Lauren Laverne is well known to radio listeners and TV viewers now, but in the mid-90s she came to prominence as the frontwoman of this spiky Sunderland four-piece whose colourful, witty and in-yer-face attitude caught the attention of John Peel and Saint Etienne (who got them signed to EMI).
The band formed in 1994, taking their name from their favourite character in the film Grease (1978).
Their debut album was released in 1997, and their second album, Get In (1998) was a much poppier, glossier affair.
Kenickie disbanded on 15 October 1998 after a London Astoria gig, where Lauren closed the night by saying “We were Kenickie . . . a bunch of fuckwits”.
Lauren Laverne
Vocals, guitar
Marie du Santiago (Anne Marie Nixon)
Guitar, vocals
Emmy-Kate Montrose (Emma Jackson)
Bass
Johnny X (Pete Gofton)
Drums