Babylon Zoo

Babylon Zoo was essentially Jas Mann's project, a British-Indian vocalist who formed the band in 1992. They came up during the Britpop years but didn't really sound like the other groups. Their debut album 'The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes' arrived in 1996, and its lead single 'Spaceman' became a massive, unexpected hit. The song's video, with its army of space-suited dancers, was everywhere for a while.

That success was complicated. There were persistent rumors that the band was a manufactured creation, with Mann accused of controlling the image and sound too tightly. These tensions led to members like drummer Matthew Braham and keyboardist Gavin Skinner leaving. Mann also got into a legal fight with his former manager Simon Fuller over the rights to 'Spaceman,' which Mann eventually won.

After the initial rush, things faded quickly. The band effectively disbanded by the late 1990s. Mann tried reviving Babylon Zoo with a new lineup in 2008, but it didn't take. Beyond 'Spaceman,' they had other singles like 'Zodiac Sign' and 'All The Money's Gone,' but nothing matched that first explosion of attention.