Portishead

Portishead created an atmospheric, alluringly dark sound. The group wasn't as avant-garde as Tricky, nor as tied to dance traditions as Massive Attack. Dummy became an unexpected success in Britain, topping most year-end critics polls and earning the Mercury Music Prize. As a result, Portishead appealed to a broad audience, not just electronic dance and alternative rock fans, but thirtysomethings who found techno, trip-hop, and dance as exotic as worldbeat.

Portishead's debut album, Dummy, was released shortly after their short film To Kill a Dead Man. Dummy won the Mercury Music Prize for Album of the Year in the UK. 'Sour Times' and 'Numb' were alternative rock hits in the U.S. Within a few weeks, 'Sours Times' was a major hit in the United States. Back in the British Top 40, 'Glory Box' debuted at number 13 without any radio play in the early '90s. The group's videos began to attract attention because of their atmospheric videos. Portishead reconvened in 2005, performing their first live dates in seven years. Their version of 'Un Jour Comme un Autre (Requiem for Anna)' appeared on 2006's Serge Gainsbourg tribute. In 2008, a decade after their last album, Portishead returned with Third.