Big Soul – A California groove France claimed
A French traveler bought Big Soul's self-pressed disc on Sunset Boulevard; a DJ at Le Niel's in Paris dropped Hippy Hippy Shake and Sony France soon signed the California trio.
X&Y – Baudot cover, Fix You, UK No. 1 in a week
On 6 June 2005, Coldplay issued X&Y on Parlophone after scrapping large stretches of Ken Nelson sessions and finishing with Danton Supple.
Foo Fighters – Noise that refused to stay sad
After Nirvana, Dave Grohl recorded the first Foo Fighters tracks mostly alone in 1994; the 1995 debut turned grief into choruses a crowd could shout.
Here Come The Bombs – Solo bombs from a Wheatley basement
In May 2012, Gaz Coombes released his debut solo album Here Come The Bombs on Hot Fruit/EMI, built at home in Oxfordshire then finished with Sam Williams.
In Utero – Albini tape, then the singles remixes
In September 1993 DGC released In Utero, Nirvana's third studio album, tracked in two weeks at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, with Steve Albini engineering.
Iggy Pop – The Stooges scream that outlived the band
James Osterberg became Iggy Pop with The Stooges in late-60s Detroit, then rebuilt the voice in Berlin with Bowie on The Idiot and Lust for Life.
Gaz Coombes – White Noise
Gaz Coombes’s White Noise, from 2012’s Here Come the Bombs, rides a steady pulse and dry guitars after Supergrass.
Les Rita Mitsouko – Paris scratched into melody
At the Gibus Club in 1980, Catherine Ringer and Fred Chichin launched Les Rita Mitsouko; Marcia Baïla, produced with Conny Plank, hit number two in France.
What if The Clash had stayed together after Combat Rock?
In 1983, Mick Jones remains in The Clash and the group follows Combat Rock with a new record instead of Cut the Crap.
Blur – Essex satire that went widescreen
Four Colchester-area players turned English observation into chart singles, then dropped the Britpop costume before it stuck.