Moodswings (band)

Moodswings
Moodswings
Origin	UK
Genres	Electronic music; Ambient; Trance music
Years active	1992–2002
Labels	Water Music/Varèse Sarabande/Universal Records; Arista/BMG Records
Members	James F. T. Hood
Past members	James F. T. Hood; Grant Showbiz

Moodswings is a musical duo composed of Grant Showbiz and James F. T. Hood.

History

Grant Showbiz was a onetime roadie and guitar tech who later produced albums by The Smiths, Billy Bragg, Silverfish, and Gong.^[1] James Hood was a former drummer for The Pretenders, The Impossible Dreamers, Kid Creole & the Coconuts, and Jeff Beck. After Showbiz and Hood teamed up in 1989, the duo released the album Moodfood (Arista/BMG, 1992), which scored a hit with a remade single of "Spiritual High (State of Independence) Pt. II," which featured vocals by Chrissie Hynde;^[2] (the original song is called "State Of Independence" written by Jon Anderson and Vangelis from the Jon and Vangelis album called The Friends of Mr Cairo).^[1] "Spiritual High Pt. III," from the same album, featured samples from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

The Live at Leeds EP (Arista) followed in 1994 (with artwork styled after the album by the Who of the same name), and in 1997, the group released Psychedelicatessen (Arista/BMG),^[2] which featured vocals from Tanita Tikaram, on the song "Oh Happy Day". Grant Showbiz was a member of Moodswings up until the album Horizontal, which James Hood solo-produced (Varèse Sarabande, 2002). Julee Cruise sings vocals on two tracks from Horizontal: "Seems to Remind Me" and "Into the Blue." James Hood contributed "Storm in a Teacup" from the same album for the 2005 documentary Do You Believe? Another World is Possible.

Impact

"Spiritual High II" was played during the closing credits of the 1992 Bridget Fonda film, Single White Female.

"The Great Sound of Letting Go" was featured in the Chris Morris radio series Blue Jam and its TV counterpart Jam.

Discography

Moodfood (1992)
Live at Leeds (1994)
Psychedelicatessen (1997)
Horizontal (2002)

DVDs

Open Space — Volume 1 (2006)
Pretenders Greatest Hits (2006)
The Velvet Lounge (2002)

References

^ ^a ^b Ankeny, Jason. "Moodswings | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
^ ^a ^b Colin Larkin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 226. ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.

External links

Moodswings discography at Discogs

[AllMusic-1] Ankeny, Jason. "Moodswings | Biography & History | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 July 2016.

[LarkinDM-2] Colin Larkin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 226. ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.

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