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| Whale | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Sweden |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1992–1999 |
| Labels | Hut/Virgin |
| Past members | Cia Berg Henrik Schyffert Gordon Cyrus Jorgen Wall Jon Jefferson Klingberg Heikki Kiviaho |
Whale was a Swedish alternative rock group active from 1992 to 1999.
Career
Gordon Cyrus and Henrik Schyffert met while working on a commercial and decided to collaborate on a music track. Schyffert recruited his then-girlfriend, Cia Berg, to perform vocals. The band enjoyed some success, particularly in the European market. Their first single, 1993's "Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe", was positively received by critics and received heavy spins in the Euro dance club scene and saturation airplay on MTV. It reached the Top 10 in Denmark and Norway, Top 30 in the Netherlands and Austria, Top 40 in Sweden, and No. 24 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. It also reached No. 46 on the UK Singles Chart in 1994, and when reissued in 1995, reached No. 15.
The music video for "Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe", directed by Mark Pellington, won the first MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video in 1994.
Whale toured with Tricky, Blur and Placebo.
In the late 1990s, the band's official website stated that their original name was Southern Whale Cult 1987, and that several albums had previously been released under that name. This was later admitted to have been a joke; the band had copied a presentation by the Cult and simply changed the name of the band in the text.
Whale disbanded after the 1999 single "Deliver the Juice", to little fanfare.
Post-breakup
Schyffert has enjoyed an extensive television and comedy career, while Cyrus has found success in international audiovisual marketing and design.
Discography
Studio albums
- We Care (1995, Virgin Records/Hut Records)
- All Disco Dance Must End in Broken Bones (1998, Virgin/Hut)
Singles and EPs
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE |
BEL (FLA) |
NLD |
SWI |
UK |
US |
US Alter. | ||||||
| 1993 | "Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe" | 30 | 13 | 17 | 22 | 46 | 102 | 24 | We Care | |||
| 1995 | "Pay for Me" | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "I'll Do Ya" | — | — | — | — | 53 | — | — | |||||
| "Kickin'" (feat. Tricky) (US promo) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe" (reissue) | — | — | — | — | 15 | — | — | |||||
| 1997 | "Heavy Stick" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | single only | |||
| 1998 | "Four Big Speakers" (feat. Bus 75) | 50 | — | — | — | 69 | — | — | All Disco Dance Must End in Broken Bones | |||
| "Crying at Airports" (feat. Bus 75) | — | — | — | — | 94 | — | — | |||||
| 1999 | "Deliver the Juice" | — | — | — | — | 133 | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||||||
References
- ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1999). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 480. ISBN 0-7535-0257-7.
- Newman, Melinda; Watson, Miranda (June 24, 1995). "Whale Follow 'Hobo' With A Full-Length Virgin Album". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 25. pp. 18–20.
- Newman, Melinda; Watson, Miranda (24 June 1995). "Whale follows 'Hobo' with a full length Virgin album". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 25. p. 18.
- allmusic (((Whale > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))
- Warwick, Neil; Kutner, John; Brown, Tony (2004). The Complete Book of the British Charts Singles and Albums. Omnibus Press. ISBN 1-84449-058-0.
- "Tricky Taps Whale For U.S. Tour". MTV. 1998-10-08. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- "Whale Gigography, Tour History". Songkick.com. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- "VH1.com : Whale : Whale Swimming From Electronica To Rock - Rhapsody Music Downloads". 5 June 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- "Whale | News, Music Performances and Show Video Clips | MTV". Mtv.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013.
- "Discography Whale". Swedish Charts. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
- "Discografie Whale". Ultratop. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
- "Discografie Whale". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
- "Whale - hitparade.ch". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
- "Official Charts Company: Whale". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
- "Whale Songs *** Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography *** Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Music VF. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
- "Whale Chart History - Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-11-03.