After Dinner Speakers: Hootie & The Blowfish, Mary Peters, Jeremy Beadle

This hugely successful South Carolina, USA quartet was formed at the turn of the 90s. They are led by Darius Rucker (b. Charleston, South Carolina, USA), whose soulful vocals add sparkle to an otherwise fairly formulaic rock sound. The quartet is completed by Mark Bryan (b. 6 May 1967, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA; guitar, ex-Missing In Action), Dean Felber (b. 9 June 1967, Bethesda, Maryland, USA; bass) and Jim "Soni" Sonefield (b. 20 October 1964, Lansing, Michigan, USA; drums). Sonefield stated in Rolling Stone, "Everyone says we're one black guy in an all-white band, but that's not true - we're actually three white guys in an all-black band". Bryan and Rucker played together in a soft rock duo as the Wolf Brothers. Following an aborted contract with J.R.S. Records they put out a self-financed EP, which contained "Hold My Hand". They sold it at gigs and after a short time it had sold over 50,000 copies. Their spectacularly successful debut, 1994's Cracked Rear View, was a slow burner on the US charts, climbing into the Top 10 after over seven months on the chart. Rucker was a strong live performer on their vast 1994 tour (of more than 300 dates), presiding over a clutch of songs about emotional isolation and yearning. Part of the "buzz" surrounding the band followed US television talk show host David Letterman's pronouncement that Hootie And The Blowfish were "my favourite new band". Cracked Rear View took its title from a John Hiatt lyric and was produced by R.E.M./John Mellencamp associate Don Gehman. It documented the band's career, and included the single "Hold My Hand", one of several numbers to address ecological concerns and human frailty, which featured guest vocals from David Crosby. The album became one of the most successful rock debuts of all time, sales in its homeland having already surpassed 15 million (by February 1997). Strong sales over the rest of the world indicated that theirs would be the most "difficult second album" in rock history. At the 1995 Grammy Awards, however, they picked up two statuettes, for Best New Artist and Best Pop Performance By A Group. It was inevitable that the follow-up proved to be anti-climatic. Having performed songs from Fairweather Johnson onstage they were now familiar to their loyal fans. Even though it debuted in the US at number 1, by the band's previous standards the album was seen as something of a flop; by anybody else's it was a massive success. Musical Chairs failed to reach the top of the US charts, debuting at number 4 in October 1998, although the fall off in sales has not harmed the band's popularity as a live act. They re-affirmed their college rock credentials with the enjoyable cover versions collection, Scattered, Smothered & Covered, featuring both live and studio recordings. Rucker released his solo debut, Back To Then, in 2002.