1998
A 45 second preview audio clip of Teardrop, the soon to be released single to promote the upcoming third Massive Attack album, Mezzanine is uploaded onto the official Massive Attack website. It is the first step in a revolutionary (for 1998) new way of using the internet to promote new music. Massive Attack were the first major label band in history to unveil their new album before it was released in shops using their website for people to listen to streaming audio samples of the album. Three days after this particular date in time, the full-length audio version of Teardrop would appear onsite, along with a 30-second excerpt from the track’s video, plus 45-second excerpts from each of the eleven tracks on the album. On March 30, the full-length album would be on the site, accompanied by the full version of the Teardrop video. The countdown ends on 20th April with the album’s release and the website will be “open to the public”. The official website used Real Video and Real Audio streaming to achieve this gradually unveiling over the period of nearly a month.
The promo video for Teardrop, directed by Walter Stern, who had previously directed the promo video for Risingson, is filmed at Towerbride Studios in London, UK. Filming also continues on into the next day on the video.
To watch this video and any other videos related to Teardrop click on the above image to visit the Videography section
Official playback previews of Mezzanine begin in selected UK music stores on this date The in store previews would last until the offical release date of the album on 20th April.
The 1998/1999 tour to promote the immenient release of Mezzanine, gets under way at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Ireland
Mezzanine is released in the UK and throughout most other European terrioties.
Teardrop is released as a single in North America.
Teardrop is released as a single in the UK
Mezzanine is released in North America.
The promo video for Angel, directed omce again by Walter Stern, who had previously directed the promo videos for Risingson and Teardrop, is filmed at the Metropolitan Car Park & Old Goods Yard at Paddington in London, UK. Filming also continues on into the next two days on the video. Unfortunately, the promo video for Angel was never used to promote the single after Massive Attack decided it did’nt capture the mood of the song. The promo video for Angel would remain unseen until the release of the Eleven Promos DVD in 2001.
To watch this video and any other videos related to Angel click on the above image to visit the Videography section
News that Massive Attack would be pulling out of supporting The Verve on their North American tour was announced on this date. Thankfully, Massive Attack also would reassure their American fans that a North American tour would still take place in August and September with Massive Attack getting the main billing at those future shows.
Massive Attack attended the World Cup final held in Paris on this date. 3D and Daddy G are great football fanatics and were at the final personally, with Mushroom apparently stuck back a their hotel, having no real interest in football himself. Massive Attack actually had free tickets to each one of the World Cup 1998 games, as a result of them licensing their song Angel to Adidas for use in advertising. Despite this, they were unable to attend most of the games as they were busy touring across the Far East and Austrailia at the time, but did of course make it back in time to Europe to attend the World Cup final. Quote - 3D on the World Cup 1998 final “We stayed in a hotel on the Champs Elysses. The celebrations that night were just unreal. It was such an incredible experience just to be there.” This was not the first time Massive Attack have attended a World Cup final. At the last one in 1994 in Los Angeles, USA, they were personally flown in on Madonna’s private helicopter to attend, after befriending her sometime before.
Angel is released as a single in the UK. It recieves no other releases in foriegn markets and the promo video which was filmed for it was never used to promote it after Massive Attack decided it did’nt capture the mood of the song. The promo video for Angel would remain unseen until the release of the Eleven Promos DVD in 2001.
Working class Welsh rockers, Manic Street Preachers released a new single in the UK on this date called “If You Tolerate This Then Your Children Will Be Next”, which contains a remix of the title song by Massive Attack. The remix was done solely by 3D and Neil Davidge without any input from Daddy G and Mushroom. The “If You Tolerate This Then Your Children Will Be Next” single would end up going to number one in the UK singles chart. Manic Street Preachers would repay Massive Attack the favour, two months later with the release of Inertia Creeps, the Manic Street Preachers first ever remix for another band.
