Sugardrive

Sugardrive formed in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1993, and became one of that country's more popular pop acts of the late 1990s. Comprised of Paul Flynn (vocals and guitar), Michael Westwood (guitar), Gavin Wienand (bass) and Garth McLeod (drums), Sugardrive began their existence playing riff-heavy alternative rock, but later their sound shifted more towards pop, incoporating elements of dance music and jazz. Their debut album, Belly Full Under was released in 1993, and saw the band gain some attention in South Africa. The release in 1995 of the follow-up, Hey God, It's Me helped to build on their reputation. In 1996, the Snapshots EP was released, heralding a change in direction for the band. The EP saw Sugardrive move more into the trance-pop territory pioneered by Portishead, and the album following this - sand.man.sky - expanded on this new direction. In 1999, Sugardrive returned with When I Died I Was Elvis, their most popular album to date. ~ Jonathan Lewis