Fronted by indie pin-up Louise Wener, Sleeper were one of the faces of Brit-pop,
scoring a string of spiky 1990s hits and lauding it up as the country suddenly
exploded with scores of scruffy, slouching, guitar bands. Formed at university
in Manchester through a mutual love of The Pixies, Wener penned idiosyncratic
stories of the everyday as the band bounced along to smart, new wave guitar pop.
Led by single Inbetweener, an anthem to teenage awkwardness, debut album Smart
(1995) shot to Number 5 in the UK and set the band up alongside the likes of
Pulp, Blur, Suede and Elastica a...