Placebo consists of Brian Molko (vocals, guitar, bass), Stefan Olsdal (guitar, bass, keyboard), Steve Hewitt (drums).
Placebo is a rock band founded in 1994. They enjoyed early success in Britain thanks to the high interest in British rock music at the time, sparked in particular by Oasis and Blur.
Placebo was founded when former Luxembourg schoolmates Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal met by accident at South Kensington tube station in 1994 and decided to form a band. While briefly known as Ashtray Heart, the band quickly settled on the name Placebo. The band could not decide on a drummer at first with Steve Hewitt and Robert Schultzberg alternating on the spot. While Hewitt was the preferred choice, he also had other commitments as drummer for London band Breed, leading to Schultzberg being the drummer when the band signed its contract with Caroline Records. This said, the band officially say that "family commitments" was the reason for his absence. As the other band members were having difficulty getting on with Robert Schultzberg, they persuaded Hewitt to rejoin the band in 1996.
The singles "Nancy Boy", from Placebo ( 1996), and "Pure Morning", from Without You I'm Nothing ( 1998), were the peak of their British success, both charting in the top ten. Since Without You I'm Nothing the band have fallen out with particularly the British music press, who regularly mock the personality and pretentiousness of its lead member, Brian Molko. However, the band retained a huge popular and critical following in continental Europe. Their style altered little from Placebo through Black Market Music ( 2000), based around fairly straightforward guitar playing, often influenced by the style of 1970s British and American rock, and Molko's high-pitched, nasal vocals.
The band was asked to play at David Bowie's fiftieth birthday party at Madison Square Garden. The band's glam connections continued in 1998 when they recorded a cover of T. Rex's "20th Century Boy" for the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack. The band also appeared in this film. Placebo played "20th Century Boy" live with David Bowie at the Brit Awards show in 1999.
