Disc

The Montgomery Clifts



Deadwood Chronicles ARC375

Deadwood Chronicles

  1. Next World
  2. Lovesville USA
  3. Her Summers
  4. The Fountain
  5. Jessica Daydream
  6. Judas Introduce Yourself
  7. Spine
  8. Lakeside (1970)
  9. Tumbleweed Girl
  10. Swansong

 

Band Biography

The Montgomery Clifts (Andy Bevan, vocals/rhythm guitar; Jeremy Purches, lead guitar; Myles “Bill” Crampton, bass; and David J. Burbidge, drums) formed in 1986, making their debut at The Thekla in June of that year.

Garnering a strong live reputation, local press attention and major label interest, they recruited multi-instrumentalist Bill Bell (ex-Blue Aeroplanes) as a full-time member in 1989. They were signed by Sheffield independent label Native, appearing on the “Guitars+Drums” compilation, before releasing the above album in November 1990.

Recorded in Fulham with Creation in-house producer Ian Shaw, and with additional keyboards from Richard Bell (also ex-Blue Aeroplanes), backing vocals by Karin Taylor, and cover art and photography by Bristol artist Celia Witchard, it received glowing reviews in NME and Melody Maker, and airplay on BBC and Capital Radio.

They played their last gig at The Mauretania in October 1992.


The Montgomery Clifts



Neath, March 1988


We play on an ‘Indie Night’ in what appears to be a working men’s club in the rustbelt of Port Talbot. Things get off to a shaky start when the singer’s ill-considered salutation of: “Hello, Surf City…” is met with a gruff: “Less of that, boyo!”– and go rapidly downhill after that. Halfway through the set, passive-aggression descends into open hostility, as a drunken voice urges us to: “Play some U2!”. Naturally, we’d sooner die and so launch into a version of “Last Train to Clarksville” instead. At which point a fight breaks out between two disgruntled punters who go windmilling across the empty ‘dancefloor’ in a cartoon dust cloud of flailing limbs, Beano comic “oofs”, and a pair of Bono glasses. We finish the song, take the danger money, and run.



In memoriam Jeremy and Bill Bell


The Montgomery Clifts Jeremy Purches, 1957 - 2017

The Montgomery Clifts Bill Bell, 1963 - 2019

 


Other members and miscellanea


The Montgomery Clifts Myles “Bill” Crampton

The Montgomery Clifts Dave Burbidge

 

The Montgomery Clifts Andy Bevan

The Montgomery Clifts Blue Aeroplances support slot, 1988

 

The Montgomery Clifts Album flyer

The Montgomery Clifts Rock Garden, April 1991

 

The Montgomery Clifts

Local radio chart of the year



Album reviews


The Montgomery Clifts

Venue Magazine, Nov 1990

The Montgomery Clifts

NME, Jan 1991

The Montgomery Clifts

Gary Crowley, Melody Maker, Jan 1991


The Montgomery Clifts

The Montys at the Tropic Club (reprinted kind permission Paul Bevan © 1989)


The Montgomery Clifts

The Montys at the Fleece and Firkin (reprinted kind permission Chris Rydlewski © 1991)



Venue magazine article and live reviews


The Montgomery Clifts

The Montgomery Clifts

The Montgomery Clifts

 


Cloudberry Records blog

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