Hurricane #1
After the acrimonious ending to his former band Ride, Andy Bell (b. 11 August 1970, Cardiff, Wales) underwent a period of soul-searching that saw him performing occasional solo shows and writing new material at his wife Idha's parents' home in Sweden. With the support of Alan McGee at Creation Records, Bell announced a new band, Hurricane #1, at the start of 1997. His new singer, Glaswegian ex-boxer Alex Lowe, was recruited through an advert in the music press, and was joined by Gareth Farmer (drums) and Will Pepper (bass, ex-Thee Hypnotics). Having laid down the material for their debut within three weeks of forming, the band quickly developed a reputation as an aggressive and truculent outfit, somewhat at odds with Bell's former reputation. However, the release of the singles "Just Another Illusion" and "Step Into My World" showed them in a better light, with Bell's melodic touch and Lowe's bluesy voice establishing themselves as the band's strong points. Their self-titled debut album, produced by Kula Shaker associate Steve Harris, suffered from a lack of variety, earning them mixed reviews in the music press. The title track to their second album, released in 1999, gained widespread airplay when it was used in a television advertisement for The Sun newspaper. The stand-out track, "Long Way Down", sounded very reminiscent of Bell's former band. The album was overlooked owing to a glut of similar material on the shelves from newer and more media-friendly faces, and the band's fate was confirmed in November when Bell was announced as the replacement for Paul McGuigan in Oasis. Lowe released a solo album the following year.
Listen to Hurricane #1
at Finetune.
Albums
- (1998) Only The Strongest Will Survive
- (1997) Hurricane #1
Top Tracks
- Step Into My World
- Just Another Illusion
- Chain Reaction
- Lucky Man
- Only The Strongest Will Survive (James Lavelle Remix For UNKLE)
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