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Placebo were formed in London 1995. Brian Molko (b.10th December 1972) Stefan Olsdal (b. March 31st 1974) Steve Hewitt (b. March 22nd 1971). Brian and Stef went to the same school during their youth in Luxembourg but never really socialized with each other. Years later, they happened to bump into each other outside a South Kensington subway station, two years after Brian had arrived in London. Brian, who played guitar and sang, invited him to see him & his band play live and to Brian's surprise, Stef went. He and Stefan (who played bass) ended up forming a band called Ashtray Heart together. Stefan later introduced Brian to drummer & fellow Swede, Robert Schultzberg and Placebo was born. After playing only 5 gigs together record companies began showing an interest.

In January 1996 they were signed to Hut records, releasing their self-titled debut later that year. It was produced by Brad Wood and spawned "Nancy Boy", which hit #4 on the UK charts. They spent most of '96 and '97 touring, playing select dates with U2 on their Popmart tour and being invited to play at David Bowie's 50th birthday party in New York City. Due to internal conflicts, Robert left the band and was replaced in 1996 by Brian's friend, Steven Hewitt, who had played on Placebo's original demos but couldn't join the band because of other projects. The second album, "Without You I'm Nothing", was released in November 1998. It was a successful album in the UK that contained singles "Pure Morning", that received a nomination for the best video of the year, "You Don't Care About Us", "Every You, Every Me", that was used in the movie Cruel Intentions (1999), and "Without You I'm Nothing". The third album was released in October 2000 under the name "Black Market Music." It sold over 1 million copies and featured singles "Taste In Men", "Slave to the Wage", whose music video is a reference to Gattaca (1997), "Special K", and "Black-Eyed", whose video contains footage from the German movie Engel & Joe (2001).

In June/July of 2002 work with the producer, Jim Abbiss, was begun on full-length #4, entitled Sleeping With Ghosts. Recording finished in winter and "The Bitter End" single was put out on March 10th. After playing a handful of warm-up gigs, the completed album was released on March 24th in the UK, and April 1st in the USA. Placebo began their UK tour in April of 2003. They spent the summer on tour across the world, releasing their next single, "This Picture" on June 16th.

On 13 March 2006 Placebo released their fifth studio album, "Meds" in the UK. It charted #1 in France, #4 in Australia and #7 in the UK and included singles "Song to Say Goodbye", "Because I Want You", "Infra-Red" and "Meds". In 2007, Steve Hewitt was fired from the band due to lack of communication between him and Brian and Stefan as well as different goals and future expectations. A year later, in 2008, he was replaced by American drummer Steve Forrest.

The next album, recorded with the newest member, "Battle for the Sun" was released on 8 June 2009 and included singles "For What Is Worth", "The Never-Ending Why", "Ashtray Heart" and "Bright Lights". The same year Placebo won the "Best Alternative" band award at MTV Europe Music Awards. In October 2012, Placebo released an EP, B3, that contained 5 tracks. A year later, in September 2013, the seventh studio album "Loud Like Love" came out that included singles "Too Many Friends", "Loud Like Love" and "A Million Little Pieces".

On 2 February 2015, the band announced that Steve Forrest was no longer a member.

...Opinions are like assholes, everybody&#39;s got one.

My dad wanted me to grow up and be a business man like him, my mum
wanted me to grow up and go to heaven like her!

If Placebo was a drug, they would no doubt be pure heroin - dangerous, mysterious and totally addictive.

If I was a girl I&#39;d still swing both ways anyway.

Placebo is music for outsiders, by outsiders and our gigs are like conventions of outcasts, which is cool.

Music is about expressing things you can&#39;t in everyday life.

It was weird, because we did used to get quite a bit of abuse at the beginning. It was paradoxical to me because I&#39;d think, &#39;why buy a ticket to come here and abuse me?&#39; But I enjoyed the experience. No matter how much abuse I got, I was the one with the microphone, and I always came out on top. The thing that hurt the most was being &#39;coined&#39; in the States. We were on tour opening for Weezer, and their audience at one gig were throwing coins at us. That really fucking hurts, man. But at the end of the gig, we gathered up all the coins onstage, went out and bought a round of drinks.

My intention was never really to shock. The cross-dressing was more of a political act. We were trying to challenge the homophobia that we&#39;d witnessed in the music scene. Basically, I wanted anybody who was slightly homophobic in the audience to look at me and go, &#39;ooh, she&#39;s hot. I&#39;d like to fuck her&#39;, before realising that &#39;her&#39; name was Brian, and then have to ask themselves a few questions about, shall we say, the fluidity of sexuality itself. It was an aesthetic choice, but it was also a political act.

[2009, Bucharest] Ladies and gentlemen, my partner in crime for 15 years... the Queen of Sweden - Mister Stefan Olsdal! [Stefan Olsdal: If there&#39;s a queen, the queen needs a king... well actually, another queen will do. This is my Drama Queen - Miss Brian Molko, the one and only.]

Quotes

Brian Molko

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