IN PHOTOS: The ups and downs of Eraserheads
In the Philippine music scene, Eraserheads is often ranked as one of the most successful and most influential bands, paving the way for the second band invasion in the Philippines.
Offen dubbed as "The Beatles of the Philippines," Filipino music fans have experienced a localized version of the Beatlemania called Eraserheadsmania.
In 2002, the lead singer of the band, Ely Buendia, announced his departure from the band after many speculations.
Twenty years later, Ely's made quite a revelation as to why he really left.
In a podcast, Ely explained that the band members were never friends and that the song "Minsan" is not about them.
He said, “I was kind of sick of fans saying 'you're friends, you shouldn't have [broken] up.' They made us feel bad and I was sick of that.”
"That's why we broke up. I mean we weren't Itchyworms, we weren't Parokya ni Edgar."
Despite having multiple awards and sold-out international concerts, Eraserheads had their fair share of ups and downs.
From their critically-acclaimed studio albums to the reason why they broke up, take a look back at the history of Eraserheads.
1989
Then-University of the Philippines-Diliman students Ely Buendia, Buddy Zabala, Marcus Adoro, and Raimund Marasigan formed the band 'Eraserheads,' taking inspiration from the film Eraserhead by David Lynch.
1992
BMG Records (Pilipinas) A&R director Vic Valenciano gave the songs of Eraserheads a chance by signing the band for a three-year record deal.
1993
The debut album of Eraserheads, 'ultraelectromagneticpop!,' was released. BMG Records initially sold 5,000 copies of the album but by the end of the year, it has sold 300,000 copies, and the album turned sextuple platinum.
ultraelectromagneticpop!
Three songs in 'ultraelectromagneticpop!' became a smash hit, "Ligaya," "Pare Ko," and "Toyang." Some historians noted that the debut album of Eraserheads paved the way for the second wave of band invasion. It was also during this time that the Eraserheadsmania was born.
PARI
Because of the profane language of the song "Pare Ko," the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) unsuccessfully attempted to censor the song.
1994
A year later, Eraserheads released their sophomore album, 'Circus,' with hit singles "Kailan," "Magasin," "Alapaap," and "With a Smile." The album sold over 200,000 copies.
Circus
Same as their debut album, 'Circus' also received some criticism, especially from Senator Tito Sotto. Senator Tito alleged that the lyric of the song "Alapaap" promoted drug abuse. Eraserheads denied the allegations and that the song was the band's "ode to freedom" and not an "ode to drug abuse."
1995
Eraserheads released their third album, 'Cutterpillow,' was released in December 1995. The album was certified by PARI as 11x Platinum. The singles from the song include "Huwag Mo Nang Itanong," "Overdrive," and "Ang Huling El Bimbo."
Run Barbi Run
Eraserheads made their debut on the big screen in Joey de Leon's film, 'Run Barbi Run.'
1997
Eraserheads went international as they performed their first-ever overseas gig at BMG Records' "Sentosa Pop Festival" in Singapore. Afterward, they had a mini U.S. tour, playing at the Palace in Hollywood.
New York City's Radio City Music Hall
In September 1997, Eraserheads went to Radio City Music Hall to receive the "Moon Man" trophy for winning the 1997 MTV Asia Viewer's Choice Award. Eraserheads is the first-ever Filipino artist to win the award.
1998
Eraserheads represented the Philippines at the annual "Asia Live Dream '98" for NHK Broadcasting in Tokyo, Japan. After this, they embarked on another US Tour from Los Angeles, California to New York City, New York.
1999
Eraserheads continued their presence in international markets by having sold-out shows in Hong Kong, Sydney, and Dubai.
Ely Buendia
Despite the group's international success, Eraserheads' main songwriter and lead singer, Ely Buendia, left the band in March 2002 for unknown reasons. Later on, Ely revealed that he left the band because of business matters. Ely expressed his decision to leave to his bandmates through SMS.
Eheads
Since Ely left the band, the three remaining members of the band, Buddy Zabala, Marcus Adoro, and Raimund Marasigan, decided to continue. The new band debuted at Hard Rock Café in Makati with a female singer-guitarist, Kris Gorra-Dancel, from the band Fatal Posporos.
Cambio
A few months later, Marcus left Eheads to pursue his own musical project, Markus Highway. Buddy, Raimund, and Kris formed the band Cambio with Ebe Dancel from Sugarfree and Diego Mapa from Monsterbot.
2007
After four years, Buddy, Marcus, and Raimund had a mini-reunion on the launch of the book Tikman ang Langit: An Anthology on the Eraserheads. Ely was not in attendance because he had a scheduled meeting with his surgeon.
August 2008 concert
Despite having setbacks, the reunion concert of Eraserheads on August 30, 2008, at The Fort Open Field in Taguig pushed through. Unfortunately, the concert was cut short as Ely was rushed to the Makati Medical Hospital after experiencing chest pains.
March 2009 concert
Eraserheads pushed their second reunion concert dubbed as The Final Set on March 7, 2009, at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds, Pasay. The concert still pushed through despite the death of their guest performer, Francis Magalona, the day before the concert.
2012
From 2012 to 2014, Eraserheads held reunion concerts in the United States, Canada, Dubai, Singapore, and London.
1995 and Sabado
In September 2014, Eraserheads released two new songs, "1995" and "Sabado," with their cover in Esquire Philippines.
Ely Buendia
Since the release of "1995" and "Sabado," some fans call for another reunion concert of Eraserheads. In response, Ely tweeted in January 2018, "Some people will never understand that people who don't get along don't work together."
Spoliarium
In March 2021, Ely explained the meaning of the song "Spoliarium." Rumors have it that the song was an illusion to the rape of Pepsi Paloma. Later on, Ely cleared and explained the lyrics of the song, "Spoliarium is one of those cases where really the myth has sort of taken over the facts and I kinda like it."
