Menswear signed a record contract before they played more than five gigs. That alone tells you everything you need to know about the band. Menswear were an outgrowth of the post-Blur pop scene in London, England, a group of charming, handsome young men that wanted to be in a pop group more than they wanted to play music. Consequently, they received their fair share of detractors, but the band weathered the storm, becoming one of the most popular Brit-pop bands of 1995.

The members of Menswear -- vocalist Johnny Dean (b. December 12, 1971), guitarist Simon White, guitarist Chris Gentry (b. February 23, 1977), bassist Stuart Black, and drummer Matt Everett -- told everyone around Camden, London that they were in a band before they had actually rehearsed. Toward the end of 1994, they decided to actually start playing music, choosing the name Menswear and writing Elastica and Blur-inspired pop songs.

The group's first single, "I'll Manage Somehow," received good notices in the NME Presents Independent Thinking: Transgressive Records and Melody Maker Presents - All The Rural Things, and their second single, "Daydreamer," peaked at number 14. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi