Great Moments In Pop – The 90s Part 59.

This is an American rock band who didn’t have that much success in the 90s, but they did catch my attention when going through some old charts. Letters To Cleo formed in Massachusetts in the early-90s. They have probably been asked on several occasions where they got the name from. It turns out that Cleo was the frontwoman Kay’s penfriend for several years, how nice. I don’t recall ever having one myself though.

They first started to attract some attention in November 1994 when Melody Maker described them as “the most exciting new band in America”, and they clearly had lots of attitude. The single that really made their name though was “Here And Now”. This was released in March 1995, and reached no. 56 in America, and no. 48 in New Zealand. One critic praised this for Kay’s “young brattish voice”.

I did notice that they achieved two great things in the mid-90s that every band must’ve aspired to (I hope). Firstly, the video to “Here And Now” was featured on MTV’s Beavis And Butt-Head, and I’m sure that having the crazy animated duo offering their views on your song was an honour, although they usually thought that everything sucked. And secondly, this was shown on The Chart Show.

And well, I think that if you appeared on that show, you’d done well. However, this didn’t make the chart in the UK, but they must’ve had some ambition to break this country as they did tour here. The only other time they made the chart in America was when “Awake” reached no. 88 in September 1995. They seemed to acquire something of a following though, appearing on a few TV shows.

The only time they made the chart in the UK was in August 1999 when their cover of Cheap Trick’s “I Want You To Want Me”, which was on the soundtrack to the film 10 Things I Hate About You, reached an unofficial no. 171. Letters To Cleo split not long after, but they have since reformed on several occasions, releasing five albums, they have been referenced in the sitcom Parks And Recreation, and presumably they can make people headbang along to “Here And Now” to this day.