Due to their penchant for androgynous clothing as well as their raw, punk guitar riffs, Placebo has been described as a glamorous version of Nirvana.
The multinational band was formed by singer-guitarist Brian Molko (of partial Scottish and American descent, but raised in England) and Swedish bassist Stefan Olsdal.
The beginning of Placebo's musical career
Both participants had previously attended the same school in Luxembourg, but they did not properly cross paths until 1994 in London, England.
The song with the capacious name Ashtray Heart, recorded under the influence of such bands as: Sonic Youth, Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins and the aforementioned Nirvana group, became their "breakthrough".
After Molko and Olsdal, percussionist and drummer Robert Schultzberg and Steve Hewitt (the latter is the only representative of the group of English origin) joined the band.
Although Molko and Olsdal preferred Hewitt as the primary percussionist (it was this line-up that recorded some of the early demos), Hewitt decided to return to his other band, Breed.
With Schultzberg instead, Placebo signed a recording deal with Caroline Records and released their self-titled debut album in 1996. The album became a surprise hit in the UK, where the singles Nancy Boy and Teenage Angst entered the top 40 chart.
In the meantime, the band members themselves became regulars on British music weeklies, which supported their debut, placing them alongside the likes of the Sex Pistols, U2 and Weezer.
Despite the group's early success, Schultzberg never met the other members of the band, who by this point were able to convince Hewitt to rejoin the line-up, prompting Schultzberg's departure from the band in September 1996.
First success
Hewitt's first gig with Placebo turned out to be a huge one, as David Bowie, a fan of the band who himself influenced the band's sound, personally invited the trio to play at his 50th anniversary concert at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1997.
The following year, Placebo moved to another Caroline label, Virgin Records, and released Without You I'm Nothing in November. The album was another major "breakthrough" in England, although it initially became popular in the US, where MTV featured the album's first single, Pure Morning.
Subsequent singles failed to match the success of this first song, but Without You I'm Nothing remained popular in England, where it eventually achieved platinum status.
Around the same time, the band recorded a cover of T. Rex's 20th Century Boy for the film Velvet Goldmine, in which she also appeared.
Placebo and David Bowie
The relationship between the Placebo group and Bowie developed. Bowie shared the stage with the band while touring New York, and the two sides teamed up for a re-recording of the title track Without You I'm Nothing, which was released as a single in 1999.
The band's third release, Black Market Music, featured elements of hip hop and disco combined with an intense rock sound.
The album was released in Europe in 2000, and a remastered US version was released a few months later, with a track listing that included several extras, including the aforementioned Bowie version Without You I'm Nothing and a Depeche Mode cover I Feel You.
In the spring of 2003, Placebo showed a harder sound with the release of their fourth album, Sleeping with Ghosts. The album reached the top ten in the UK and sold 1,4 million copies worldwide.
This was followed by an Australian tour with Elbow and UK
A collection of singles Once More with Feeling: Singles 1996-2004 was released in the winter of 2004. The 19-song compilation included the biggest hits in the UK and the new track Twenty Years.
Frenchman Dimitri Tikovoi (Goldfrapp, The Cranes), who worked on this album, also signed a contract to produce Placebo Meds' fifth album from 2006.
Hewitt left the Placebo band in the fall of 2007 and the band parted ways with their permanent record label EMI/Virgin a year later.
With new drummer Steve Forrest, the band recorded the album Battle for the Sun and released it in the summer of 2009.
On the same day, the band's work was released for EMI, The Hut Recordings.
Big tour
An extensive tour began in support of the album. For fans who weren't able to see the show, Placebo also released a live EP, Live at La Cigale, with songs taken from their 2006 Paris show.
The band's latest studio work is 2013's Loud Like Love. Two years after the release, drummer Steve Forrest left the band, explaining his departure as a desire to realize his solo project.
