The Replacements (also known as The 'Mats or The Mats, from the insult of a detractor who joked the band's name was 'The Placemats', which the band then adopted) were an alternative rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. They began as a punk rock outfit, along with other hometown heroes Hüsker Dü, but they gradually shifted to a more mainstream, blues-influenced rock style. Loud and exuberant, the band featured guitarist and vocalist Paul Westerberg, guitarist Bob Stinson, bassist Tommy Stinson, and drummer Chris Mars. Bassist Tommy Stinson was just 12 years old when the group first formed.

The band drew most of their limited popularity from teenagers and people in their early twenties, as a huge bulk of their songs pertained to teenaged angst and desired independence, especially in their earlier days. Songs such as "Kids Don't Follow" and "Bastards of Young" showed the band's desire to almost remain as free-spirited children. The band showed up drunk to many of their live performances in which they just did drunken covers of songs.

The Replacements would release seven albums and one EP in the nine years from 1981 to 1990 before they broke up in 1991 and would tour with such people and bands as R.E.M. and Tom Petty. All the members of The Replacements would go on to various levels of success as solo artists after the dissolution of the band.

~ Courtesy of Wikipedia.org