Skimming around the internet the other day, I stumbled upon a band called Sing Sing. Had I kept up with the history of 90's shoegazers, I would have known that Lush guitarist and singer Emma Anderson formed Sing Sing soon after Lush split in 1997. Sing Sing have released two albums, The Joy of Sing Sing in 2001 and Sing Sing and I last July. I've heard neither, but this got me to thinking. I wonder what happened to other bands I was into around 1991-1993. Specifically, I was curious about the fate of the lesser known stars of Madchester?

The history and music of Madchester's leading acts, The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays are relatively well documented and familiar to Britpop fans. The Mondays were the subjects of a feature film and are still making music today, while the Roses' legacy lives on because of (or in spite of) mad Ian Brown's solo career and the canonization of the band's eponymous debut album.

But what happened to the bands that helped themselves to the spacious coattails of the Mondays, the Roses and perhaps the Charlatans (UK)? Here's what I found out with help from All Music and a little Googling:

The Farm - Best known for two big U.K. hits "Groovy Train" (MP3 clip) and "All Together Now" (very low bit rate MP3), from the 1991 album Spartacus, Liverpool's the Farm struggled for a long time to only briefly enjoy stardom. The band formed in the early 80's as Soul of Socialism (!?), became the Farm in the late `80s and gained notoriety in 1990 by releasing "Stepping Stone", a remake of the Monkees' hit "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone". "Groovy Train" and "All Together Now" followed and propelled the band momentarily towards the upper reaches of the U.K. pop charts.

"The Farm have altered externally over the past half-decade but their heart and mind has remained true," NME wrote in its review of Spartacus in February, 1991. The magazine scored the album a 9/10. CMJ weighed in that year, saying "The Farm cultivates a bumper crop of intriguing and melodious delights." [Quotes taken from A Tribute to the Farm]

The creative bed soon went fallow and the Farm failed to match this popularity with subsequent singles or albums. They released their last album of new material, Hullabaloo, in 1994. The catchy sing-along vibe and all-for-one sentiment of "All Together Now" has kept the song in use, particular by English football teams. According to Wikipedia, the song was the official anthem of England's National Team during Euro 2004. England lost to Portugal in the quarterfinals, 2-2 on penalty kicks. Blimey.

- Download a mashup of "Groovy Train" and the Beastie Boys' "Body Movin'".