Where are they now? Your favourite bands of the 90s 

Virgin Radio

11 May 2022, 11:40

Oh the 90s, they brought us some unforgettable things. From Rugrats to Furbies and the Macarena to Google search, it was quite an exciting decade.

The 90s also produced some pretty good music, although you would have to plug in your Sony Walkman or buy a good old-fashioned CD to listen to it- the likes of Spotify and Apple Music were just a dream. 

In those days, the likes of Oasis, Spice Girls and Madonna were topping the charts- and most of them are still making music today. 

But, have you ever wondered what happened to the other bands you used to listen to who you haven’t heard from in a while? 

Well, we’ve dusted off our old CD collections and done some digging to see what some of the biggest bands in the 90s are up to now. 

Warning: nostalgia hit pending. 

The La’s 

They may have only had one album and one hit single in the 90s, but There She Goes by The La’s is arguably one of the biggest songs of the decade. 

It reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart when it was reissued in 1990, and many credit it as the song that paved the way for the Britpop movement. 

Lee Mavers, songwriter and frontman of the band, is a notoriously difficult person to pin down, however. Since 1991 he has played just 20 official concerts, the last of which was over 10 years ago. 

He became so hard to track down with little to no public appearances that it became something of a mission for most journalists. Matthew Macefield even wrote an entire book in 2003- called A Secret Liverpool: In Search of The La's- about his four-year quest to find the singer. 

It turns out Mavers now lives a happy and normal life in a suburb of Liverpool with his wife and children- very different from the wild days of the 90s! 

Hanson

Ever since that upbeat tune MmmBop made its way to our radios in 1997, we haven’t been able to get it out of our heads. 

At the time, Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson were fresh-faced teenagers breaking into the music industry armed with guitars and their luscious golden locks. 

Now over two decades later, the brothers have a slightly different side hustle in the form of a brewing company called The Hanson Brothers Beer Co., based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

The band has always been vocal about social causes, and, in true philanthropic fashion, they donate a portion of their beer sales to charity. On top of that, they give away a free song with every bottle of beer. 

One of their ales is also called ‘MmmHops’- which is just genius. 

R.E.M

When the band reconvened in mid-1990 to record their seventh album, they opted for a slightly different sound from what listeners had become used to from R.E.M.

They experimented with new instruments like the mandolin, organ and acoustic guitar in the writing process and in March 1991, created Out of Time. This went on to become the band’s first album to top both the US and UK charts and produced the hit single Losing My Religion. 

These days, lead singer Michael Stipe has built quite a name for himself in the film industry after forming two production companies. Along with producing partner Sandy Stern, he has served as an executive producer on films such as Being John Malkovich, Velvet Goldmine and Man on the Moon. 

On top of that, Stipe has become involved in politics and joined the March for Our Lives rallies to advocate gun control. 

Catatonia

Catatonia, the alternative rock band from Wales, gained popularity in the mid-to-late 1990s, but their breakout success came at the start of 1998 with their International Velvet album.  

You will probably remember them for the single Road Rage and lead singer Cerys Matthew’s unmistakable welsh accent and rolling r’s. 

The band broke up a few years later in 2001 and have all gone on to do some pretty interesting things. Matthews tried her hand at a solo music career before appearing on I’m A Celebrity in 2005 and is now a presenter and children’s book author. 

Mark Roberts, the guitarist continued on in the music industry and formed a Cardiff-based soul-inspired band called The Earth with Dafydd Ieuan of Super Furry Animals, while drummer Aled Richards left the rock’n’roll life to go into teaching and is now a music technology lecturer at Coleg Sir Gar in Llanelli, Wales. 

Very wholesome.

Ash

This Irish rock band first made their name in the mid-90s after the release of their album 1977, which led to a string of hit singles and landed them a spot on The Other Stage at Glastonbury festival. 

However, after Steve Winwood was forced to pull out of the Sunday night slot, the band was asked to take his place, making them the youngest people to headline the Pyramid stage.

Nearly two decades later, Ash is still going strong with a new album on the way and a string of festival performances lined up. 

They also joined Virgin Radio’s Big Thank You Tour last month at the OVO Arena in Wembley and told us about what was coming up for them this year. 

They said: “It's the first time since 2019 that there's been a full summer schedule. Even last year, we only had half a festival season, and there was all this anxiety of 'are they gonna happen?' last year, so it's nice to definitely go to festivals and know the performance is back. It's all gonna go ahead. So this year we can kind of relax and enjoy them rather than worrying about tours being postponed and cancelled again.”

Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic

The tragic story of why Nirvana are no more came after the passing of lead singer Kurt Cobain in 1994. 

Of course, drummer Dave Grohl went on to play in two other iconic bands- Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age (as well as his many other musical exploits), but what happened to bassist Krist Novoselic? 

Well, after dabbling in music a bit more and directing his first movie, L7: The Beauty Process, in 1998, he dropped out of the creative industry for a while and turned his attention to activism. 

He got quite involved in politics and set up the campaign called JAMPAC (Joint Artists and Musicians Political Action Comittee). In 2004 he also wrote a book titled Of Grunge and Governement: Let’s Fix This Broken Democracy. 

Now, nearly a decade later, the musician has formed a new band with Pearl Jam and Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron, as well as guitarist Kim Thayl, also of Soundgarden. 

The new band, named 3rd Secret, has already released their debut album, which is available to stream now. 

Shed Seven

Reaching the peak of their fame between 1994 and 1999, Shed Seven has been credited as one of the groups responsible for the Britpop scene of the time. 

During that time, they had 15 songs in the Top 40 singles chart and four in the Top 40 Albums charts in the UK, but you will probably remember them for their hit song Chasing Rainbows, as well as Going For Gold and Disco Down. 

These days, guitarist Paul Banks co-founded his own film production company in the late 2010s called DigiFish and has become a celebrated filmmaker. Guitarist and keyboard player Joe Johnson also sought another career path by becoming a guitar teacher to some very lucky students. 

The band officially broke up in 2003 but reformed a few years later for a greatest hits tour in July 2007 and, after being reminded how much they missed it, are still together making music.

Sleeper

You might remember Sleeper for their eight(!) singles that made the UK Top 40 chart in the UK and not to mention the three albums of theirs that made the Top 10 during the 90s. 

For all you film buffs out there, their music was also featured in the soundtrack of the hit movie Trainspotting before the band first split up in 1998. 

Since then, Sleeper has been very busy before reuniting again in 2017. 

Lead singer Louise Wener became an acclaimed author and has written four novels: Goodnight Steve McQueen, The Big Blind (also known as The Perfect Play), The Half Life of Stars, and Worldwide Adventures In Love. 

Lead guitarist for the band, Jon Stewart, also tried his hand at other things and became a session musician for the likes of Mel C.

Elastica

Influenced by the punk rock and new wave music of the time, Elastica were one of the biggest girl bands to come from the UK in the 90s and were one of the most successful British acts to break America in 1995. 

After just under 10 years together, the band decided to call it quits in 2001 and have had no plans to get together since then.

In fact, they lead quite different lives now. 

Lead singer Justine Frischmann is still working in the music industry behind the scenes and has relocated to America, where she studied painting at Naropa University in Colorado. Guitarist Donna Matthews went in a completely different direction by becoming a Missionary and working with the homeless.

How cute!