All about this artist
Biography:
This half-Asian, half-white indie band rose to prominence in the UK in 1993 by attacking some dubious statements made at that time by former idol Morrissey. The band, Ben Ayres (born 30 April 1968, St John's, Newfoundland, Canada; guitar/vocals), Tjinder Singh (b.
8 February 1968, New Cross, Wolverhampton, England; guitar), Avtar Singh (b. 11 May 1965, Punjab, India; bass/vocals) and David Chambers (b. 1969, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England; drums, ex-Dandelion Adventure), based themselves in Leicester, London and Preston.
Signing to Wiiija Records they were invited to comment on Morrissey after his Finsbury Park glorification of skinhead culture and "British" values. In the process, they became willing spokesmen for what seemed a significant debate, although it was just as well that their own musical abilities were not under the microscope.
They had evolved out of the ashes of General Havoc in 1991, whose whole ethos was enshrined in the motto: "Don't rehearse; hardly play; get media attention. " The debut single, "In The Days Of Ford Cortina", while in many ways charming, was proto-punk amateurism at best.
It also came in "curry-coloured" vinyl, while other song titles included "Kawasaki, Hotter Than Chapati', evidence that while Morrissey may have slipped into dubious waters, Cornershop looked unlikely to rival him in terms of irony. However, the band underlined their versatility by releasing a club-friendly 12-inch as their dance music alter-ego Clinton, while Tjinder Singh also produced an album by the Danish band Murmur.
By 1995"s Woman's Gotta Have It the style had been refined and remodelled, with less of a reliance on guitar chords and more on world music rhythms and instruments. David Byrne was so impressed he signed the band to a new five year contract with his Luka Bop label, distributed by Warner Brothers Records.
Meanwhile, Brian Eno sampled the album's "6am Jullandar Shere' for his soundtrack to the War Child Fashion Show. The single (originally issued on Wiiija's 99p budget series) was also remixed by Richard Norris of the Grid for September 1995 release.
Chambers and Avtar departed that year as the band struggled to win back support on their home market. It was against all expectations, then, that Ayres and Tjinder Singh produced one of 1997"s best albums. When I Was Born For The 7th Time was an impressively diverse and exuberant blend of indie rock, hip-hop, reggae and dub, which included a cover of the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" sung entirely in Punjabi.
Their dodgy musical days far behind them, Cornershop reaped the rewards this groovy album deserved when the extracted "Brimful Of Asha" (featuring a Norman Cook remix) topped the UK charts in February 1998. Singh and Ayres took a break from Cornershop to release their debut album as Clinton, Disco And The Halfway To Discontent.
They returned in 2002, brightening up the UK music scene with the gloriously eclectic Handcream For A Generation.
