The origin of Kula Shaker can be traced back to 1988, when Crispian Mills (grandson of Sir John Mills and son of actress Hayley Mills and film director Roy Boulting) met Alonza Bevan at Richmond upon Thames College in South-West London. The two went on to play together in a band named Objects Of Desire, with an initial line-up of Mills on lead guitar, Bevan on bass, Richard Cave on drums, Leigh Morris on rhythm guitar, and Marcus Maclaine (then Hayley Mills' boyfriend) on lead vocals. In 1991, Paul Winterhart joined the band as replacement drummer, and during this period, MIlls and Bevan were also responsible for running the Mantra Shack, a psychedelic nightclub at the back of Richmond ice rink. The Objects Of Desire disbanded acrimoniously in early 1993, after which Mills went on a spiritual pilgrimage, backpacking around India, with the trip having a profound effect on him, fostering a deep interest in Indian culture and Hinduism. Upon returning to the UK he formed a new band named The Kays, with Bevan, Winterhart, and Mills' cousin Saul Dismont on vocals, and the band's debut live performance was at the 1993 Glastonbury Festival. Within a year, Dismont had left the band, to be replaced by organist Jay Darlington, who had previously been a member of several mod revival bands.
After two years of touring and recording, The Kays elected to change their name and musical direction, and so in 1995 Mills suggested that the band take the name Kula Shaker, in honour of one of the twelve Alvars (saints of south India), the ninth-century Indian emperor and holy man, King Kulashekhara. He also said that Kula Shaker's music should follow a more spiritual and mystical direction in future, in line with his own growing interest in the philosophy of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. This new emphasis on Indian mysticism and instrumentation, dovetailed with the Beatlesque, 1960's derived influences already present in the band's music, created a sound heavily indebted to 1960's psychedelia. In September 1995 Kula Shaker were joint winners of the In The City contest (along with Placebo), which quickly resulted in a record contract with Columbia Records, who were eager to sign another band that had the multi-platinum, crossover appeal of Oasis. A debut single, 'Tattva (Lucky 13 Mix)' was released on CD and limited 7" vinyl in January 1996, but it just missed the UK Top 75, peaking at number 86. This was followed quickly in April by the band's second single, 'Grateful When You're Dead', a slice of Jimi Hendrix-esque rock which was to become their debut UK Top 40 single, entering the chart at No. 35. Music press and public alike finally began to take notice of the band, and this sudden exposure propelled the re-released (and re-recorded) 'Tattva' to No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart.
The band's upward climb continued with their third single 'Hey Dude', a more traditional rock song which was only kept off the top spot by the Spice Girls when it was released in August 1996. September saw the release of the band's debut album 'K', which became the fastest selling debut album in Britain since Elastica's debut the previous year. The fourth and final single from 'K' was 'Govinda', which reached No. 7 in the UK charts in December of that year, with the song being sung totally in Sanskrit, and mixing swirling guitars with traditional Indian music. In 1997 they carried off the BRIT Award for "British Breakthrough Act" at the ceremony in February, and to celebrate they released what would turn out to be their biggest hit, a cover of the Joe South/Deep Purple classic 'Hush'. After playing T in the Park, Glastonbury and the V Festival, the band shifted their focus to the US, where both 'Tattva' and 'Hey Dude' were receiving some radio exposure. After initial disagreements with management, Kula Shaker resurfaced with the UK-only single 'Sound Of Drums' in April 1998, peaking at number 3, but the promised album in the summer of that year failed to materialise, and the momentum generated by the single was lost as a result.
'Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts' finally appeared in March 1999, and was preceded by the single 'Mystical Machine Gun' which failed to make as strong an impact on the charts as their previous singles, peaking at Number 14 and only remaining in the top 40 for two weeks. The album itself received mixed reviews, and only sold a mere 25,000 copies in its first week, as it crawled in at Number 9 on the album chart. In June they played the Glastonbury Festival, and headlined the Lizard Festival in Cornwall in August, to coincide with the total eclipse, but in September the band announced their split. They reformed in 2004, with their first gig back together as a 3-piece, consisting of Mills, Bevan and Winterhart, taking place at the Wheatsheaf, Leighton Buzzard, England, on 21 December 2005, and in January 2006 Kula Shaker announced that they had reformed permanently. The new incarnation has released four albums and a few singles, but it's generally accepted that their most productive and innovative period was the five years between 1995 and 1999. During this time they added many non-album tracks to the flips of their singles, and this post collects them all together, to remember a truly unique band, with a sound that was all their own.
Track listing
Disc I - 1995-1997
01 Tattva (Lucky 13 Mix) (single 1995)
02 Another Life (b-side of 'Grateful When You're Dead/Jerry Was There' 1996)
03 Under The Hammer (b-side of 'Grateful When You're Dead/Jerry Was There' 1996)
04 Tattva On St. George's Day (b-side of 'Tattva' 1996)
05 Dance In Your Shadow (b-side of 'Tattva' 1996)
06 Moonshine (b-side of 'Tattva' 1996)
07 Troubled Mind (b-side of 'Hey Dude' 1996)
08 Drop In The Sea (b-side of 'Hey Dude' 1996)
09 Gokula (b-side of 'Govinda' 1996)
10 The Leek (b-side of 'Govinda' 1996)
11 Govinda '97, Hari & St. George (from the 'Summer Sun' EP 1997)
12 Raagy One (Waiting For Tomorrow) (from the 'Summer Sun' EP 1997)
Disc II - 1997-1999
01 Hush (single 1997)
02 Hurry On Sundown (Hari On Sundown) (b-side of 'Sound Of Drums' 1998)
03 Reflections Of Love (b-side of 'Sound Of Drums' 1998)
04 Fairyland (b-side of 'Sound Of Drums' 1998)
05 The One That Got Away (b-side of 'Sound Of Drums' 1998)
06 Smile (b-side of 'Sound Of Drums' 1998)
07 Avalonia (b-side of 'Mystical Machine Gun' 1999)
08 Prancing Bride (b-side of 'Mystical Machine Gun' 1999)
09 Holy River (b-side of 'Mystical Machine Gun' 1999)
10 Guitar Man (b-side of 'Mystical Machine Gun' 1999)
11 Goodbye Tin Terriers (b-side of 'Shower Your Love' 1999)
12 The Dancing Flea (b-side of 'Shower Your Love' 1999)
13 Light Of The Day (b-side of 'Shower Your Love' 1999)
14 Ballad Of A Thin Man (from abandoned Bob Dylan tribute album 1999)
Tracks 3 and 6 on Disc II are from the short film 'Reflections Of Love'.
Thanks, was not aware of all their history. I remember enjoying their music up until the main reason I got turned off by them - the flirtation with Nazism and swastikas and the comments made on these matters in interviews. This may have also played a factor in their downfall.
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