Skunk Anansie

Skunk Anansie are a British rock band whose members include Skin (vocals, guitar), Cass (bass, guitar), Ace (guitar) and Mark Richardson (drums).

Skunk Anansie formed in 1994, disbanded in 2001 and reformed in 2009. The name "Skunk Anansie" is taken from Akan folk tales of Anansi the spider-man of Ghana, with "Skunk" added to "make the name nastier".

They have released seven studio albums: Paranoid & Sunburnt (1995), Stoosh (1996), Post Orgasmic Chill (1999), Wonderlustre (2010), Black Traffic (2012) Anarchytecture (2016) and The Painful Truth (2025); one compilation album, Smashes and Trashes (2009); and several hit singles, including "Charity", "Hedonism", "Selling Jesus" and "Weak".

They are often grouped as part of the Britrock movement, as opposed to the contemporary Britpop of their early years due to their overall harder sound. The band, in 2004, was named as one of the most successful UK chart acts between 1952 and 2003 by the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, with a total of 142 weeks on both the singles and album charts ranking them at No. 491. Skunk Anansie have sold five million records.

History

Formation and early career: 1994–2001

The group played their first gig at London's Splash club in March 1994. In 1995 they were voted Best New British Band by the readers of Kerrang! magazine. At the award ceremony drummer Mark Richardson met the band who were looking for a permanent replacement for Robbie France, so an audition was set up and the band was reformed. Soon after that, two of their songs, "Feed" and "Selling Jesus", appeared on the soundtrack of the film Strange Days in 1995. "Selling Jesus" became Skunk Anansie's second song to receive radio play, following their first radio release "Little Baby Swastikkka". After hearing this song, radio personality Howard Stern predicted that the band would become a huge hit. The band were also voted Kerrang!'s Best British Live Act in 1996. In 1997 they were nominated for Best Live Act and Best Group at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

Stoosh followed in 1996. Both albums were released by One Little Indian Records. After switching to the Virgin label in 1998, their third album, Post Orgasmic Chill, was released in 1999.

They headlined the 1999 Glastonbury Festival, closing the Pyramid Stage on Sunday 27 June.

Throughout the 1990s, the group toured internationally with such bands as U2, Aerosmith, Feeder, Lenny Kravitz, Bad Religion, Rollins Band, Therapy?, Rammstein, Killing Joke, Soulfly, Sevendust, Oomph!, Muse, Staind, Powerman 5000, Veruca Salt, Marion and A Perfect Circle.

Despite becoming one of the biggest alternative rock acts in the UK and much of Europe, Skunk Anansie were unable to repeat their success in the U.S. However, they did have several concerts there, with the first being in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2001 and their second in 2016 in Brooklyn, New York City.

Side projects: 2002–2008

After the band's split in April 2001, Skin embarked on a solo career. Her debut album, Fleshwounds, co-written with longtime songwriting partner Len Arran, was released in September 2003 and Fake Chemical State was released in March 2006. She has also provided vocals for a number of other acts.

Ace released a low-key album, Still Hungry, under the name Ace Sounds, which featured many collaborations including Shingai Shoniwa from Noisettes and Skye from Morcheeba. He later joined a band called Inner Mantra. Ace is also a tutor at Brighton Institute of Modern Music.

In 2002 Cass recorded the album Scars with Gary Moore, and played bass and performed backing vocals. Cass also played various instruments on Skin's first solo album. When not recording he concentrates on photography.

Mark recorded sessions for various artists including Skin before joining Feeder after the death of their original drummer, Jon Lee. Mark has also been tutoring at Brighton Institute.

Reunion: 2009–2010

Mark Richardson confirmed reports that the band was reforming in an interview with Drummer Magazine (November 2008 issue), and said that the band planned to release a best-of compilation as well as new material. Ace later set up an official page for the band on Myspace.

On 2 and 3 April 2009, two shows took place at the Monto Water Rats (the former venue of the Splash Club) in London, under the alias SCAM (Skin, Cass, Ace, Mark) and sold out in 20 minutes. The band began their "Greatest Hits" tour on Friday, 9 October 2009 at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels, with other dates across Europe. It was their first actual tour in eight years. A "greatest hits" album, Smashes and Trashes, was released 2 November 2009. It is a 15-track career-embracing album and includes three brand new tracks: "Because of You", "Tear the Place Up" and "Squander". A best-of remixes companion album was also released digitally.