Menswear

Menswear are a Britpop group from Camden Town, London, active from 1994 to 1998. The band forms around Matthew Everitt, Stuart Black, Johnny Dean, Chris Gentry, Simon White, Todd Parmenter and Tud, with Johnny Dean and Chris Gentry first imagining the project before it takes shape.

Early attention and image

The group signs a record deal after only their fifth gig. Before they have recorded anything, they appear on the cover of Melody Maker in a piece about the Camden club night Blow Up, and they are also featured in Select in an article about the mod revival. Their image is strongly mod-influenced, with tight suits and a similar look, while their music draws on Blur’s Modern Life Is Rubbish and Elastica.

The publicity around them is strong enough that they appear on Top of the Pops before their first single is released, becoming the first band to appear on the programme without having released a record.

Releases and chart success

Their first single, I’ll Manage Somehow, is a minor hit. Their second single, Daydreamer, reaches number 14 in the UK singles chart. In 1995 they release their debut album, Nuisance, and play Glastonbury Festival the same year. Later in 1995 they release Stardust, followed by Sleeping In, both of which reach the top twenty. Their fifth single, Being Brave, gives them their only top ten hit.

Later years and split

As Britpop loses popularity, Menswear’s profile also declines. In 1997 they leave London Records after completing a second album, Hay Tiempo!, which has a country-rock influence. The album appears in Japan in 1998 but not elsewhere. The band plays its last live show at Camden Palace in London in 1998.

After the band

After Menswear, Simon White manages Bloc Party, The Pigeon Detectives, Fields and Les Savy Fav. Chris Gentry becomes lead guitarist with Vatican DC and also manages Noah and the Whale and Tommy Sparks. Matt Everett works on the news team at BBC Radio 6 Music. Stuart Black’s later career is not stated. From 2013, Johnny Dean reforms the band with a new line-up and releases a reworking of the B-side “Crash” as a single in 2014.