Portishead poster - Dummy. Original. 28" X 19"

Original Portishead poster for Dummy

Dummy was Portishead's first album released in 1994. Portishead was a duo of Geoff Barrow and Beth Gibbons. Adrian Utley, who co-produced the album with them (and who played on nine of the tracks and co-wrote eight), became an official band member shortly after its release.

The album is often considered one of the greatest trip hop albums to date and is a milestone in the definition of the genre and despite the band's aversion to press coverage, the album was successful in both Europe and the US (where it sold more than 150,000 copies even before the band toured there). Dummy was described by Melody Maker as "musique noire for a movie not yet made".

Dummy spawned three singles: "Numb", "Sour Times" and "Glory Box", and won the Mercury Music Prize in 1995. The success of the album saw the band nominated for Best British Newcomer at the 1995 Brit Awards.