The following is a bit of background on EBTG.

Some Brief History

The group Everthing but the Girl have been consistantly performing since 1982. There is rarely a lull of more than two years before another album is released. The band is composed of lead singer Tracey Thorn (12/06/62) and music man Ben Watt (09/26/62). With over ten albums and a cult following, it's amazing how this group has only recently received acclaim for their #1 hit "Missing" and their gold album "Amplified Heart." The bands sound had changed throughout their career, beginning with a folksy-accoustic sound and somehow coming to the ambient, drum 'n' base sound they use today. Some fans are dissapointed with the change (me included) and some welcome the change and think it's necesary for the bands survival. The band's name was inspired by a shop in Hull, North Humberside, UK. The shop, often frequented by newleweds, used the phrase "Everything but the Girl" a a slogan of what a young gentleman could buy there for the house. Ben and Tracey lived in the area during the early 80's and they picked the name as a joke. The store soon went out of business but the name still stuck. Ben and Tracey have been "involved" since the beginning of the band, and the most common question is "are they married?" The answer is no. Some wonder why the earlier works by the band had such a huge gay following, but one only has to listen to the music to understand the answer. Their lyrics are wide ranged and very non-gender specific. They speak of love, hope, Hitler and Marilyn Monroe. The following is an excerpt directly from the official EBTG site: "Between 1984 and 1991 EBTG released six studio albums - Eden (1984, featuring the European hit, Each And Every One, and later released as Everything But The Girl in the US with new sleeve and altered track listing to accommodate six new recordings), Love Not Money (1985), Baby, The Stars Shine Bright (1986, incl. Come On Home), Idlewild (1988, incl. UK No. 3 hit I Don't Want To Talk About It, and Apron Strings, written for John Hughes' film She's Having A Baby), The Language Of Life (1990, including US VH-1 hit, Driving) and Worldwide (1991)." EBTG then release a set of three collection CDs. I had the enjoyment of meeting Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt in 1996 when they DJ'd at the Fez in New York. Although I was polite and nice, I did the fan thing and asked for an autograph, etc. But what I really wanted to do was just talk. Then I had the pleasure of meeting them again when they made an appearance at Baracuda (NY 5/20/96) to promote their new album "Walking Wounded." I gave them my web-site address. So, Tracey & Ben, if you ever get to this page, you'll see a button e-mail. Let you fingers do the pushin'. The following is as per Virgin Records and gives a more recent account of EBTG: MIISING BREAKS BILLBOARD RECORD (in the US): it rose to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early '96 and has now broken the record for the longest run ever to be on the Hot 100- 55 weeks. Amplified Heart has gone gold, topping 500,000 sales. It became the biggest selling UK single for over a decade not to reach number 1 (it only peaked at #3). The EP Walking Wounded peaked at #6 in the UK Top 10 chart in April. The EP Wrong peaked at #8 in the UK Top 10 chart in June. EBTG picked up the Best International Artist Award at Germany's Viva Music Awards last month, travelling to Cologne to collect the trophy. Missing was nominated in the Best Dance Video category at the MTV Video Awards 1996. Ben and Tracey attended the ceremony at New York's Radio City Music Hall, but lost out to Coolio. Missing, filmed in London in 1994 on a shoestring budget, was directed by Alex Szazy. The group performed in front of probably their largest audience (250,000 people) in August as part of Italy's Festival Bar TV show in Naples. Viking/Penguin has published the biography of Ben Watt entitled "Patient: The true Story of a Rare Illnes" which chronicles Ben's fight with .....(tk)........ Ben was invited to DJ at Virgin's Post-MTV Awards 1996 party in New York. Guest on the dancefloor included Goldie, Bjork, and The Smashing Pumkins. The group is planning to release a new album in 1998 and go on tour.