Placebo at the O2

Wednesday, 09 December, 2009

Placebo was founded when former Luxembourg schoolmates Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal - who never actually spoke to each other - met by accident at South Kensington, London, United Kingdom tube station in 1994. Molko invited Olsdal to one of his gigs and Olsdal was impressed by Molko’s vocals so they agreed on forming a band. While briefly known as Ashtray Heart, the band quickly settled on the name Placebo, after the drug that has no active ingredient but works because the patient believes it does. Placebo also means “I shall please” in Latin. The band could not decide on a drummer at first with Steve Hewitt (drums) and Robert Schultzberg alternating on the spot. While Hewitt was the preferred choice, he also had other commitments as drummer for London band Breed, leading to Schultzberg being the drummer when the band signed its contract with Caroline Records. As the other band members were having difficulty getting on with Robert Schultzberg, they persuaded Hewitt to rejoin the band in 1996.

The singles “Nancy Boy”, from Placebo (1996), and “Pure Morning”, from Without You I’m Nothing (1998), were the peak of their British success, both charting in the top ten. Since Without You I’m Nothing the band have fallen out of fashion particularly with the British music press, who regularly mock the personality and pretensions of its lead member, Brian Molko. However, the band retained a huge popular and critical following in continental Europe. Their style altered little from Placebo through Black Market Music (2000), based around fairly straightforward guitar playing, often influenced by the style of 1970s British and American rock, and Molko’s high-pitched, nasal vocals.