Beth Gibbons
Geoff Barrow
Adrian Utley
Dave McDonald
(Note: Geoff and Beth met first in the early '90s. Adrian and Dave were major contributors on 'Dummy' but did not become official members of the band until 'Portishead'.)

About Portishead
The first and last question always: why "Portishead"? Portishead is Geoff's home town on the River Severn, just outside Bristol, UK. The story goes that Geoff was known as "that guy from (the town) Portishead" when he first began making music on the first Massive Attack album. The idea for the band name grew out of that.

Who else plays with Portishead?
--Live--
John Baggot -keyboards
Jim Barr- bass
Clive Deamer- drummer
Andy Smith- decks (Official Portishead DJ)

--On the Albums--
Sean Atkins contributes additional vocals to 'Cowboys' and 'Western Eyes'.
John Baggot contributes his organ skills on 'Only You' and piano on 'Elysium'.
Gary Baldwin contributes his Hammond skills on Dummy's 'Wandering Star', 'It's a Fire', and 'Numb'.
S. Cooper contributes the violin part on 'Half Day Closing'.
J. Cornick contributes a horn part on 'All Mine' and a trombone part on 'Mourning Air'.
Clive Deamer contributes his drumming on numerous Portishead tracks: On Dummy: 'Mysterons', 'Strangers', 'Wandering Star', 'Numb', 'Roads', 'Pedestal', and 'Biscuit'. On Portishead: 'Cowboys', 'Humming', 'Seven Months', 'Western Eyes' and (additional drums) 'Undenied'.
Andy Hague contributes the trumpet part on'Pedestal' and 'All Mine'.
Richard Newell contributes a drum programme on 'It Could Be Sweet'.
Neil Solman contributes his Rhodes/Hammond skills on 'Sour Times' and 'Roads'.
B. Waghorm contributes a horn part on 'All Mine'.

What is "To Kill a Dead Man"?
"To Kill a Dead Man" is a short film based upon an original idea by Portishead. Geoff had always wanted to score a movie soundtrack and rather than wait for one to come around, he decided to create his own. And since this venture was their own, it allowed him the creative freedom that he was after.

The plot of the film is typical of the film-noir spy genre. It opens with an assassin assembling his rifle on the roof of a building and waiting for his target. Once the target appears, a shot is fired and the target collapses. The assassin then flees, while the shot man and his female acquaintance are whisked away in separate vehicles. From there, the story gets very interesting as hints of a conspiracy are revealed while the female character tries to come to grips with what has happened.

Various band members have roles in the film: Geoff plays an assassin, Adrian plays the target of the assassin, Beth plays Adrian's female acquaintance, etc. The film runs approximately 10 minutes and is available in two versions: the cinematic release in colour and the commerical release in black and white.

Award
In 1995, Britain's Mercury music prize was awarded to Portishead for their debut album, 'Dummy'.

DISCOGRAPHY

The Albums
Portishead's debut full length is 'Dummy'. Release date: October 17, 1994. Their second full length release is 'Portishead'. Release date: September 30, 1997. A live album, 'PNYC', was recorded on July 24 1997 at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. Release date: November 3, 1998.

For a list of all the singles, bootleg collections, promo items, soundtracks/films that Portishead is on, etc. go to the Unofficial Portishead Discography site at  http://www.room101.com/scorn

The Video
In addition to the live album from the July 24, 1997 Roseland Ballroom Concert, a live video of this performance was released on November 3, 1998.

From the Polygram Press Release:
"The whole look of it was inspired by this old Gil Evans and Miles Davis film I have at home," explains Adrian Utley. "Shots with cameras moving slowly or having to look through cymbals to see Geoff across the room. Not your usual rock n'roll camera work, we wanted it to have a slowed down, drifting across the room feeling." Interspersed among the Roseland footage are the documentary scenes of Portishead and the show filmed during the week-long rehearsal and show.

The video features 16 tracks taken from "Dummy" and "Portishead" and in addition, a short film "Road Trip" and an exclusive booklet with stills form the show and information on the performers.

"Road Trip" directly precedes the Roseland performance and the 10 minute film is accompanied by a soundtrack comprising a mix of Portishead instrumentals spliced together by the group's touring DJ, Andy Smith. "Road Trip" was shown as the introduction to each of the group's live shows on the world tour.

THE MUSIC

What is "trip hop"?
A term that the music industry made up.
A term whose definition no one can agree on.

