Highlights - Muses

 

The Punk beauty of Elastica!

Guitarist/vocalist Justine Frischmann began performing professionally in the early '90s, forming Suede with her boyfriend Brett Anderson. In addition to naming the band, Frischmann was the group's original guitarist and continued to perform with them once lead guitarist Bernard Butler joined. However, she left the group soon after her relationship with Anderson ended. Frischmann formed Elastica after leaving Suede in 1991.
 
 
 
 
 


Recruiting guitarist Donna Matthews, drummer Justin, and bassist Annie Holland through advertisements, the final lineup of the band was set in 1993. Elastica released their first single, the roaring three-chord, two-minute punk rocker "Stutter," at the end of 1993. The single was a limited edition run and it quickly sold out, thanks to radio airplay and rave reviews. "Line Up" followed a few months later. It also sold very well, yet some critics claimed the band appropriated the melody from Wire's "I Am the Fly" for the song. 		 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

For most of 1994, the group was relatively quiet, playing the occasional concert and recording; nevertheless, the band's name stayed in the British press, largely due to Frischmann's romance with Damon Albarn, the lead singer for Blur, England's most popular band of 1994. Released in the fall of that year, "Connection," their biggest hit yet, suffered the same criticism, this time for taking the keyboard riff from Wire's "Three Girl Rhumba."

On the eve of the March 1995 release of their debut album, the group was taken to court by Wire's publishers, as well as the publishers of the Stranglers (who claimed Elastica's new single, "Waking Up," took the riff from the punk band's "No More Heroes"); both cases were settled out of court before the album was released.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Entering the charts at number one, Elastica's self-titled first album became the fastest-selling debut in the U.K., beating the record Oasis' Definitely Maybe set only seven months earlier. As well as being a popular success, the record received overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Like Oasis, Elastica managed to have a hit single in America with "Connection; " the single was a major modern rock radio hit, as well as reaching the Top 60 on the singles chart. Elastica continued to make headway in America by replacing Sinead O'Connor on the 1995 Lollapalooza tour, although the group suffered a blow when Holland announced her exit from the line-up. 		 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A follow-up LP was years in the making, and Elastica's future was the subject of considerable media speculation; in the spring of 1999 Matthews quit as well, although Holland soon returned to the fold, joining new guitarist Paul Jones as well as keyboardists Dave Bush and Mew. A new six-track EP finally appeared late that summer. Their longly-awaited sophomore effort The Menace was finally released six years after the band's debut.

Facts about the Muse

Justine does: vocals, rhythm guitar, songs (she usually co-writes with Donna) ie:connection, a mean snarl on most pictures *and lots of media attention*
 
 
 
 
 
Justine had her 29th birthday on the past September 16th.. making her a Virgo!

She knows every Frank Sinatra song (her mom used to sing them all and play his records all the time) Multitasker: she learned classical guitar at 11, then did piano, and later many wind instruments *the flute?*

She wears black most of the time, big boots, has short black hair which used to be long but she cut it (liberation from an ex-bf who loved her hair).