Ever fallen in love...
...with a band that just bombed. I have a track record, in this field ,occasionally egd'd on by the Hepworth and the Ellen during the Whistle Test days.
First exhibit; The Mystery Girls; South London Glam Trio.Great fun ..bought the records( 2 on A&M and the later rocky indie style) saw them in a number of dives , including, The Greyhound, The Claredon and the Tunnel Club!! Told numerous friends about the next BIG thing.. and ZIP!
Second Exhibit: Scarlet Party: Pre Oasis( pefab Fourers) "101 Damnations" was a great single! Yes Great! I went to THE gig at the Marquee..second single previewed..album previewed..and watch them dissapear down the toilet. I LIKE THEM.
Third Exhibit: Red House Painters: Moody, some may say dreary, guitar,Echo heavy ,lank haired singer.Beautiful Songs. First two albums..oh i upset friends and girlfriend with those.
Im sure there are more examples,but i won't bore you( although my favourite Vic Goodard Album is his Lounge Jazz One). These are not guilty Pleasures( Hate that idea) I liked them then and i like them now,but sometimes I doubt my abilty to pick a winner!
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Too good to be forgotten
I once bought a double vinyl benefit album with one LP devoted to stand up comedy and one to music. There was Peter Gabriel & Tom Robinson, a soul version of "A Change is Gonna Come" and a heavy dub version of a song called "Greenham Time" by an all girl band calledd Amazulu. I thought they'd be great. And then...
They appeared on The Young Ones
I think it was the second series.
Sounded pretty poor to me.
The Farmer's Boys.
I liked them. So did EMI. No one else did though.
World Party
Loved them but they barely tickled the top 40 in the UK.
Funnily enough they were huge here in South Africa which was ironic considering Karl Wallingers 'radical' views at the time
Any Trouble
One of Stiffs new Elvis', Clive Gregsons pubrock with barbs was just too literate, I always thought, to quite break thru'. I caught them on the last night of the Nashville Rooms, and was smitten, even going to Judie Tzuke gigs to catch them as support band, then leaving. He then morphed into a Richard Thompson sidesman and singing partner of Christine Collister for an agreeable 4 album ride, before slowly drifting further and further into worthy obscurity. And, frankly, a little dull. Any Trouble reformed last year, for a tour and CD, but I didn't have the heart. It just didn't seem to be the same..... But for few years in the 80s, he and they were my band
Yep...did them as
Yep...did them as well...Front cover of the Meldoy Maker, saw them at the Marquee( suported by the Stiffs), I think i also saw Gregsons first(ish) solo gig which was at the George Robey in Finsbury Park. I didnt buy the bait of the new CD, but the Stiff years Comp..is stirring stuff.
Those crushes include:
Rip, Rig and Panic
Frazier Chorus
Set The Tone
The Mood
The Shillelagh Sisters
Did I dream this band up?
I have always had a knack for liking obscure records. I have a single in the attic by this band that is rather good. So who were Tandoori Cassette? Not a clue until I googled them and was surprised to see their line-up.
Barriesmore Barlow on drums - after leaving Tull in 1980, he formed the short-lived "Tandoori Cassette" with Zal Cleminson, Charlie Tumahai, and Ronnie Leahy. Over the years, Barrie has played with Robert Plant, George Harrison, and Jimmy Page.
Crikey. An obscure supergroup. Anymore?
How about Balls, Toby, Box Of Frogs. You google them, I'm busy.
Hurrah...for hurrah
On Kitchenware, even better than Prefab Sprout, some fantastic early ep's....then a couple of years in major label development hell, clearly encouraged to 'go a bit U2', second album released to profound indifference. But those early ep's are excellent
Hundreds more I'm sure.
Hurrah...for hurrah
On Kitchenware, even better than Prefab Sprout, some fantastic early ep's....then a couple of years in major label development hell, clearly encouraged to 'go a bit U2', second album released to profound indifference. But those early ep's are excellent
Hundreds more I'm sure.
I was a Mid 80s Mod
...and I'm not sure you get more obscure than the bands we were listening to. Funnily enough though several people from that scene went on to be directly responsible for: Creation Records, The Charlatans and Acid Jazz.
Maybe it should have stayed obscure.
It’s A Mod, Mod World
Making Time? The Times? The Prisoners? Direct Hits?
I used to love Squire. And still do, despite the fact they were a bit rubbish and silly really.
I remember
in days of yore, Roaring Boys and Spelt Like This. I don't actually recall the tunes though, just the campaigns. I thought The Lover Speaks were going to be colossally popular, Kinky Machine weed on most of the pre-Britpop mulch, Das Psycho Rangers were possibly amazing, but it was brainwashing on behalf of ZTT. As was Nasty Rox Inc and any number of high-concept bands that mixed rock and hip hop, had a stylist with a mate at Boy and were fast-tracked into The Face. How's about Fierce Girl? I thought they were going to dismantle the very fabric of time itself with their music. Gay Dad had three tunes that weren't terrible. Earl Brutus? They're in the process of becoming a valuable art thing now. Whirlpool. My Jealous God. The Ocean Blue. The High. Ah, the shrapnel of the past.
Hothouse Flowers...
Bono approved 'Oirish' rock band from the late 80's. I think it was Parlophone that wrote that particular cheque. I loved them though!
See also the Radio 1 FAB FM, Mike Smith approved, An Emotional Fish, whose endorsement pretty much killed their career
Where are they now?
The bloke out of Hurrah is still treading the boards (live this friday, pop kids! http://www.kelvedoninstitute.co.uk/ ) and that pair out of Scarlet Party are now a duo called Words and Music by Lennon and McCartney - they do pretty much what they say on the tin. Last year they played Sergeant Pepper in it's entirety at Ipswich Music Day (and were awful). I understand they re-recorded 101 Damnations a couple of years ago with one Phil Collins on drums. Christ knows why.
Anyone else enjoy The Higsons? Lord knows what that lead singer got up to, but if he's done anything it'd probably be worth a mention on the "What happened to people who left bands?" thread.
Also sadly missed, Immaculate Fools and Latin Quarter. What is it about A&M...?.