Who has Portishead sampled from?
Portishead has sampled from the following artists (Portishead song in parentheses):
Lalo Schifrin from "More Mission Impossible" ('Sour Times')
Smokey Brooks from "Spin It Jig" ('Sour Times')
Weather Report from "Elegant People" ('Strangers')
War from "Magic Mountain" ('Wandering Star')
Johnnie Ray from "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" ('Biscuits')
Isaac Hayes from 'Ike's Rap II' off his album "Black Moses" ('Glory Box')
Ken Thorne from "Inspector Clouseau" ('Only You')
The Pharcyde from "She Said" ('Only You')
Black Sheep from "Butt in the Meantime" off their album "A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing" ('Lot More' on Sour Times single)
*note: Sean Atkins is a friend of Portishead, however, 'Sean Atkins Experience' (as credited on Portishead) does not exist.

Who has sampled Portishead?
The following artists have sampled from Portishead:
PJ Harvey & Eric Drew Feldman sampled 'Glory Box' for the song 'Zaz Turned Blue'
Organized Konfusion sampled 'Mysterons' for the song 'Sin'
Ice-T sampled 'Numb' for the song 'I Must Stand'
Semi-Psionic Galactadome sampled 'Pedestal' for the song 'Misanthrope', 'Cowboys' for the song 'Strip Search', and 'Over' for the song 'Catharsis'.
Nine sampled 'Biscuit' for the song 'Cloud 9'
Mixmaster Mike sampled 'Elysium' for the song 'Deportashun'
Incognito sampled 'Glory Box' and 'Hell is Around the Corner' for the song 'Marakesh'.

Who sampled Isaac Hayes first, Tricky or Portishead?
Both 'Glory Box' and 'Hell is Round the Corner' sampled from 'Ike's Rap II' without knowledge of the other. Tricky's album Maxinquaye came first, but Glory Box was written first.

Who is Portishead influenced by?
The Official website contains sections for each of the members of Portishead. See Adrian's lists of his favourite films and musicians.  http://www.portishead.co.uk  

What is a "theremin"?
Basically it is a signal beamed between two nodes, which the player interrupts by interposing his/her hand or some other object to break the beam. Then the theremin generates a tone. It makes lots of spooky, wavering tones. Check out "Art's Theremin Page"  http://home.att.net/~theremin1/  for useful links.

Where can I get Portishead songs/videos/lyrics on the web?
Go to the Official website first for song and video clips:
http://www.portishead.co.uk
Another good place to start is the Portishead webring:
http://come.to/portislegs
For RealAudio clips:
http://members.xoom.com/aloof/home.html
For a clip of the French version of 'Only You':
http://www.coastnet.com/~bungle/phead.html
For lyrics, go to Beth's section at the Official webiste:
http://www.portishead.co.uk
For Portishead discography information, go to:
http://www.room101.com/scorn

3.10 In which movies/TV shows can Portishead songs be found?

Movies with Portishead in the soundtrack:
Nadja - Roads/Strangers
Tank Girl - Roads
The Confessional - Numb
Stealing Beauty - Glory Box
The Craft - Glory Box
Love Walked In - Sour Times
Killing Time - Sour Times

TV Shows that had audio clips of Portishead:
Millenium - Roads
Central Park - Glory Box

How can I get Portishead bootlegs/videos (ie. To Kill a Dead Man)/posters?
Post to the mailing list with specifics (ie. what is being sought and in which area of the world --this is an international list) and someone will surely offer suggestions. For posters, the best bet is to dig deep at obscure music stores or to check out  http://www.concertposter.com . For more information about discrography/bootlegs/promos/videos, go to the Unofficial Portishead Discography site at http://www.room101.com/scorn .

MISCELLANEOUS

Which fonts have Portishead used for that distinctive "Portishead" look?
Pre 'Portishead' album , 'Helvetica Compressed - Extra' (further compressed by 60%) was used. Since then it's been 'Compacta BT - Roman".

Why can't I find any pictures of all four members of Portishead together?
They're out there, but they're rare. Portishead have "an arrangement" in which generally, Beth is featured in photos while the other members, especially Geoff, are featured in interviews.

What is a 'Mysteron'?
A sci-fi show named 'Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons', which first aired in 1967, may have been an influence on a young Geoff or Beth. The show contained a dark and twisted premise and some very creepy overtones, making it deemed unfit for children in many countries. The Mysterons (modelled heavily on the Martians in Ray Bradbury's 'Martian Chronicles') become sadistic tormentors of the human race, but instead of destroying Earth outright, they wage a war of nerves against the human race. The Mysterons are far more powerful, but the humans begin to develop technology to fight back. In this show, the Mysterons are never seen, but are disembodied voices that 'possess' radios or television sets, uttering proclamations of doom that may be referred to in the Portishead song of the same name.

In addition, the Portishead song contains an uncredited sample from the show's "Theme From the Mysterons".