The Charlottes

by Andy Kellman From Cambridgeshire, England, the Charlottes were one of the first shoegaze bands -- beaten to the punch only by My Bloody Valentine and quite possibly Lush -- that released a single (Are You Happy Now?) and an EP (Lovehappy) before the dawn of the style's golden years of 1990 and 1991. The Charlottes were actually shoegaze of the harder-driving variety, closer to the more aggressive side of Lush and Bleach than early Slowdive's billowy textures. After a pair of singles released in 1990, the band bowed out with 1991's Things Come Apart compilation. The band's drummer, Simon Scott, joined Slowdive after they split.