Reformed ’90s British shoegaze stars Ride on their new album ahead of Hong Kong gig
Ride’s first three albums were hits, but by the fourth release, they were falling out and the band split soon after. Eighteen years on and they’re back together, older, wiser and more together with a new album Weather Diaries
The successful return of British shoegaze pioneers Ride has shown that one of the brightest bands of the 1990s called it a day far too soon when they split up acrimoniously in 1996.
Ride’s star ascended quickly after the release of their first EPs in 1990. After a trio of stunning albums, the fourth proved to be their undoing: musical differences and interpersonal rancour led to their sudden split.
Over the next two decades, critics and fans suspected that guitarist Andy Bell, lead singer Mark Gardener, bass player Steve Queralt and drummer Laurence Colbert had left much business unfinished. Ride’s reunion album in 2014 proved the pundits right.
“We’ve managed to pick up where we left off,” says Gardener from his studio in the UK ahead of the band’s return to Hong Kong for a gig at MacPherson Stadium in Mong Kok on February 26. “We’re a better band than we ever were. The whole challenge is to still make some interesting music.
