Song:Sour Times
Album:Dummy
Portishead could have been huge stars. They chose not to be stars. They could reform tomorrow and tour and record successfully. They aren't interested in stardom. Dummy was their 1994 debut CD and their most popular album. The formation of Portishead came out of the Bristol, England studio scene. Geoff Barrow was working as a recording engineer with Massive Attack and they allowed him to use some of their spare studio time to work on his music. He became known for his remixes and he wrote and produced for Massive Attack's Tricky and Neneh Cherry. Barrow planned to start his own group and he needed to find a singer. He saw Beth Gibbons performing in a local club and they started working together. Guitarist Adrian Utley backed up American jazz musicians when they toured England and he also was a session musician. Portishead, named after Barrow's home town, was born. They signed with Go! Discs and Mercury in the US. Dummy was their 1994 debut CD. They had chart success in England. They had a cult following in the US that started in dance clubs. They toured successfully in the US and Dummy was certified Gold. Portishead is influenced by all kinds of things. But Barrow and Utley seem to have a real fondness for film music. Sour Times is based on a song from Lalo Schifrin's music for Mission Impossible. Portishead released an album in 1997 and after touring, they went on hiatus. Barrow started his own label. He seems to like film composition though he works on all kinds of projects. Beth released a solo album in 2002 that could be described as folk music. Portishead reformed for the 2008 CD Third. They occasionally perform on special occasions but there are no plans for a new album. Beth announced in 2013 she signed with Domino Records and she was working on a new album. I don't know if that is still in the works but there has been no news about it. As I said, Portishead could have been big stars. They don't want stardom. Here's the video for Sour Times by Portishead.
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