About this user
Formally known as The Joans, Dubstar were initially a two piece band, with Chris Wilkie playing guitar and Steve Hillier singing and playing keyboards. Gavin Lee joined The Joans in the Autumn of 1992 and played drums and latterly bass guitar before leaving to pursue a career at British Airways the following year. Sarah Blackwood was invited to join the band in August 1993 after her boyfriend accidentally left a cassette tape of her singing in Steve Hillier's flat in Jesmond, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Sarah Blackwood replaced Steve Hillier on vocals in early 1994.
Dubstar appointed Darlington based Record producer and artist manager Graeme Robinson as their manager after Robinson had seen them play in a sparsely attended Newcastle club in March 1994. Robinson renamed the band and provided studio time and produced independent demos of seventeen songs which he brought to the attention of former Sounds journalist, Andy Ross, who promptly signed the band to his Camden based label, Food Records (marketed through EMI UK). Ross engaged the services of The Pet Shop Boys and New Order producer Stephen Hague, to co-produce a number of tracks with Robinson, for their critically acclaimed debut album, Disgraceful (1995), and commissioned an advertising campaign featuring Robert Steel's controversial 'pencil case' artwork.
The album charted well on release in July 1995, and by January 1996 Dubstar had arrived in the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart with "Not So Manic Now" (writers: Harling, Kirby, Mason, Robinson); followed by a re-released "Stars" (Hillier) which marked Dubstar's UK chart zenith. Hague produced a second album Goodbye (1997) in his upstate New York barn studio. A U.S. album release (also called Goodbye) on Polydor Records, combining tracks from both the first and second albums, was also released in 1998. The third original Dubstar album, Make It Better was released in 2000, with EMI releasing a 'Best of' compilation in 2004.
Dubstar are best known for their most commercially successful singles "Stars", "No More Talk", "Anywhere" and "Not So Manic Now". "Stars" has been covered by the gothic metal band, Lacuna Coil and by former Bradford healthcare worker and cruise ship entertainer Suzanna Dee.
