Spacemen 3

Formed in 1982 in the town of Rugby by Pete Kember (Sonic Boom) and Jason Pierce (J. Spaceman). Spacemen 3 (along with [a=Jesus And Mary Chain]) were the pioneers of the shoegaze and drone-rock scene which blossomed in the UK at the close of the 1980s. But while both bands showed an obvious affinity for the pioneering sounds of The Velvet Underground, they otherwise found different sources of inspiration, with Sonic Boom and J Spaceman eschewing the The Beach Boys influenced pop symphonics favored by the J&MC's Reid Brothers and instead channeling noisy minimalists ranging from John Lee Hooker to Red Krayola to Suicide. Both founding members have enjoyed considerable success with their respective subsequent projects: Spectrum and Spiritualized.