PLACEBO feat. DAVID BOWIE : WITHOUT YOU I'M NOTHING [EEC 1999] 12'

Placebo feat. David Bowie  "Without You I'm Nothing"  maxi 12"

(HUT - Elevator)  1999  made in EEC

cat. num. FLOORTP10

#alternative  #leftfield  #trance

Due to their penchant for androgynous attire/makeup and raw, punky guitar riffs, Placebo have been described by some as a glam version of Nirvana. The multinational band was formed by singer/guitarist Brian Molko (part Scottish and American descent, but raised in England) and Swedish bassist Stefan Olsdal. Both members had previously attended the same school in Luxembourg, but they didn't cross paths properly until 1994 in London, England. Briefly called Ashtray Heart and influenced by the likes of Sonic Youth, the Pixies, the Smashing Pumpkins, and the aforementioned Nirvana, they began filling the vacant drum spot with percussionists like Robert Schultzberg and Steve Hewitt (the latter being the group's only member of English origin). Although Molko and Olsdal preferred Hewitt as their main man (it was this lineup that recorded several early demos), Hewitt opted to return to his other band at the time, Breed. With Schultzberg back on board instead, Placebo signed a recording contract with Caroline Records and released a self-titled debut in 1996. The album was a surprise hit in the U.K., where singles like "Nancy Boy" and "Teenage Angst" became Top 40 hits. Meanwhile, the bandmates themselves became the toast of the British music weeklies and supported their debut by opening for such outfits as the reunited Sex Pistols, U2, and Weezer. 

Despite the group's early success, Schultzberg wasn't seeing eye to eye with the other bandmembers, who by this point were able to convince Hewitt to rejoin the lineup, prompting Schultzberg's exit from the band in September 1996. One of Hewitt's first performances with Placebo upon returning proved to be a big one, as David Bowie -- a fan of the band, not to mention an influence on its sound -- personally invited the trio to play his 50th birthday bash at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1997. The following year, Placebo switched over to the major-label division of Caroline, Virgin Records, and issued Without You I'm Nothing in November. The album was another big seller in England and initially appeared to be the group's breakthrough in the U.S., where MTV embraced the album's lead-off single, "Pure Morning." Subsequent singles failed to match the success of that first song, but Without You I'm Nothingremained popular in England, where it eventually went platinum. Around the same time, Placeborecorded a cover of T. Rex's "20th Century Boy" for Velvet Goldmine, a movie in which the trio also appeared.