Martin Rossiter

On this day 08/08/1998 Gene

Images may be subject to copyright

Images may be subject to copyright

On this day, 8 August 1998, rock band Gene, fronted by Welshman Martin Rossiter, played Cardiff’s Big Weekend. Also on the bill that Saturday was Welsh band Melys, Carrie and Audioweb.

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Formed in 1993, they were popularly labelled as a Britpop band and often drew comparisons to the Smiths because of their Morrissey-esque lead singer, Martin Rossiter. Gene's music was influenced by the Jam, the Smiths, the Style Council and the Clash.

Though Gene were labelled as a Britpop band, Rossiter was never happy being included in the genre saying "It was played out under the dirty shadow of the union flag which I always found quite distasteful. I never had any desire to represent Great Britain.

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At the time I said that I regarded myself as European rather than British. I’m a Socialist and I’ve always felt very uncomfortable with the idea of nationalism because it can be a very dangerous thing." He recorded four albums with the band over the period 1995 to 2001, and performed live until 2004.