Schoolmates Lauren Laverne (vocals, guitar), Marie Du Stantiago (guitar) and Emmy-Kate Montroe (bass) formed Kenickie in August 1994, while they were studying in secondary school. All three were 16 years old, and they recruited Laverne's older brother Johnny X as the drummer, naming themselves Kenickie after John Travolta's sidekick from Grease. Over the next few months, they wrote a batch of songs, made a demo, and by late 1994 they had begun playing indie clubs. Creation Records' Alan McGee approached the band in February of 1995, but they rejected his offer, preferring to release a series of indie singles, and DJ John Peel played their demo 'Catsuit City' well before its April 1995 release by the Newcastle-based indie label Slampt. The seven-inch 'Catsuit City' EP created a buzz around Kenickie, but because of their studies and "A" level exams, they didn't release their second single, 'Come Out 2 Nite', until nearly a year later. The song was the lead track on their second EP, 'Skillex', which appeared on the hip Fierce Panda label in spring 1996. A few months later, the band had signed to Emidisc, a subsidiary of EMI headed by St. Etienne's Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, and in the latter half of 1996 they released two singles, with 'Punka' and 'Millionaire Sweeper' both making the lower reaches of the UK singles chart. Early in 1997 they had their first Top 40 hit with 'In Your Car', which reached number 24, and this was followed in April by the band's full-length debut, 'At The Club', which peaked at number 9 in the UK album chart. The follow-up record, 'Get In', appeared in 1998, and was once again well received in the music press, but it sold less well than their first. Johnny X, who now referred to himself as Pete X, moved to guitar, with the live band augmented by Graham Christie on drums and Dot Allen on keyboards, but in October 1998 Kenickie broke up at the close of their London Astoria gig. Laverne released one solo EP in 2000, but is more well-known today for presenting various radio and television shows, such as being a guest on early episodes of music quiz 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks', and hosting BBC 2's 'The Culture Show', as well as presenting BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. Although they were only together for four years, they released a lot of music, and collections of their non-album songs alone would equal the number of albums than they released in their lifetime. So here they are in a two-volume set of abrasive punk/pop from a band that are credited as having inspired a wave of mainstream female guitar bands that emerged in the wake of their split.
Track listing
Disc I - 1995-1996
01 Rama Lama Lama (from the 'Catsuit City' EP 1995)
02 Private Buchowski (from the 'Catsuit City' EP 1995)
03 Come In (from the 'Catsuit City' EP 1995)
04 Snakebite (from the 'Catsuit City' EP 1995)
05 My Nites Out (from the 'Catsuit City' EP 1995)
06 SK8BDN Song (from the 'Catsuit City' EP 1995)
07 Perfect Plan (from the 'Catsuit City' EP 1995)
08 Jellybean (from the 'Catsuit City' EP 1995)
09 Scared Of Spiders from the 'Skillex' EP 1996)
10 Drag Race (b-side of 'Punka' 1996)
11 Walrus (b-side of 'Punka' 1996)
12 Cowboy (b-side of 'Punka' 1996)
13 Lights Out In A Provincial Town (b-side of 'Punka' 1996)
14 Waste You (b-side of 'Punka' 1996)
15 We Can Dream (b-side of 'Punka' 1996)
16 Brighter Shade Of Blue (b-side of 'Punka' 1996)
17 Kamikaze Annelids (b-side of 'Millionaire Sweeper' 1996)
18 Girl's Best Friend (b-side of 'Millionaire Sweeper' 1996)
Disc II - 1996-1998
01 Can I Take U 2 The Cinema (b-side of 'In Your Car' 1996)
02 I'm An Agent (b-side of 'In Your Car' 1996)
03 Killing Fantasy (b-side of 'In Your Car' 1996)
04 "J.P." (b-side of 'Nightlife' 1997)
05 Eat The Angel (b-side of 'Nightlife' 1997)
06 Kenix (b-side of 'Nightlife' 1997)
07 Skateboard Song (b-side of 'Nightlife' 1997)
08 Packed In (b-side of 'I Would Fix You' 1998)
09 Rough Boys & Modern Girls (b-side of 'I Would Fix You' 1998)
10 Xmas Disco On The Dole (hidden track on 'Get In' album 1998)
11 Hooray For Everything (b-side of 'Stay In The Sun' 1998)
12 Save Your Kisses For Me (b-side of 'Stay In The Sun' 1998)
