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All Music Guide:
It may have taken Cornershop a few years to perfect their innovative hybrid of Indian music, British indie rock, and contemporary dance, but with the release of a third full-length album, When I Was Born for the 7th Time, the group's multicultural fusions made it an instant critics' darling. Taking their name from a common stereotype of Indians in England -- that they all own small, corner grocery shops -- Cornershop were formed by singer/songwriter, guitarist, and dholki player Tjinder Singh and guitarist, keyboardist, and tamboura player Ben Ayres after the 1991 breakup of a previous group, General Havoc. The remainder of their initial lineup featured Singh's brother Avtar on guitar and former Dandelion Adventure drummer David Chambers. Following their first gig in Harlow, they signed with the small indie label WIIIJA.
Cornershop issued two EPs over the course of 1993 (In the Days of Ford Cortina and Lock Stock & Double-Barrel, later collected as Elvis Sex-Change), but attracted more attention for their strong anti-racist politics -- specifically, their public denunciation of indie icon Morrissey. In response to Morrissey's flirtation with skinhead imagery, the group blasted him in the press and took to burning pictures of him in concerts, at press conferences, and even outside the offices of his record label. The backlash in the British music media suggested that Cornershop were nothing but publicity hounds, pointing to the amateurish, messy qualities of the band's music as evidence (indeed, the group members even took a certain pride in their lack of technical know-how during their early days, although they would later become much more accomplished). Fairly or not, Cornershop were, for the most part, dismissed as incompetent.
Through all the controversy, the group kept honing its sound, adding sitarist Anthony Saffery (who also played keyboards and harmonium) and guitarist Wallis Healey for its 1994 debut album, Hold on It Hurts. Chambers and Avtar Singh both left the group in 1995 and the new, reshuffled lineup brought on drummer Nick Simms and percussionist Pete Hall. The same year, David Byrne's worldbeat-oriented Luaka Bop label signed Cornershop to a deal and released Woman's Gotta Have It, the group's first widely accessible album. Singh's playful humor and English/Punjabi lyrics spoke to the inclusiveness of the band's vision, and hypnotic tracks like "6am Jullandar Shere" attracted positive word of mouth from critics and luminaries like Brian Eno, helping land the group on the second stage of that year's Lollapalooza. Healey and Hall both left following the record's release, however, and percussionist Peter Bengry took the latter's place.
The reception afforded Woman's Gotta Have It set the stage for the breakthrough of When I Was Born for the 7th Time. Released to hugely positive reviews in 1997, the album mixed pop songs with hypnotic, hip-hop-flavored instrumentals and featured guest spots from Allen Ginsberg and Tarnation's Paula Frazer, plus production contributions from Dan the Automator. The catchy single "Brimful of Asha," a tribute to the prolific Indian film singer Asha Bhosle, became a genuine hit in the U.K. after a remix by Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) and actually hit number one on some charts in early 1998 -- a far cry from several years before. The success led to an opening slot on Oasis' American tour, and Spin magazine named When I Was Born for the 7th Time its Album of the Year.
In the wake of this success, Singh and Ayres put the group on temporary hiatus and returned to their more dance-oriented side project, Clinton, which had released a couple of singles in 1995-1996. The debut Clinton full-length, Disco and the Halfway to Discontent, was released in the U.K. in 1999 and picked up for American distribution by Astralwerks the following year. The long silence from Cornershop gave rise to rumors that Singh had broken up the band, but he and Ayres finally returned (with Bengry, Saffery, and Simms in tow) in early 2002 with Handcream for a Generation. Reviews were somewhat more mixed this time around (the record's pleasures were acknowledged to be more on the surface), but still generally complimentary.
After Handcream for a Generation Cornershop entered a quiet period, surfacing briefly in 2006 with a single called "Wop the Groove," but their real comeback came three years later when they released Judy Sucks a Lemon for Breakfast, their first album in seven years. Cornershop quickly followed that with a collaboration with Punjabi singer Bubbley Kaur called Cornershop and the Double-O Groove Of. Hot on the heels of the collaboration with Kaur came Urban Turban in the summer of 2012.
