Artist
Chapterhouse
Reading band who emerged in 1990 as part of the Thames Valley scene, releasing the shoegaze classic Whirlpool in 1991. Members of the band were regulars at the Camden Underworld and other venues where 'The Scene That Celebrates Itself' congregated—Steve Sutherland spotted Andrew Sherriff in the audience at the Moose show where he coined the phrase. That summer of 1991, Chapterhouse toured Europe, sharing stages with Nirvana at Ein Abend in Wien in Rotterdam. The contrast was stark: Kurt Cobain's anguished howl versus the whispered textures of shoegaze. The genre's rapid decline followed shortly after, and Chapterhouse split in 1996. They briefly reunited from 2008-2010.