S*M*A*S*H

S*M*A*S*H formed in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire in the mid-1980s, when Ed Borrie and Salvatore 'Salv' Alessi met at school. Drummer Rob Hague joined soon afterwards, completing the trio. Their sound drew directly on late-1970s and early-1980s punk and new wave, and the British music press grouped them with a loose scene they dubbed the New Wave of New Wave, alongside bands such as These Animal Men, Compulsion, Echobelly and Sleeper.

Signed to Hi-Rise Recordings (distributed through Virgin), S*M*A*S*H released their debut mini-album EP in March 1994, which reached UK #28. Their debut full-length album Self Abused followed in September 1994, reaching UK #59. The band became the first act to appear on Top of the Pops without having released a single, performing 'Shame'. Their only hit single, '(I Want to) Kill Somebody', reached UK #26 in 1994 before being banned and withdrawn from sale after just one day due to its controversial subject matter.

S*M*A*S*H split in 1996, with bassist Salv later joining Carter USM. The band reformed in 2004 and released a second album, Icon, in October 2007, followed by Goodbye W.G.C. in February 2017. They split again at the end of 2018. They are remembered as one of the more energetic and politically engaged acts of the early-1990s British indie scene — a band whose confrontational approach and punk directness made them a critics' favourite even as mainstream success eluded them.