Sleeper (band)
Sleeper are an English rock band from London, formed in 1992. They play indie rock with Britpop influences and became one of the era’s better-known groups, scoring eight UK top 40 singles and three top 10 albums in the 1990s. Their music also appeared in the film Trainspotting, including a Blondie cover they recorded called Atomic.
The band signed to Indolent Records in 1993 and released several EPs and singles before their breakthrough with Inbetweener. They gained early attention after opening for Blur on the Parklife tour, helping them become closely associated with Britpop.
Sleeper’s debut album Smart (1995) went gold, and their second album The It Girl (1996) went platinum. The It Girl produced four top 20 singles: What Do I Do Now?, Nice Guy Eddie, Sale of the Century, and Statuesque. They also recorded Atomic for Trainspotting, after Blondie declined the use of their original song. Statuesque is part of Trainspotting’s soundtrack as well. The third album, Pleased to Meet You (1997), reached the UK Top 10 and was silver-certified. The band split up in March 1998 after a tour with lower ticket sales.
After the split, Louise Wener wrote novels, and Jon Stewart moved to Los Angeles to play with other bands and work as a session guitarist and teacher later in the UK. Diid Osman worked as a session musician and later as an artist manager; Andy Maclure co-ran a Punk Rock Karaoke project. A greatest-hits album arrived in 2007, and in 2010 their first two albums were reissued as deluxe editions.
Sleeper reformed in 2017 for four British shows as part of the Star Shaped Festival, with Wener, Stewart, and Maclure joined by new bassist Kieron Pepper. They followed with an eleven-date UK tour in 2018. In 2018 they announced a new album, working with producer Stephen Street, with the lead single Look at You Now and a title The Modern Age. In December 2020 they released This Time Tomorrow, a new Sleeper album built from unreleased material and new writing.
In 2021 Louise Wener contributed vocals to The Lottery Winners’ track Bad Things, and in 2022 Sleeper toured the UK performing The It Girl. In 2023 they did a UK acoustic unplugged tour.
Sleeper has released five studio albums, two compilation albums, and one EP, along with fourteen singles. The band remains known for Wener’s frontwoman presence and their role in the Britpop era.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 05:53 (CET).