Placebo
Placebo was founded when former Luxembourg schoolmates Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal met by chance at South Kensington tube station in 1994; they had previously attended the American International School of Luxembourg together (and Molko had also attended the European School of Luxembourg). Molko was performing at a local bar and invited Olsdal to watch him one night. On the strength of Molko's performance, Olsdal decided they should form a band.
While briefly known as Ashtray Heart from a Captain Beefheart lyric, the band quickly settled on the name Placebo. The band could not decide on a drummer at first, with Steve Hewitt and Robert Schultzberg alternating on the spot. While Hewitt was the preferred choice, he also had other commitments as drummer for London band Breed, leading to Schultzberg being the drummer when the band signed its contract with Caroline Records. The band officially says "personal demons" were the reason for his absence. As Molko was having difficulty getting on with Schultzberg, they persuaded Hewitt to rejoin the band in 1996.
Hewitt returned to the band after the departure of Schultzberg. The band gained some measure of notoriety for the sexualities of its members (Olsdal is homosexual, Hewitt is heterosexual and Molko is bisexual) as well as for their excessive lifestyles and Molko's androgynous image, which were often referred to in their songs.
The singles Nancy Boy, from Placebo (1996), and Pure Morning, from Without You I'm Nothing (1998), were the peak of their British success, both charting in the top ten. Since Without You I'm Nothing the band have received less positive coverage from the British music press, who on occasion have mocked the perceived pretentiousness of frontman Molko. However, the band retained a huge popular and critical following in continental Europe. By way of their English-accented fluent French, France has become their very first target market in Europe - which has led them to gain huge popularity there, in excess of even their British fan base.
Their style altered little from Placebo through Black Market Music (2000), based around fairly straightforward guitar playing, often influenced by the style of 1970s British and American rock, and Molko's high-pitched vocals. Sleeping with Ghosts (2003) was more adventurous, experimenting with dance tunes, electronic music influences and a less polished rocky guitar sound, though keeping the traditional sound for several songs, including the first single The Bitter End.
The band was asked to play at David Bowie's fiftieth birthday party at Madison Square Garden. Placebo played "20th Century Boy" live with David Bowie at the BRIT Awards show in 1999. The band's glam connections continued in 1998 when they recorded a cover of T. Rex's "20th Century Boy" for the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack. The band also appeared in this film. In the same year, their peak album Without You I'm Nothing was recorded and released. The song Without You I'm Nothing from this album has had a version released in which David Bowie duets with Molko.
Molko has been open about his use of recreational drugs; in a 1997 interview with New York Doll, admitting at one point that heroin was "probably the only drug on this planet I haven’t tried". However, he later admitted to experimenting with heroin as well.
Placebo encountered resistance from the British music industry upon release of the single "Special K" from their third album Black Market Music (2000) due to its use of a Ketamine high as a metaphor for love. The 'single' was released in Australia before eventually being made available in the UK as an EP featuring the b-sides and remixes that would have filled out a conventional two disc single release. At the time the band claimed this was due to dissatisfaction with the two disc single format, a claim somewhat undermined by their subsequent single releases all being made available in two cd formats accompanied by a 7inch vinyl.
MEMBERS:
Brian Molko- Vox/Guitar
Stefan Olsdal- Bass/Guitar
Steve Forrest- Drums
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