Formation and early years: 1991–1996 Tjinder Singh formed General Havoc whilst a student at
Lancashire Polytechnic in Preston in 1987. Named after the stereotype of South Asians owning corner shops, Cornershop drew inspiration from Singh's experiences as a British-born
Sikh, mixing traditional
Punjabi music with British indie rock. In the early 1990s, when the UK music press criticised singer
Morrissey after accusations of racism, the band were invited to comment and the
Melody Maker ran a story featuring the band burning a picture of the singer outside the offices of
EMI. Their debut release, the
In The Days of Ford Cortina EP, produced by
John Robb was pressed on "curry-coloured vinyl" and contained a blend of Indian-tinged noise pop. The sound mellowed somewhat with the release of debut album
Hold On It Hurts in 1994, described by
Trouser Press as "a politically charged popfest, ten tracks of noisy delights that meld incisive social commentary with a firm hold on British post-punk." The album impressed
David Byrne, who signed the band to his label
Luaka Bop. The album's lead single, "
Brimful of Asha," topped
John Peel's
Festive 50 list in 1997 and became an international hit following a popular remix by
Fatboy Slim. The song is a tribute to the Indian
playback singer Asha Bhosle and reflects Singh's love for
Trojan Records and vinyl culture. Cornershop took a break from touring in 1998, during which frontman Tjinder Singh and guitarist Ben Ayres worked as DJs and formed the side project Clinton. In 2000, they released a
disco inspired album,
Disco and the Halfway to Discontent, as part of their side-project. This inspired the launch of the London-based club night called
Buttoned Down Disco, which took its name from the third track on the album.
Further activities and recent years: 2002–present Cornershop's next official release was the 2002 album
Handcream for a Generation. The album was recorded between 2000 and 2001 at West Orange Studios in Preston, Lancashire, and Eastcote Studios in London, with Singh producing most of the album and
Rob Swift co-producing two tracks. Drawing on
soul,
funk,
disco,
house,
reggae, and
psychedelic rock, featuring instruments like sitar and tabla, the album also featured a collaboration with
Noel Gallagher on guitar. In 2011, Cornershop were awarded a prize for Commitment to Scene in the
UK Asian Music Awards. and released ''
Cornershop and the Double 'O' Groove Of, a collaborative album with Punjabi folk singer Bubbley Kaur, which was critically acclaimed. They also launched the "Singhles Club," a subscription service featuring musical collaborations and digital artwork. Their eighth album, Urban Turban, came out in May 2012, followed by their ninth album, Hold On It's Easy'', in February 2015. In July 2015, they released the single "Pinpoint" with Welsh singer Angharad Van Rijswijk, aka Accü. In 2016, American vice-presidential candidate
Tim Kaine talked at length to
Rolling Stone magazine about how Cornershop is one of his favorite bands. In 2017, they gave an instrumental track called 'Demon is a Monster' to the anti-Brexit podcast '
Remainiacs' as a theme tune. The track was then released digitally. Cornershop are fiercely anti-
Brexit. In March 2020, they released a new album,
England Is a Garden to generally positive reviews. The first official video from the album accompanying the track 'St Marie Under Canon' was released in February 2020. ==Band members==