Grebo (music)

{{Infobox music genre

| name = Grebo

| stylistic_origins = {{flatlist|

}}

| cultural_origins = Late 1980s – early 1990s, Midlands, England

| subgenrelist =

| subgenres =

| fusiongenres =

| regional_scenes = English Midlands

| other_topics = Cool Britannia

}}

Grebo (or grebo rock) was a short-lived subculture{{Cite book |title=Knickers in a Twist: A Dictionary of British Slang |last=Bernstein |first=Jonathan |publisher=Canongate |year=2012 |isbn=978-0857869456}} and broadly-defined subgenre of indie rock centred around the Midlands, particularly Stourbridge and Leicester. Musically, the genre incorporated elements of electronic, punk rock, folk and hip hop music into indie rock. The scene occupied the period in the late 1980s and early 1990s in the United Kingdom before the popularisation of Britpop and grunge.{{Cite book |title=Tribe - A Personal History of British Subculture |last1=Roach |first1=Martin |last2=Snowball |first2=Ian |last3=McKenna |first3=Peter |publisher=John Blake |year=2015 |isbn=978-1784188979}}

Etymology

Derived from "greaser",{{cite web |last1=Garland |first1=Emma |title=Introducing: The Grown-Up Greebo |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7q9z3/what-is-greebo-fashion-subculture |website=Vice Media |date=24 February 2020 |access-date=26 July 2024}} the word "grebo" began being used in the 1970s as a slang term for bikers with long hair.{{Cite web |url=http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/way-bikers-met-windy-ridge-cafe-60s/story-26508301-detail/story.html |title=The Way We Were: Bikers met at the Windy Ridge Cafe in the 60s |last=Warbrook |first=Colette |date=15 May 2015 |publisher=The Sentinel |access-date=13 April 2017 |archive-date=28 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628144443/http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/Way-Bikers-met-Windy-Ridge-Cafe-60s/story-26508301-detail/story.html |url-status=dead }}{{Cite book |title=The Charlatans We Are Rock |last=Robb |first=John |publisher=Random House |year=2010 |isbn=978-1409034391}} The word was re-fashioned by the group Pop Will Eat Itself that represented a brand of United Kingdom subculture of the late 1980s and early 1990s, largely based in the English Midlands.{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/feb/25/emo-pop-tribes-mods-punks |title=From mod to emo: why pop tribes are still making a scene |last=Rogers |first=Jude |date=25 February 2010 |work=The Guardian |access-date=14 April 2017}}Vladimir Bogdanov (editor), All Music Guide to Electronica: The Definitive Guide To Electronic Music, page 404 (Backbeat Books, 2001). {{ISBN|0-87930-628-9}}. Quote: "Honing a fusion of rock, pop, and rap which they dubbed 'grebo', the Poppies kickstarted a small revolution." The scene particularly was centred on Stourbridge and Leicester.{{cite web |last1=Banks |first1=Joe |title=“A Burst Of Dirty Thunder”: The Rise And Fall Of Grebo |url=https://thequietus.com/culture/books/rich-deakin-grebo-the-loud-and-lousy-story-of-gaye-bykers-on-acid-and-crazyhead-interview/ |website=The Quietus |access-date=25 November 2024}}

History

Fronted by Pop Will Eat Itself, the Wonder Stuff and Ned's Atomic Dustbin, the bands quickly gained attention: Pop Will Eat Itself's 1989 singles "Wise Up! Sucker" and "Can U Dig It?" both entered the UK Top 40 and Stourbridge briefly became a tourist attraction for young indie rock fans. The seminal albums from the scene were released between 1989 and 1993: the Wonder Stuff's Hup and Never Loved Elvis; Ned's Atomic Dustbin's God Fodder and Are You Normal?; and Pop Will Eat Itself's This Is the Day...This Is the Hour...This Is This! and The Looks or the Lifestyle?. In this period, the scene's bands became fixtures, sometimes headliners, at Reading Festival, sold millions of albums and were frequently featured on the covers of magazines like NME and Melody Maker.{{cite news |title=Wise up suckers! How grebo rivalled Britpop as the sound of 90s indie |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/mar/29/wise-up-suckers-how-grebo-rivalled-britpop-as-the-sound-of-90s-indie |website=The Guardian |date=29 March 2018 |access-date=17 June 2023 |last1=Sword |first1=Harry }} Grebo bands were distinct from prior indie rock groups not only because of their broad influences, but their subversion of the twee or unhappy moods of most other bands in the genre, and their pursuit of a heavier sound and aesthetic. The scene came to include the stylistically similar bands of nearby Leicester: the Bomb Party, Gaye Bykers on Acid, Crazyhead, the Hunters Club and Scum Pups.{{cite web |last1=Banks |first1=Joe |title="A Burst Of Dirty Thunder": The Rise And Fall Of Grebo |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/30791-rich-deakin-grebo-the-loud-and-lousy-story-of-gaye-bykers-on-acid-and-crazyhead-interview |website=The Quietus |date=6 November 2021 |access-date=17 June 2023}} The term has also been used to describe Jesus Jones from Wiltshire.{{Cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4091046.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102033959/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4091046.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 November 2012 |title='Grebo rock,' as synthesized by Ned's Atomic Dustbin |last=Kim |first=Jae-Ha |date=12 January 1992 |publisher=Chicago Sun-Times |access-date=13 April 2017}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-the-marquee-mw0001024970 |title=Jesus Jones - Live at the Marquee |last=Greene |first=Jo-Ann |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=13 April 2017}}

