the single "In Your Car",^[1] which opened Top of the Pops on the 10 January 1997 edition. Their debut album At The Club, peaked at #9 in the UK Albums Chart in May 1997.^[1] In the summer of 1997, Kenickie were scheduled to play Glastonbury; their set was postponed, due to rain, but took place later on the scheduled day.

After meeting them in New York, Courtney Love said:

They're a big bunch of sex, that band Kenickie. They're a big, raw-boned bunch of fucking sex — all three of them and the boy. I hope they get good. I hope we're a good example to them, I hope this record's huge and then the big labels will start sniffing around and then those big fucking raw-boned sexy Newcastle [sic] girls will be huge and have Number Ones and there will be an Amazon planet the way I want it.^{[citation needed]}

The band's second album, Get In appeared in 1998. It was generally less well-received than its predecessor in the music press (although Melody Maker rated it 8/10), and sold less well. Johnny X, who now referred to himself as Pete X, moved to guitar, with the live band augmented by Graham Christie (later of Data Panik) on drums and Dot Allen on keyboards.

Kenickie disbanded on 15 October 1998 after a London Astoria gig, where Lauren closed the night by saying "We were Kenickie ... a bunch of fuckwits".

After Kenickie

Du Santiago and Montrose went on to form a new band called Rosita, and released two singles before splitting up. Du Santiago is now a member of The Cornshed Sisters.^[2] Johnny X went on to record under the name J Xaverre. He toured with Peter Brewis of Field Music's new project 'The Week That Was' and went onto play in Frankie & The Heartstrings. The band's one-time touring keyboard player Tony O'Neill (known in the band as Elvis Wesley) is now an author, living in the United States.

Lauren Laverne released one solo EP, and sang on the 2000 Mint Royale single, "Don't Falter", which reached #15 in the UK chart.^[3] Laverne also was an uncredited vocalist on The Divine Comedy's 2004 single "Come Home Billy Bird" which reached #25 in the same chart.^[4] Since then she has presented various radio shows on radio station Xfm, most notably the breakfast show, before quitting in April 2007. She has also moved into television, originally as a guest on early episodes of music quiz Never Mind the Buzzcocks. She earned her own weekly spot on Channel 4 music show Planet Pop and became presenter, with Myleene Klass, of ITV music programme cd:uk in 2005, and hosted Channel 4's music show Transmission with Steve Jones in 2006 and 2007. She is currently lead host of BBC 2's The Culture Show and has her own daily radio show on BBC 6 Music, as well as occasionally deputising for holidaying presenters on BBC Radio 2. She now co-hosts a Channel Four show, Ten O'Clock Live, with David Mitchell, Jimmy Carr and Charlie Brooker.

Discography

Albums

Title	Release date	Label	UK Albums Chart[1]
At the Club	1997	EMIdisc	9
Get In	1998	EMIdisc	32
The John Peel Sessions	2000	Strange Fruit Records	-

Singles and EPs

Info	Track listing
Catsuit City EP Year: 1995 Format: 7" Label: Slampt	"Ramalamalama" "Private Buchowski" "Come In" "Snakebite" "My Nites Out" "Sk8bdn Song" "Perfect Plan" "Jellybean"
Skillex EP Year: 1995 Format: 7" / CD Label: Fierce Panda UK Chart Position: Produced by Pete Gofton	7" "Come Out 2nite" "How I Was Made" CD "Come Out 2nite" "How I Was Made" "Scared of Spiders" "Acetone"
"Punka" Year: 1996 Format: 7" / CD / Cassette Label: Emi Disc UK Chart Position: #43[1] Produced by John Cornfield Co-produced by Johnny X	7" / cassette "Punka" "Cowboy" CD "Punka" "Drag Race" "Walrus" "Cowboy"
"Millionaire Sweeper" Year: 1996 Format: 7" / CD / Cassette Label: Emi Disc UK Chart Position: #60[1] 1 produced by John Cornfield 2-4 produced by Johnny X and Andy Carpenter	7" "Millionaire Sweeper" "Girl's Best Friend" CD "Millionaire Sweeper" "Kamikaze Annelids" "Perfect Plan 9t6" "Girl's Best Friend"
"In Your Car" Year: 1997 Format: 7" / 2xCD Label: Emi Disc UK Chart Position: #24[1]	7" "In Your Car" "Can I Take U 2 The Cinema?" CD one In Your Car" "Can I take U 2 the Cinema?" "I'm An Agent" (Gary Numan cover) CD two "In Your Car "Private Buchowski" "Killing Fantasy"
"Nightlife" Year: 1997 Format: 7" / 2xCD Label: emidisc UK Chart Position: #27[1]	7" "Nightlife" "JP" CD one "Nightlife" "Kenix" "Skateboard Song" CD two "Nightlife" "JP" "Eat the Angel"
"Punka" (re-issue) Year: 1997 Format: 7" / 2xCD Label: Emi Disc UK Chart Position: #38[1]	7" "Punka" "Brighter Shade of Blue" CD one "Punka" "Lights out in a Provincial Town" "Waste You" CD two "Punka (album version)" "We Can Dream" "Brighter Shade of Blue"
"I Would Fix You" Year: 1998 Format: 7" / 2xCD / Cassette Label: Emi Disc UK Chart Position: #36[1] Produced by Adrian Bushby, Peter Gofton, and Andy Carpenter	7" "I Would Fix You (Radio Edit)" "Rough Boys and Modern Girls" CD one "I Would Fix You (Radio Edit)" "Packed In" "I Would Fix You (Mint Royale Remix)" CD two "I Would Fix You (Full Length)" "Rough Boys and Modern Girls" "I Would Fix You (DJ Downfall mix)"
"Stay In The Sun" Year: 1998 Format: 2xCD / Cassette / 12" Label: Emi Disc UK Chart Position: #43[1]	7" "Stay In The Sun" "Hooray For Everything" CD one "Stay In The Sun (Radio Edit)" (remix by Dave Bascombe) "Hooray For Everything" "Stay In The Sun (Fridge Remix)" CD two "Stay In The Sun (Album Version)" "Save Your Kisses for Me" (Brotherhood of Man cover) "Stay In The Sun (Maxwell Implosion Influenza remix)" Promo 12" "Stay In The Sun (Club Mix)" "Stay In The Sun (Club Instrumental)" "Stay In The Sun (Bangkok Ladyboy Mix)" "Stay In The Sun (Bangkok Ladyboy Instrumental)"

Other releases

• "Walrus" (demo) (on Signal Vs Noise compilation - 1994)
• "Hey, Punka" (on Laugh Hard at the Absurdly Evil compilation - 1995)
• "Rebel Assault" (on Elastic Jet Mission compilation - 1995)
• "Gary II" (on the Camden Crawl compilation - 1995)
• "Come Out 2Nite" (live) (on Phoenix The Album compilation - 1997)
• "It Started With a Kiss" (feat. Errol Brown) (on Come Again compilation - 1997)

Miscellaneous songs

Other songs performed on radio sessions included:

• Un-named Acoustic Song
• "Letter To Memphis" (cover of a Pixies track)

Music videos

• "In Your Car" Directed by Dani Jacobs
• "Punka" Directed by Dani Jacobs

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 299. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
2. ^ United Kingdom. "The Cornshed Sisters at Tapestry Club, St Aloysius Church Hall, Euston (London) on 27 Jun 2008 –". Last.fm. http://www.last.fm/event/616669. Retrieved 2009-07-18. 
3. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 369. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
4. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 158. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 

External links

• BBC radio1/johnpeel kenickie page
• Kenickie Corner
• Planet Kenickie
• Kenickie Fried Chicken