Sleeper

Fronted by indie pin-up Louise Wener, Sleeper were one of the faces of Brit-pop, scoring a string of spiky 1990s hits and lauding it up as the country suddenly exploded with scores of scruffy, slouching, guitar bands. Formed at university in Manchester through a mutual love of The Pixies, Wener penned idiosyncratic stories of the everyday as the band bounced along to smart, new wave guitar pop. Led by single Inbetweener, an anthem to teenage awkwardness, debut album Smart (1995) shot to Number 5 in the UK and set the band up alongside the likes of Pulp, Blur, Suede and Elastica as the new scene of post-grunge indie rock took hold. Second album The It Girl (1996) proved an even bigger success, reaching platinum status and producing the hits What Do We Do Now?, Sale of the Century and Nice Guy Eddie; and the band recorded a cover of Blondie's Atomic for the soundtrack to Brit flick Trainspotting. Follow-up album Pleased To Meet You (1997) reached Number 7 but the Brit-pop bubble would soon burst and the band split in 1998 with Wener going on to become a novelist.