In what will be their first U.S. television appearance since performing on Saturday Night Live back in 1998, Portishead , known for popularizing trip-hop music in mid 90’s, is set to perform live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon next Wednesday, October 5th.
Before Portishead released their debut album, Dummy , in 1994, trip-hop’s broad appeal wasn’t apparent, but the record became an unexpected success, not just in Britian – where it won the prestigious Mercury Music Prize – but also in America, selling over 150,000 copies before the group ever toured there.
After their initial success, the band, comprised of Geoff Barrow, Beth Gibbons, and Adrian Utley withdrew from the spotlight for three years until their self-titled second album, Portishead, was released in 1997.The group then split for several years to concentrate on solo projects before rejoining forces in 2005.
Currently on tour in the U.S. (also a first since 1998), Portishead is scheduled to play 2 sold out nights at Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC, and will follow those performances with visits to Chicago, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Seattle, and Denver all in the month of October.
In addition to roping in Portishead, Fallon has also managed to book an Oct. 3rd appearance by Radiohead, who are coming fresh of the heels of back-to-back late night performances on SNL and The Cobert Report .
For those of you who have never had the privilege of listening to Portishead, I give you Roads :