A younger subset of grebo bands emerged around 1991, who were in turn labelled "fraggle" bands.{{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=John |title=Hail! Hail! Rock'n'Roll The Ultimate Guide to the Music, the Myths and the Madness |date=7 January 2010 |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |quote=Fraggle c.1991: Name for alternative rock bands, some of whom basically represented younger end of 'Grebo' genre, reputedly coined by band-booker at indie venue Harlow Square in recognition of similarity between scruffily attired groups/fans and characters from Muppets spin-off TV show Fraggle Rock. Bands: Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Senseless Things, Mega City Four}} During this movement, the dominant sound was a style of indie rock that was heavily indebted to punk and Nirvana's Bleach album, while also occasionally making use of drum machines. Gigwise writer Steven Kline described the style as "filthy guitars, filthier hair and t-shirts only a mother would wash". Prominent fraggle acts included Senseless Things, Mega City Four and Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine.{{cite web |last1=Beaumont |first1=Mark |title=Nine NME-invented scenes that shook the world (or didn't) from C86 to shroomadelica, fraggle and the NAM |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/2360346-2360346 |website=NME |date=27 July 2018 |access-date=17 June 2023}}

Characteristics

The grebo genre was broadly defined, and used more as a name for the Stourbridge scene than as a genre label. For the most part, it was a style of indie rock which drew influences from a diverse array of genres, including electronic, punk, folk, hip-hop music, dance-rock, psychedelia{{Cite web |url=http://www.avclub.com/article/dudes-ludes-15-bands-named-after-drugs-arent-weed-210345 |title=Dudes on 'ludes: 15 bands named after drugs that aren't weed |last=Modell |first=Josh |date=13 October 2014 |publisher=The A.V. Club |access-date=12 April 2017}} and pop.{{Cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/god-fodder-mw0000264418 |title=Ned's Atomic Dustbin - God Fodder |last=Abebe |first=Nitsuh |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=13 April 2017}} Pop Will Eat Itself adopted an industrial alternative rock style{{Cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8552382/Retromania-Pop-Cultures-Addiction-to-Its-Own-Past-by-Simon-Reynolds-review.html |title=Retromania: Pop Culture's Addiction to Its Own Past by Simon Reynolds: review |last=McCormick |first=Neil |date=3 June 2011 |publisher=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=13 April 2017}} that combined "heavy metal and hard rock guitar riffs, electro-dance rhythms, samples and rap vocals."{{Cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/09/29/pwei-from-grebo-pop-to-raucous-rock/ |title=Pwei: From Grebo Pop To Raucous Rock |last=Popson |first=Tom |date=29 September 1989 |publisher=Chicago Tribune |access-date=13 April 2017}} While Gaye Bykers on Acid's use of hip-hop and dance beats was considered as "a major innovation in mid-'80s alternative rock,"{{Cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/gaye-bykers-on-acid-mn0000801448 |title=Gaye Bykers on Acid |last=Ankeny |first=Jason |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=13 April 2017}} Ned's Atomic Dustbin focused on "the hyper punk aspect" of the movement, relying on "catchy hooks and a dual-bass sound."{{Cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/are-you-normal-mw0000091697 |title=Ned's Atomic Dustbin - Are You Normal? |last=Abebe |first=Nitsuh |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=13 April 2017}}

Grebo artists and fans sported long hair, dreadlocks and baggy shorts.{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2002/may/03/shopping.artsfeatures |title=The way we listen now |last=Petridis |first=Alexis |date=3 May 2002 |work=The Guardian |access-date=13 April 2017}}

Grebo (music)

Etymology

History

Characteristics

References

Further reading