Inter

Inter is a UK pop punk and indie rock band from the British post-britpop scene. It forms in late 1995 with Michael Boylan, Steven Bray and Johnny Gill, and Martin ‘Sid’ Stovold joins soon afterwards after helping out at rehearsals. The band is active from 1995 to the present.

Style and live performance

From the start, Inter aims to look spontaneous on stage while remaining musically tight. Its live shows are known for energetic performances and joking between songs. The group also prefers a low-key image and is notable for wearing glasses on stage.

Early recordings and releases

In 1996, Inter releases the demo Product, a title taken from a word randomly chosen from the ingredients list on a packet of peanuts. The recording gains praise for catchy songwriting. The band spends the next couple of years building a reputation as one of the hardest working unsigned acts, and receives several strong reviews in the national music press.

Inter appears on Fierce Panda’s Screecher Comforts EP and headlines NME’s Brats Unsigned in 1997. That same year it releases its debut single, Happy Ending, on Pet Sounds, which receives regular national radio airplay. The band also records its first Peel session for BBC Radio 1. One of its songs, Boss Grasshopper, is used in a Spanish cinema advertising campaign for Casio G-Shock watches.

Label deal and debut album

In 1998, Inter signs to Yoshiko Records, an independent UK label. During this period, the band develops a broader, more melodic and mature sound in its live set and records tracks for its debut album at Loco Studios in South Wales. Early in 1999, the single National Paranoia is released and reaches number 10 in the independent singles chart. Inter also records a second Peel session.

Due to problems at the label, the singles Radio Finland and Speed Racer, and the debut album Got My Nine, are not released until 2000. The album sells more than 5,000 copies in its first week and receives more favourable reviews than the earlier material.

Later years

Inter is dropped in the middle of 2000, while songs written for a second studio album remain unrecorded. The band scales down its activity and ends in early 2001 after supporting Stiff Little Fingers at the Forum in London. It briefly reforms in 2005 to play a benefit show for the British Heart Foundation in memory of a friend and roadie who has recently died.