Corduroy
acid jazz | formed: 1991 | Great Britain

by Jason Ankeny
All Music Guide

The acid jazz outfit Corduroy assembled singer/keyboardist Scott Addison, his drummer brother Ben, guitarist Simon Nelson-Smith, and bassist Richard Searle (a former member of '80s one-hit wonders Doctor & the Medics). Formed from the ashes of the short-lived Brit-pop group Boys Wonder, Corduroy played their first gig — a one-off New Year's Eve date — in 1991; the performance proved so successful that its members agreed to continue on full-time, soon signing to the Acid Jazz label and issuing their debut LP, the largely instrumental Dad Man Cat, in 1992. High Havoc — the soundtrack to an imaginary film — followed a year later, launching the U.K. Top Ten hits "Something in My Eye," "The Frighteners," and "London, England." In the wake of 1994's Out of Here, however, Acid Jazz dropped Corduroy from its roster; after a long hiatus, the group finally landed on the Big Cat label, where they resurfaced in 1997 with The New You.