Rather than let the rock star feed upon the artist until nothing remains, Placebo struck back the best way they knew how–by building an excellent record.

Hang On to Your IQ

Placebo rode the rock-star train to the top of the international music scene. Their third album, Black Market Music, suggests that they might be smart enough to stay there. Jodie Rogers interviews Steve Hewitt of Placebo.

When other musicians were studying the textbook on how to build the perfect rock’n’roll band, Placebo memorized the answers at the back of the teacher's edition. All the elements are there: raw, honest lyrics; blazing guitars; and a moody, gender-bending lead singer with a penchant for clever one-liners and inflammatory soundbites. Mix in generous portions of sex, drugs, and scorching live performances – and you have a combination that keeps the young hipsters buying records and the British press scrambling to stay ahead of the latest controversy. The trick is figuring out how to survive it.

Such is the early story of Placebo, whose self-titled debut in 1996 was fueled by the blistering sexual energy on such songs as "Bruise Pristine," "96 Degrees," and the smash hit "Nancy Boy." The record achieved gold status and helped the band sell out every show on their British and European tours. The well-received live shows and well-publicized attention from such notables as David Bowie (who invited Placebo to open some of his European tour dates and play his birthday bash in Madison Square Garden) propelled the group to the top of the UK and European album charts.

Placebo, made up of lead singer/guitarist Brian Molko, bassist Stefan Olsdal, and drummer Steve Hewitt, found themselves the reigning kings of what was once suspected to be the extinct category of glam rock. In a landscape dotted with Britpop-Beatles knock-offs, hate-filled rap, and bland boy bands, the sexy, testosterone-fueled, and contradiction-prone Placebo gathered up all the refugees in their wake.

Molko, an American ex-pat whose banker father kept the family moving throughout Europe, the States, and Africa, came to England to attend drama school at Goldsmith’s College. Swedish-born Olsdal met Molko in school in London; once native Brit Hewitt joined up, the original lineup of Placebo was formed.

The group's notorious sex-and-liquor-soaked 1997 tour was followed closely by the release of their sophomore followup, Without You I’m Nothing, which turned platinum with the success of the single "Pure Morning," and a blazing world tour that lasted more than a year. Although the album manifested the power and edge of trademark Placebo, it contained a subdued quality that suggested more drugs than sex, and a turning inward of Molko, who suffered from the relentless demands of satisfying the hungry press with regular servings of shock value. If their first album was the defiant, drunken revel, Without You I’m Nothing was the 3 am comedown among the empty bottles and crumpled cigarette packets.

Molko’s cleverness, extroverted personality, and delight in dashing sexual stereotypes had created a sensation with the British press, who seem never to tire of making mayhem over guys who wear eyeliner and occasionally perform in drag after getting in fistfights with other bands. Seemingly undeterred by the fact that this was well-traveled territory since long before the days of David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and countless others, the media's continuous "Is he, or isn’t he?" questions – as well as constant rumors of drug addiction – began to overshadow the music. The attention took its toll on the band.

 

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