Ride

Ride are an English rock band from Oxford, formed in 1988 and active again from 2014 after an initial split in 1996. The group consists of Mark Gardener, Andy Bell, Steve Queralt and Loz Colbert. They are associated with shoegaze, dream pop, indie rock, britpop, jangle pop, neo-psychedelia and noise pop, and they release music through Creation Records and RIDEOX4 LLP.

Formation and early years

Gardener and Bell know each other from Cheney School in Oxford, where they appear in school musical theatre productions before moving to Banbury in 1988 for Foundation Studies in Art and Design at North Oxfordshire College and the Oxfordshire School of Art and Design. There they meet Colbert. Queralt, who also attends Cheney School, joins from a local record shop where he works as a singles buyer; Bell and Queralt have already played together in an obscure reggae-pop band called Big Spiderback. The band settle on the name Ride, taken from its sense of movement and from the ride cymbal. Bell cites a performance by The Smiths as an early influence on the decision to form a band.

Ride play their first gig under that name at the college Christmas party later in 1988. They record an early demo tape in Queralt’s bedroom and hallway, including the songs Chelsea Girl and Drive Blind. A local live music night called Local Support leads to their first proper show after another act cancels, and a demo reaches Jim Reid of The Jesus and Mary Chain via DJ Gary Crowley, prompting interest from manager Alan McGee. After supporting The Soup Dragons in 1989, Ride sign to Creation Records.

Early releases and shoegaze association

Ride release three EPs in 1990: Ride, Play and Fall. All three reach the UK top 75, with Play and Fall entering the top 40, and Ride is the first Creation Records release to chart in that range. In the United States, the first two EPs appear together as Smile. Fall is later included on the CD version of the band’s debut album, Nowhere, which appears in October 1990.

The band are widely linked to the shoegazing scene in England in the early 1990s, though they reject the label. Their first album, Nowhere, becomes a major critical and commercial success and reaches number 11 in the UK. They record two John Peel sessions in 1990, and listener poll results place Dreams Burn Down, Like a Daydream and Taste in that year’s Festive Fifty. An early EP, Today Forever, appears in 1991 and shows a move away from the noisier sound of the first releases. Later that year the band tour Japan, Australia and France for the first time internationally, with the Japanese shows selling out within minutes.

Second and third albums

Leave Them All Behind breaks into the UK top 10 in 1992, followed by the second album Going Blank Again. The band’s profile remains high through 1993, including a double weekend of shows with The Charlatans under the name Daytripper, even as interest in shoegaze declines more broadly.

The third album, Carnival of Light, appears in 1994. John Leckie produces it, Nigel Godrich engineers part of it, and George Drakoulias engineers How Does It Feel to Feel?. Jon Lord of Deep Purple contributes keyboards. The record splits the songwriting between Gardener and Bell, with one half dominated by each writer. Its track list includes Moonlight Medicine, From Time to Time, Birdman and a cover of The Creation’s How Does It Feel to Feel?, which is issued as a single. The album receives a poor critical response and the band later speak of it in highly negative terms.

Break-up and work after the split

During the recording of Tarantula in 1995, tensions within the band lead to their break-up. Gardener’s interest in dance music and Bell’s differing direction contribute to the split. Tarantula appears in 1996, with Bell writing most of it and Gardener contributing only one song. Castle on the Hill reflects the band’s conflict and refers to Gardener’s absence. Gardener leaves during mixing, the band announce their split shortly before release, and the album is withdrawn after a week on sale. Black Nite Crash is named single of the week by Melody Maker.

After the split, Bell forms Hurricane No. 1 and later plays bass for Oasis, having turned down an offer to join Gay Dad. He lives in Stockholm during this period. Gardener and Colbert form The Animalhouse with Sam Williams, and the group find success in Japan before splitting in 2002. Gardener also tours as a solo artist, and Bell, Gardener and Colbert perform together in the Bob Dylan tribute band The Zimmermen. Queralt works in Oxford after the split, plays five-a-side football and raises a family before later living in Hammersmith, London.

Reunion and later activity

In 2001, all four members take part in a Channel 4 filming session for Pioneers, a documentary on Sonic Youth, which includes a twenty-minute improvised jam. That recording, plus two short sound checks, is released in 2002 as Coming Up for Air. Later that year the band issue a three-disc set containing OX4: The Best of Ride, Firing Blanks: Unreleased Ride Recordings 1988–95 and Live: Reading Festival 1992. A collection of BBC radio sessions, Waves, follows in 2003.

Ride officially reunite in 2014. Weather Diaries appears in 2017 and reaches number 11 in the British charts. The band remain active and continue to include Bell, Gardener, Queralt and Colbert in their line-up.

Selected albums

Ride’s studio albums include Nowhere, Going Blank Again, Carnival of Light, Tarantula, Weather Diaries, This Is Not A Safe Place and Interplay. Their releases also include the EPs Ride, Play, Fall, Today Forever, Grasshopper, Smile and Coming Up for Air, as well as compilation and live collections such as OX4: The Best of Ride, Firing Blanks and Waves.