Gossip
Have you heard the Gossip?
If not, where have you been the past five years? Fronted by larger-than-life
tabloid darling Beth Ditto, the band were relative unknowns until their album
‘Standing in the Way of Control’ exploded across the US
and UK
in 2006. Based in Portland,
Oregon, they have crafted a blend
of ‘funk punk’ music with Ditto’s soulful, near-gospel sounding voice that has
made them popular both in the charts and in the underground indie rock scene.
After touring and appearing at various festivals since the release of their
breakthrough album, most notably Glastonbury in 2007, Gossip went back into the
studio last year to record their fourth album, ‘Music for Men’, which was
eventually released in June 2009. Receiving a generally positive critical
response, the album has so far sold over 400,000 copies worldwide, signalling
that Gossip’s star is still very much in the ascendancy.
Formed during 1999 in Olympia, Washington by three geeky roommates from Arkansas, The Gossip (as they were known back then) began by playing a mixture of garage rock and punk blues. Despite relatively modest success, they were still snapped up by the independent label K records, who quickly recorded and released their debut EP to coincide with an imminent tour with now-separated indie rock band Sleater-Kinney. Gossip’s first album, ‘That’s Not What I Heard’ was released on another indie label, Kill Rock Stars in January 2001, followed by ‘Movement’ in May 2003. Shortly after this, drummer Kathy Mendonca decided that life in a jobbing rock band was not for her, and left to pursue an alternative career in midwifery. Talk about bad timing! Ditto and guitarist Nathan “Brace Paine” Howdeshell duly recruited punk drummer Hannah Billie, and after a couple of years of touring, festivals and increasing interest, ‘Standing in the Way of Control’ was released in January 2006.
Following the popularity of the album, and the accompanying single of the same name, vocalist Beth Ditto quickly became as famous for her tabloid column inches as she was for her singing. Infamous for her penchant for wearing sports bras and leggings onstage, Ditto was routinely photographed by the paparazzi stumbling drunkenly out of nightclubs in various states of undress. A keen follower of fashion, Ditto became friends with serial partygoer Kate Moss, and was often seen attending international fashion shows. The fashion world embraced her in return, most notably in early 2009 when she appeared nude on the cover of the launch issue of Love, a self-titled ‘fashion and fame’ magazine. However, it was speculated in some circles that Ditto was cynically being used as a decoy, manipulated by an industry reeling from criticism for an obsession with size-zero supermodels. Whatever the truth, the exposure hasn’t done any harm to the career of either Ditto or Gossip. Judging by the reaction to their new album, they will be making music and tearing up the tabloids for some time to come.