Wikipedia:
Cornershop is a British indie rock band formed in 1991 by Wolverhampton-born Tjinder Singh (singer, songwriter, and guitar), his brother Avtar Singh (bass guitar, vocals), David Chambers (drums) and Ben Ayres (guitar, keyboards, and tamboura), the first three having previously been members of Preston-based band General Havoc, who released one single (the "Fast Jaspal EP") in 1991. The band name originated from a stereotype referring to British Asians often owning corner shops. Their music is a fusion of Indian music, Britpop, and electronic dance music.
History [edit]
Formation and early years: 1991-1995 [edit]
Tjinder Singh formed The General Havoc whilst a student at Lancashire Polytechnic in Preston, in 1987. He relocated to Leicester, where his brother and sister lived, and formed Cornershop in 1991 along with his brother Avtar, and Chambers and Ayres, while working as a barman at Leicester's Magazine pub, also a popular local music venue. The band played their first gig at Leicester's O'Jays venue. In the early 1990s, when popular singer Morrissey was being vilified by the UK music press after accusations of racism, the band were invited to comment and the Melody Maker ran a story featuring the band burning a picture of the singer outside the offices of EMI.
Their debut release, the In The Days of Ford Cortina EP, was pressed on "curry-coloured vinyl", contained a blend of Indian-tinged noise pop. The sound mellowed somewhat with the release of debut album "Hold On It Hurts" in 1994, described by Trouser Press as "a politically charged popfest, ten tracks of noisy delights that meld incisive social commentary with a firm hold on British post-punk." The album impressed David Byrne sufficiently for him to sign the band to his Luaka Bop label. Although David Chambers left the band in 1994, replaced by Nick Simms, the band re-emerged in 1995 with the "6 a.m. Jullandar Shere" single and the album Woman's Gotta Have It, also touring the United States including some dates on the Lollapalooza tour. The band also toured Europe with Beck, Stereolab and Oasis.
Mainstream success: 1997-2001 [edit]
The band released their critically acclaimed album 'When I Was Born for the 7th Time' in September 1997. The album featured collaborations with Allen Ginsberg, Paula Frazer, Justin Warfield and a Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney approved cover of "Norwegian Wood". The album was produced by Tjinder Singh and Dan the Automator. Rolling Stone called it one of the essential recordings of the 1990s. The album was ranked No. 1 on Spin's list of 'Top 20 Albums of the Year' (1998)
The track "Brimful of Asha" topped the legendary Festive 50 rundown of John Peel's tracks of the year in 1997.
Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) loved the track and remixed the song which became hugely popular and captured the attention of the world. The song was a tribute to the prolific Indian playback singer, Asha Bhosle, and Tjinder's musical influences such as Trojan Records and vinyl culture in general.
In 2000 Ayres and Singh released a disco inspired album Disco and the Halfway to Discontent as part of their side-project, Clinton. This album inspired the launch of the London based clubnight called Buttoned Down Disco, which took its name from the third track on the album.
Further success: 2002-2010 [edit]
Their next official Cornershop release was the 2002 album, Handcream for a Generation, which featured Noel Gallagher on guitar.
According to their official website, Cornershop have been making a film about London’s independent music industry since 2003. In 2004 the band released the track 'Topknot' featuring the vocals of Bubbley Kaur on Rough Trade Records. In February 2006, some four years after their last album, they released another single "Wop the Groove" featuring guest vocals from Happy Mondays backing singer Rowetta.
In 2008, their song "Candyman" was featured in the Nike advertisement for the Lebron James VI shoe, called the Six "Chalk" commercial.
Cornershop released an album Judy Sucks a Lemon for Breakfast in July 2009, preceded by the single "The Roll-Off Characteristics (Of History in the Making)" in May on their own record label called Ample Play.
Recent years: 2011-present [edit]
In 2011, Cornershop were awarded a prize for Commitment to Scene in the UK Asian Music Awards.
An album Cornershop and the Double 'O' Groove Of, a collaboration with Punjabi folk singer Bubbley Kaur, was released in March 2011 to critical acclaim in the UK. The band also set up the Singles Club, a subscription service featuring a series of musically diverse collaborations and exclusive digital artwork.
The band's eighth album Urban Turban was released on 14 May 2012.
