The Afghan Whigs

Though mainstream fame eluded them during the height of their popularity in the 1990s, the Afghan Whigs' blend of punk exuberance and soulful rhythms earned them a devoted cult audiences for more than two decades. The core of the Afghan Whigs was formed by a trio of students at the University of Cincinnati - singer/guitarist Greg Dulli, guitarist Rick McCollum and drummer Steve Earle (no relation to the alt-country performer) - who teamed with John Curley, a photography intern at the Cincinnati Enquirer, in 1986. Inspired by their mutual admiration for classic soul and hard-charging '70s rock, the Afghan Whigs issued their debut album, Big Top Halloween, in 1988, and though only a thousand copies were pressed, one made its way to Seattle's Jonathan Poneman, who initially arranged for the group to issue a single through his influential alternative rock label, Sub Pop. But the Whigs were soon signed to a full contract with the label, which issued their sophomore album, Out of It, in 1990. The lead single, "Retarded," became a success on college radio, and a tour with grunge pioneers Mudhoney further expanded the Whigs' audience; by the release of their third album, Congregation (1992), the band's signature combination of soul and psychedelic flourishes had attracted the attention of Elektra Records, which signed them to a highly lucrative contract in 1992. Their major label debut, Gentlemen (1993), earned positive reviews and a Modern Rock Top 20 hit with the single "Debonair," which led to expanded opportunities for Dulli and his bandmates, including vocals on the Beatles biopic "Backbeat" (1994) and executive producer duties on the soundtrack to Ted Demme's feature "Beautiful Girls" (1996). But with this boost in visibility also came Earle's departure in 1996 and criticism from the alternative rock media, who accused the Whigs of selling out; mainstream interest soon subsided, and the band found itself in a legal battle with Elektra over allegedly dishonest business practices that they claimed led to low sales numbers for both Gentlemen and its follow-up, Black Love (1998), led to a lawsuit against Elektra for alleged dishonest business practices. The Whigs decamped for Columbia for their next record, 1965, which earned positive reviews and an opening slot on a tour with Aerosmith, but by 2001, the band had called it quits, citing geographical distance between the individual members as the reason for the split. Dulli continued working on a variety of other projects, including a new band, The Twilight Singers, until 2006, when the group reunited to record new songs for a compilation titled Unbreakable: A Retrospective 1990-2006. Five more years would pass before the three remaining original members would team again to headline the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in London in 2012. A 2013 world tour preceded the release of Do to the Beast (2014), their first new album in more than 15 years. By this time, McCollum had departed the lineup, leaving Dulli and Curley as the sole original members.