Brighter

Self-described “acoustical power trio" Brighter was founded in Worthing, England by singer/guitarist Keris Howard, his keyboardist girlfriend Alison and bassist Alex Sharkey. Signing to the now-legendary Sarah Records, the group issued its debut single “Around the World in Eighty Days" in August 1989, followed in February by “Noah's Ark." Absent a flexi-disc release, “Next Summer," Brighter wasn't heard from again until late 1991, when they issued the full-length Laurel; the EP Disney followed in October 1992, and was the trio's swan song. Howard and Sharkey later reunited in the short-lived electro-pop project Hal before going their separate ways; Howard then went on to lead Harper Lee and play bass with the Trembling Blue Stars, while Sharkey co-founded Fosca in addition to pursuing a solo project, Pinkie. Alison, meanwhile, went on to teach media studies at a sixth-form college in Hove. They broke our hearts from 1989 to 1993 while quietly attaining the "best band on Sarah Records" award.