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. ~ Andy Kellman