Pop Will Eat Itself (also known as
PWEI or
The Poppies, though the latter can refer to a number of other bands) were an
English band formed in
Stourbridge, with band members from
Birmingham,
Coventry and the
Black Country.
An early permutation of the band formed in 1981 under the name From Eden; members included Clint Mansell, Adam Mole, Chris Fradgley, Malcolm Treece and Miles Hunt (Treece and Hunt famously went on to form The Wonder Stuff). After changing their name to Wild and Wandering (named after a Wasted Youth album) for a while and recruiting Richard March and Graham Crabb (Graham being the only respondent to replace Miles Hunt on drums), they eventually became Pop Will Eat Itself in 1986, taking the name from a quotation in an NME article about band Jamie Wednesday (later to become better known as Carter USM).
The band honed their songwriting skills with a string of catchy two-minute pop songs released on EPs both as Wild and Wandering and Pop Will Eat Itself. With the help of DJ John Peel, these EPs saw some airplay and enjoyed some popularity among university students. After the band feared they had accomplished all they could with their sound, they found new influences in hip hop acts such as the Beastie Boys, Run DMC and Public Enemy. Graham soon dropped the drum sticks for a mic and was replaced by a drum machine called "Dr. Nightmare." Their style continued to develop with classics such as "There Is No Love Between Us Anymore' and the anthemic "Def Con One". As a result, PWEI were signed to major label RCA and they achieved top 40 hits with "Can U Dig It?" and "Wise Up! Sucker" off the album This Is the Day…This Is the Hour…This Is This!
RCA's larger studio budget allowed the band to develop its potential further, and they released 3 successful albums on that label. The first two (…This is This! and Cure for Sanity) were recorded with the aid of legendary producer Flood, known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, U2, Depeche Mode and many other popular 90s groups. Cure for Sanity was perhaps PWEI's most experimental album, with a more electronic sound than previous efforts. RCA, meanwhile, was more interested in chart success and so wanted the band to cut the lengthy instrumentals from their songs.
