The Auteurs
| The Auteurs | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Alternative rock, indie pop, baroque pop |
| Years active | 1991–1999 |
| Labels | Hut Records |
| Associated acts | The Servants, Baader Meinhof, Black Box Recorder |
| Past members |
Luke Haines Alice Readman Glenn Collins James Banbury Barney C. Rockford |
The Auteurs were a British alternative rock band of the 1990s, and a vehicle for songwriter Luke Haines (guitar, piano and vocals).
Formerly of the band The Servants, Haines created the Auteurs with his then-girlfriend Alice Readman on bass guitar, former classmate Glenn Collins on drums, and later added James Banbury on cello. The demo tape and gig led to the band gaining a recording contract with Hut. Their first single "Show Girl" was praised by the British music magazine, Melody Maker, and the album, New Wave (1993), was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize and saw The Auteurs associated with the emerging Britpop genre.
However this association never sat well with Haines, who frequently made derogatory remarks about his peers. After New Wave, the band remained on the fringes of the music scene. Drummer Glen Collins was replaced by Barny C. Rockford, after being headhunted from Out of My Hair by producer Phil Vinall. Their next album Now I'm a Cowboy (1994), built on the themes of New Wave and contained Haines' best known song, "Lenny Valentino". Demonstrating, again, their difference from their musical peers, the band's next release was The Auteurs Vs. µ-Ziq, Auteurs songs remixed by producer µ-Ziq (aka Michael Paradinas). In interviews at the time Haines claimed he found contemporary techno and house music more interesting than most Britpop bands.
In 1996 The Auteurs released After Murder Park, produced by Steve Albini, and it included "Land Lovers", "Unsolved Child Murder", and "Buddha". The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios following a year during which Haines had spent most of his time in a wheelchair after jumping off a wall to avoid the strains of touring. Haines then went on to create a band and release an album, based on aspects of the Baader Meinhof terrorist organisation, entitled Baader Meinhof. "The Auteurs" supported "Baader Meinhof" at a London show in Camden's Dingwalls. This saw the band play two sets in different guises, with a few extra musicians coming in and out. The last Auteurs record, How I Learned to Love the Bootboys, was released in 1999.
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