The Seahorses

• Genre: Brit Rock

About

So named after superstitious former Stone Roses guitarist John Squire came face-to-face with a five-foot seahorse in a restaurant on the night he left the Manchester outfit, the Seahorses (an anagram, oddly, of 'he hates roses') briefly threatened Oasis's retro-rock crown in the mid-1990s. Their stock in trade was anthemic singalongs, some of which were left over from Squire's previous project (most notably Aleister Crowley-inspired debut single "Love Is The Law," which entered the U.K. charts at No. 3 in May 1997). If the folky warble of frontman Chris Helmes, who was discovered while busking, and Squire's uncharacteristic bravado(he once stated: "I want to reconquer England and then conquer America.")suggested the Seahorses could carve out a Led Zep-esque niche for themselves, internal divisions and a lack of experience saw them unable to capitalise on the success of Tony Visconti-produced debut album Do It Yourself, and the band split in February 1999. Squire's view on his former band remains unreported, although the fact he now peppers solo gigs with Stone Roses songs but none by the Seahorses suggests he isn't keen to revisit these waters anytime soon.

- Paul Moody