Mansun

Mansun formed in Chester in 1995, Paul Draper's ambitious, conceptual songwriting giving the band a quality that was immediately distinctive. They signed to Parlophone and released their debut album 'Attack of the Grey Lantern' (1997) — a concept album of sorts that showed a band with far greater ambitions than most of their Britpop contemporaries.

'Attack of the Grey Lantern' entered the UK charts at number one. 'Wide Open Space', 'She Makes My Nose Bleed', and 'Stripper Vicar' were all excellent singles. The album showed a band capable of real conceptual ambition — the songs were connected by recurring themes and characters in ways that were unusual for a debut. Draper's lyrics were dense and allusive.

'Six' (1998) was even more ambitious — a double album of extraordinary complexity that divided opinion but is now recognised as one of the most ambitious British albums of its era. Mansun split in 2003. Draper has had a successful solo career. The band's back catalogue has been reassessed very positively in recent years.