The promo video for Inertia Creeps, directed by The Wiz. It is filmed at Bow Studios in London, UK. Filming also continues on into the next day on the video. This would be the first and only time The Wiz would direct a promo video for Massive Attack.
3D would help his friend James Lavelle out by helping to remix the new U.N.K.L.E single, Rabbit In Your Headlights featuring the vocals of Radiohead frontman, Thom Yorke. The remix was done solely by 3D and Neil Davidge without any input from Daddy G and Mushroom. The Reverse Light mix as the remix is called, was a favour to James Lavelle, for when he along DJ Shadow had remixed Karmacoma back in 1995.
Inertia Creeps is released as a single in the UK. It recieves no other releases in foriegn markets.
As a result of increased speculation in the media and among fans of the band, Massive Attack released an official statement today reiterating and stressing the fact that they were not splitting up. Quote - The statement reads as follows “Further to recent remarks in the media. Masssive Attack would like to state that they are not splitting up. The comments made to Radio 1 were intended to be flipppant and not be taken literally. Massive’s remarks were made in response to the journalist’s cliched and tired questioning about the so-called “depressing” nature of Mezzanine.”
Massive Attack won the award for Best Video at the MTV Europe Awards held in Milan, Italy on this date. However, their award was overshadowed considerably by the controvesy they caused when they went up on stage to accept the award on live television, by snubbing the Duchess Of York, Sarah Freguson. She apparently made an incompetent speech where she fluffed her lines and acted as though she had never heard of them when she presented the award. 3D reacted “Someone’s having a fucking laugh,” after Fergie got the band’s name wrong. The band then refused to shake her hand, taking the piss out of the embarrassed former-Royal turned chat show hostess. “Fuck you very much”, one of the band said as they left the stage. Quote - Later 3D argued, “What the fuck has she got to do with music for a start? If someone had told us that was happening we would not be here.” However, 3D’s parents have since spoken out against his behaviour with his shocked mother Ann arguing, “He was very well mannered and never got into trouble. He has never been to prison or anything ghastly like that”. According to his father Franco, who at the time owned the Behive Pub in Wellington Hill West, Bristol, “It could be a publicity stunt to sell more tickets for their English tour.” According to her spokesman, Sarah Ferguson was taken aback by the incident.
Massive Attack won the prestigious Q Magazine Best Album on this date. The awards cermony was broadcast live on BBC Radio 1 and the award was presented to the band by James Lavelle, the main man behind U.N.K.L.E and a personnel friend of 3D’s. Quote - Mushroom said of the award - “Actually, we’re chuffed as buttons”.
The Singles 90/98 boxset compiling all of Massive Attack’s eleven singles up to this date is released in the UK and throughout most other European terrioties. It would not released in North America until sometime in the following year.
The final date of Massive Attack’s 1998 tour takes place. It is held on home ground in the Anson Rooms at Bristol University in Bristol, UK. Massive Attack’s 1998 tour was by far their most extensive and exhaustive tour, seeing them play in such places as North and South America, Europe, South Africa and the Far East and Australia. Playing at home in Bristol for their final date was a triumphant end to a very busy year. This show is also important for another reason. It would be the last live show that Mushroom would ever be apart of. When the band, continued their tour the following year at The Phaze in Cologne, Germany on 25th June 1999, Mushroom would not be present and neither would he ever be again, as he had left the band in the early part of 1999.
It became public on this date, on the intention of Manfred Mann to sue Massive Attack. The writ served, claimed that Massive Attack had illegally sampled without permission, 120 out of 128 bars on their song Black Milk from Mann’s song Tribute. He was demanding that an injunction be put on sales of Mezzanine and that Massive Attack be fined £100,000 for the use of the sample. Quote - Massive Attack’s manager Marc Picken on the lawsuit - We are hoping to resolve the matter amicably in the future.”
Manfred Mann’s Earth Band who sued Massive Attack for the illegal sampling of their song Tribute on Black Milk
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