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This Grunge Alternative-Rock trio started out as a cover band in 1992
in the Newcastle surf suburb of Merewether, 100 miles north of Sydney,
AUSTRALIA; the group's members were all born in 1979, singer+guitarist
Daniel Johns and drummer Ben Gillies started making music together at
primary school and schoolmate Chris Joannou later joined on bass.
When they signed to Murmur Records, a subsidiary of Sony, in 1994, the
band changed its name from Innocent Criminals to Silverchair and that
August they released their first single "Tomorrow"; the song
eventually spent 6 weeks at #1 on the Australian Singles chart and 20
weeks in the top 10, in 1995 it became the most played song of the year
on U.S. Modern Rock radio.
Their explosive debut full-length album, "Frogstomp", came out
in early 1995 reaching #1 in Australia and #2 in New Zealand; six months
later "Frogstomp" crashed into the top 10 of The Billboard Top
200 Albums chart, selling nearly 3 million copies worldwide; in the United
States "Tomorrow" hit the #1 slots on both Mainstream and Modern
Rock charts, "Pure Massacre" smashed into the top 20 in the
same charts and the final single, "Israel's Son", was minor
hit. To support the album's release, the band embarked on a U.S. tour
for the first time with The Red
Hot Chili Peppers.
Silverchair's sophomore album, "Freak Show", which was released
in February, 1997, shot to #1 on the Australian Albums chart with three
top 10 smashes: "Freak", "Abuse Me" and "Cemetery";
the full-length disc has also enjoyed chart success in Europe cracking
the top 40 in Britain, in America it rose to #12 on the U.S. Top 200 and
hit #2 on the Top Canadian Albums chart, selling one and a half million
copies and spawning two Modern Rock top 30 hits including the #4 "Abuse
Me" and "Freak".
The band's third LP, arrived in March 1999 titled "Neon Ballroom",
it went straight to #1 in Australia; in Europe and South-America the record
became the group's most successful album to date, but in the U.S. it missed
the top 40 of The Billboard 200 list; "Neon Ballroom" included
"Ana's Song (Open Fire)" and "Anthem For The Year 2000",
both the tracks peaked at #12 on The Modern Rock chart; distinctive tracks
like "Emotion Sickness", recorded in collaboration with classical
pianist David Hefgott and the aching "Miss You Love" established
the group's staying power once and for all.
The band toured Europe and the U.S. throughout 1999, Silverchair's one
and only gig in 2000 was a sold out appearance at Australia's Falls Festival
on New Years Eve. It was followed on January 21, 2001 by the biggest show
of their lives, 250,000 people at Rock In Rio, a performance which the
band describes as the highlight of their career to date.
In June 2001 the band started work on their fourth album, their first
for Atlantic Records; "Diorama" entered the Australian Albums
chart at #1 in April 2002. It yielded the top 10 singles "The Greatest
View" and "Without You" and the top 20 hit "Luv Your
Life" as well as the airplay favourites "After All These Years"
and "Across The Night". The album's international performance
was unfortunately impeded by the band's inability to tour or do promotional
appearances due to Daniel Johns' ill health; "Diorama" made
a mid-chart appearance peaking only at #91 on The Billboard Top 200. The
singer+guitarist spent 2002 battling a severely debilitating case of reactive
arthritis from which he is now completely recovered.
In October, that same year, the band's work on "Diorama" won
them six ARIA Awards, including Best Group and Best Rock Album.
From March to June of 2003 Silverchair finally got to play the album live,
their "Across The Night" tour sold out around their homeland
in minutes and was the largest of their career. The band also played multiple
sold out shows in the U.K. and America. This remarkable tour capped a
roller coaster year for Silverchair, a year which in many ways traced
the journey of "Diorama" itself, from bleak times into a much
happier new dawn. The event was captured in a multiplatinum CD/DVD set
called "Live From Faraway Stables" that was released in late
2003.
The band then went on an indefinite hiatus. In April 2004 frontman Daniel
Johns released the first album with his side-project, The
Dissociatives.
Silverchair are back with "Straight Lines", which is the first
single from their new album "Young Modern".
Silverchair biography is an exclusive of 100xr.com
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