Mansun

One of the most innovative and enduring bands of the britpop era, Mansun were formed in 1995 by founding members Paul Draper, Dominic Chad and Stove King. After being discovered by influential DJ Steve Lamacq, the band would soon find themselves in a record company bidding war which was eventually won by Parlophone due to what Paul called "the strength of their roster of bands before us".
The band's debut album, the sprawling and epic 'Attack of the Grey Lantern' went straight to number one in the UK album charts in its first week of release. After promoting the singles from 'Attack of the Grey Lantern', Mansun toured America whilst Paul wrote tracks for the band's second album, 'Six'.
Preceeded by the chart hit 'Legacy', Mansun's second album was a far cry lyrically and sonically from their debut album. Gone were the stories about Stripper Vicars and rotund people called Fred; instead our attention was now placed on subjects including Taoism, the Catholic Church and the suspicious death of Brian Jones.
After charting at an eerie number six in the UK album charts, Mansun toured the record all over Europe and Asia.
Once the promotion for 'Six' had come to an end, Paul and Chad went on a writing trip to Spain to collate lyrics and ideas for the band's third studio album.
'Little Kix' would turn out to be a much more personal and softer album from the previous two records. It was a huge departure from their previous work and included some beautifully structured songs including 'Butterfly (A New Beginning)', 'Until The Next Life' and the chart hit 'I Can Only Disappoint U'.
In 2002, following a short hiatus, the band announced a small tour of the UK to test out new material destined for their fourth studio album. The reaction from their fanbase was overwhelmingly positive and the band were back to doing what they loved best - ROCK!
In May 2003, exactly one year after the beginning of the last tour, an announcement was made by Dominic Chad that the band had called it a day due to artistic differences. The band's fanbase were understandably shocked and upset but never gave up hope of hearing the fourth album material. A petition was set up by fans asking Parlophone to consider releasing the fourth album sessions. News got back to Paul Draper and he set to work on sifting through the songs they had completed.
By late 2004 the fans were rewarded with not just one CD of new Mansun material, but three CDs full of unreleased recordings, home demos and live material. 'Kleptomania' was Paul and Chad's way of saying thank you to all the fans that had stuck by the band over the years.
A final Mansun release entitled 'The Best of Mansun' was put out by Parlophone in 2006. It included all of the band's chart hits and a DVD of rare live material plus a Mansun documentary with previously unseen footage of the band.