Editing Slowdive (section)

===1991–1992: ''Just for a Day''===
By mid-1991, Slowdive had been tagged a "shoegazing" band and part of "[[Shoegaze#The Scene That Celebrates Itself|the scene that celebrates itself]]" by the British media.<ref name = "BUCKLEY_ROCK"/> The term shoegazer was applied to bands that followed [[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine's]] example of abrasive guitars and ethereal vocals,<ref name = "ALLMUSIC_SHOEGAZE">{{cite web | url = {{AllMusic|class=explore|id=style/d2680|pure_url=yes}} | title = Shoegaze | author = | website = [[AllMusic]] | access-date = 2009-08-22}}</ref> while "the scene" represented these like-minded groups and their social behaviour; shoegazers typically mingled at each other's gigs.<ref name = "ALLMUSIC_BIO">{{cite web | url = {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p14294|pure_url=yes}} | title = Slowdive biography | author = Kellman, Andy | website = [[AllMusic]] | access-date = 2009-08-22}}</ref> Slowdive toured with other shoegazing bands through summer 1991. The British music press became increasingly derisive of shoegazing as the [[Britpop]] and [[grunge]] movements came underway.<ref name = "ALLMUSIC_BIO"/><ref name = "BUCKLEY_ROCK"/>

Production on Slowdive's debut commenced shortly after Halstead convinced [[Alan McGee]], head of Creation Records, that the band had enough songs written for a full-length album, which was not actually true. The group hurriedly wrote songs in the studio. Experimentation with sounds and [[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] occurred during the process. Halstead drew lyrical inspiration from the abstract nature of the music. He recounted, "[We] went into a studio for six weeks and had no songs at the start and at the end we had an album".<ref name = "WATSON_4A"/>

Their debut, ''[[Just for a Day]]'', was released in September 1991 and placed in the top 10 on the UK Indie Chart.<ref name = "ALLMUSIC_BIO"/> ''NME'' gave the record a positive review,<ref name = "WATSON_6A"/> but most of the press generally disliked the album as a backlash against shoegazing began.<ref name = "ALLMUSIC_BIO"/> As writer Peter Buckley put it, the album was "dismissed as dreary and lacking in ideas".<ref name = "BUCKLEY_ROCK"/> ''Melody Maker'' writer Paul Lester railed against the debut, calling it a "major fucking letdown".<ref name = "WATSON_6A">Watson (2005a), p. 6</ref> This backlash worsened when critics reevaluated shoegazing after the release of My Bloody Valentine's ''[[Loveless (album)|Loveless]]'' in November 1991.<ref name = "BUCKLEY_ROCK"/>

A tour of the United Kingdom followed in autumn 1991. Afterward, the group made their first visit to the United States and toured with [[alternative rock]] band [[Blur (band)|Blur]]. A tour of Europe followed in February 1992.<ref name = "WATSON_2B">Watson (2005b), p.2</ref> Slowdive's US label [[SBK Records]] planned to release ''Just for a Day'' at the beginning of the year, but not before initiating a [[viral marketing]] campaign. The band's name was stenciled outside [[MTV]] and radio stations in [[New York City|New York]]. Fans stencilled their heads when Slowdive played in [[Manhattan]]. The campaign caused some controversy when a statue celebrating the end of slavery was unveiled and had the word "Slowdive" stencilled on it. SBK eventually pushed the release date back three months, which hurt the viral campaign.<ref name = "WATSON_4B">Watson (2005b), p. 4</ref>