FORMED: 1991, Bristol, England
Portishead may not have invented trip-hop, but they were among the first to popularize it,
particularly in America. Taking their cue from the slow, elastic beats that dominated
Massive Attack's Blue Lines and adding elements of cool jazz, acid house, and soundtrack
music, Portishead created an atmospheric, alluringly dark sound. The group wasn't as
avant-garde as Tricky, nor as tied to dance traditions as Massive Attack; Instead, the
band wrote evocative pseudo-cabaret pop songs that subverted their conventional structures
with experimental productions and rhythms of trip-hop. As a result, Portishead appealed to
a broad audience -- not just electronic dance and alternative rock fans, but
thirtysomethings who found techno, trip-hop and dance as exotic as worldbeat. Before
Portishead released their debut album Dummy in 1994, trip-hop's broad appeal wasn't
apparent, but the record became an unexpected success in Britain, topping most year-end
critics polls and earning the prestigious Mercury Music Prize; in America, it also became
an underground hit, selling over 150, 000 copies before the group toured the US. Following
the success of Dummy, legions of imitators appeared over the next two years, but
Portishead remained quiet, as they worked on their second album.
Named after the West Coast shipping
town where Geoff Barrow grew up, Portishead formed in Bristol, England in 1991. Prior to
the group's formation, Barrow had worked as a tape operator at the Coach House studio,
where he met Massive Attack. Through that group, he began working with Tricky, producing
the rapper's track for the Sickle Cell charity album. Barrow also wrote songs for Neneh
Cherry's Home Brew, though only "Somedays" appeared on the record. Around the
time of Portishead's formation, he had begun to earn a reputation as a remix producer,
working on tracks by Primal Scream, Paul Weller, Gabrielle and Depeche Mode. Barrow met
Beth Gibbons, who had been singing in pubs, in 1991 on a job scheme. Over the next few
years, the pair began writing music, often with jazz guitarist Adrian Utley who had
previously played with both Big John Patton and the Jazz Messengers.
Before releasing a recording,
Portishead completed the short film To Kill a Dead Man, an homage to '60s spy movies.
Barrow and Gibbons acted in the noirish film and provided the soundtrack, which earned the
attention of Go! Records. By the fall, Portishead had signed with Go! and their debut
album, Dummy, was released shortly afterward. Dummy was recorded with engineer Dave
MacDonald, who played drums and drum machines, and guitarist Utley, who rounded out
Portishead's lineup.
Both Barrow and Gibbons were
media-shy -- the vocalist refused to participate in any interviews -- which meant that the
album received little attention outside of the weekly UK music press, which praised the
album and its two singles, "Numb" and "Sour Times," heavily. Soon, Go!
and Portishead had developed a clever marketing strategy based on the group's atmospheric
videos that began to attract attention. Melody Maker, Mixmag, and The Face named Dummy as
1994's album of the year, and early in 1995, "Glory Box" debuted at number 13
without any radio play. Around the same time, "Sour Times" entered regular
rotation on MTV in America. Within a few weeks, Dummy and "Sour Times" were
alternative rock hits in the US. Back in the UK, the album had crossed over into the
mainstream, becoming a fixture in the British Top 40. In July, the record won the Mercury
Music Prize for Album of the Year, beating highly-touted competition from Blur, Suede,
Oasis and Pulp.
Following the Mercury Music Prize
award, Barrow retreated to Coach House to begin work on Portishead's second album. The
self-titled record finally appeared in September 1997. The live PNYC followed late the
next year. What's nice is that the
characteristic sound of [p] continues in this record "roseland NYC live" like
the "dirty" sound and the discreet bass, but powerful in the right moments. Just
note the fact that portishead aren't individuals talent but a group, that confirm that
happy music's and portishead don't combine together.
Arrangements by Bruno Silva - Original text
"Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All-Music Guide "