20 YEARS AGO: Astronaut - What You Gonna Do?

A lively, joyously melodic yet bittersweet indie pop gem from Astronaut. The band came to my attention in 1999 with the infectious single 'Stone Cold Sober', but years later I decided to finally track down a copy of their debut mini album 'Preview', which contained this excellent single, originally released in August 1998 on the legendary Fierce Panda label.

Featuring former members of indie band Eva Luna, Astronaut formed in 1996, in Liverpool. They consisted of frontman Alex Eckford, Brychan Todd and Graeme Elston, and relocated to London, where they recruited drummer David Masterman. After winning the NME's Best Unsigned Band award in January 1998, they signed to Fierce Panda, played Manchester's In The City showcase, along with Muse, Coldplay and Badly Drawn Boy, and also recorded a session for the John Peel show.

Mini-album 'Preview' was hailed by Melody Maker as "a magical debut", and was followed a couple of years later by the band's first full-length album 'The Curse Of'. 

In an interview with Rockbite website, Alex Eckford explained: “We’ve decided to er... retire from live performance, bringing to a close what has essentially been a five year tour of Camden. We’re not splitting up, but now it’s time to do things a bit differently. Who knows, perhaps we’ll turn into a nine-piece clog-dancing outfit. Touring has always been a bit of an impossibility for us, as we all have jobs. Actually, considering the amount of weight we’ve put on, and how much our hairlines have receded, the less we appear in public, the better.” The band’s final show was at The Borderline in London in 2007.

Three members of the band formed the band Slipside, while Eckford went on to compose music for film and TV, including award winning comedy Miranda. He also works in VR design, cinema, photography and has recently worked with Sigur Ros on their 2016 world tour.