Cinerama

Cinerama is an indie pop group from Leeds, United Kingdom, active from 1998 to 2004. It begins as a duo formed in 1997 by The Wedding Present’s David Gedge and Sally Murrell, and develops into a shifting line-up of collaborators around them.

Line-up and formation

The project starts with Gedge and Murrell, then adds guest and permanent collaborators as it develops. The debut period includes The Church’s Marty Willson-Piper and Emma Pollock of The Delgados. Later in 1998, Gedge brings in the rhythm section from the disbanded Goya Dress, Terry de Castro and Simon Pearson, and adds Wedding Present guitarist Simon Cleave. From 2000, the line-up stays relatively stable, apart from Finnish drummer Kari Paavola replacing Pearson and Murrell eventually stepping back from live performance.

Releases

Cinerama’s debut album is Va Va Voom (1998), which is described as drawing on influences ranging from John Barry to the Zombies. It is followed by a run of singles and then Disco Volante (2000), which is recorded by Steve Albini and includes the singles Superman and Health And Efficiency. Superman also appears in an alternative Spanish version, while Health And Efficiency runs for six and a half minutes and is also issued in French.

Later work

The third studio album, Torino (2002), takes a darker direction than the first two albums, with Gedge returning to a guitar-led sound and writing mainly about infidelity. At the end of 2002, Gedge and Murrell split up, and Gedge moves from Leeds to Seattle while working on material that later becomes The Wedding Present album Take Fountain. Cinerama ends in 2004.

Revival and related releases

From 2009, Gedge makes annual one-off appearances at his own festival, At the Edge of the Sea, and later revives the Cinerama name for the limited-edition single I Wake Up Screaming. In 2015, a track-by-track reworking of The Wedding Present’s 2012 album Valentina is issued under the Cinerama name as Valentina, recorded by Gedge and Pedro Vigil.