News Update
April News Update
“Bristol’s famous for many things like Chatterton the poet, Cary Grant and now the Archive can be added to fellow locals ‘Blackbeards the Pirates chest’, as a true treasure trove of wonders”.
Bristol Boys make more noise…..
Mark Stewart (THE POP GROUP)
NEW RELEASES:
CLAYTOWN TROUPE ARC144 ‘PATIENCE EP’
Rare First Demo!!
CLAYTOWN TROUPE – Back in the late 80′s this lot were the only real alternative to The Cult. More anthemic and more authentic than Astbury & Co’s rawk; Moving a few hundred thousand units internationally over their short period in the limelight, they even broke the UK top 40 before disappearing.
Formed in Bristol in 1984 by lead singer Christian Riou (who claimed in a 2004 interview that a famous local clairvoyant advised him to form a band called the Clayton Troop!)
Claytown Troupe was an Alt-Rock act touted as a cross between The Cult’s fake rock and the authentic crusty rock of Pop Will Eat Itself and Crazyhead.
In truth there was more to them than that and they suffered much in coming from England at a time of ‘Crusty’; a time when high expectations in Rock, and Rock itself, were generally frowned upon.
By 1986 they had an accomplished yet chaotic live show which earned them an exciting reputation on the underground scene.
They signed to Island Records in 1988 without management, Christian & Rick then assigned Steve Abbott, (known as Abbo, who had been the singer in seminal punk act UK Decay) who was introduced to them by The Bolshoi manager Pete McCarthy.
METROPOLIS DC ARC143 ‘DEMOS’
Well, we became Metropolis D.C. because there was an earlier band called Metropolis, and being a well known conceptual thinker, I thought the idea of a fresh start seemed attractive.
NAUTICAL WILLIAM ARC141 ‘LOVE HOUSE EP’
Nautical William were formed around the song writing partnership of myself, Damian Dingley and good friend Jim Cemlyn-Jones in the Victorian coastal town of Clevedon, North Somerset, back in 1987. Influences centered on melodic guitar pop from bands like The Beatles, Crowded House, XTC and Lloyd Cole. In the early days we found ourselves developing our song writing skills around two acoustic guitars and a drum machine. Early recording sessions comprised a Tascam 4-track Portastudio and a lot of overdubbing. A band of sorts was cobbled together adding real drums, keyboards, flute and cornet primarily to record a decent demo at Foxhole recording studios in Hanham, Bristol with Martin Hyler. An interesting session where the fast forward control on the 16 track machine wouldn’t work! Two songs were recorded, “This Sinking Feeling” and “Sea of Sighs”. Looking back I think the ocean/water theme in the song titles was coincidental but I should check with Jim…
TEMPLE ARC137 ‘SEDUCTION’
The Temple Album was recorded between Jan 1986 and May 1987
I met Mathew Butler in Weston Super Mare where I was forced to live for six years due to a parental decision. Weston can be found at the end of the M4 and many say it’s the end of the world, closed all winter and full of tourists all summer. He caught my eye one day, walking in the high street with his friend Sean and god knows why they chose to visit Weston, I suppose even Goths like the sea side. I approached them and introduced my self as a musician looking for a vocalist and Matt said he was up for singing if I could form a band. So without even knowing if he could even sing, I agreed.
THE A.T’s ARC139 ‘INTO THE A.T’s’
Stig and Russ started playing music together when they were at school from the age of 13 years old. Both Talented guitarists and played in several bands before going on to form ‘The Heat’ in 1977. They soon discovered an American band of the same name so they were forced into changing the band name to the ‘AT’s’ in 1978.
THE ROYAL ASSASSINS ARC142 ‘DEMOS’
Blending rock and funk rhythms, with textured lead guitars, rumbling, hypnotic basslines, synthesisers, odd percussion noises, and early use of ‘found sounds’ pre-cursing the trend for sampling to come later, this was to be Bristol’s answer to a combination of Talking Heads, Killing Joke and the Doors.
THE SPICS ARC145 ‘DEMOS’
Then in 1976 I saw the Cortinas, Dr. Feelgood and the Damned. I might just be able to do that. Saturdays were spent trawling the racks at Disc & Tape on the Gloucester Rd. Stax and Motown gems 5p a go discovering the Phil Spector girl groups and digging out those New York Dolls albums that didn’t sound so weird anymore. A guest appearance at The Stonehouse led to John Britton asking me ‘Do you wanna be in our gang? ‘and over the next few weeks, the Spics came together, everyone who wanted to sing was in, thank you Phoebe, Charlotte and Heidi, and we slimmed down from 11 to a then huge 9 piece band
THE X-CERTS ARC138 ‘RATED XXX’
With a shared passion for music The X-Certs were inspired by the punk explosion and (in a rather unpunk fashion) spent evenings rehearsing in the crypt of St. Luke’s Church, Barton Hill, putting together a set of original and cover material. Publicity was free and home made, Lawrence Hill underpass providing one public wall for the spray painted slogan:
The X-Certs, a new band is coming – you have been warned!
THE PHOTO GALLERY:
Amazing portfolios of pictures added from John Spink, Tim Williams and Simon Edwards.
FANZINES:
New cuttings added from Out West and Venue
BANDS 1982 ONWARDS:
We’ve added information on the following amazing bands:
GOD BLESS YOU
FRESH FOUR
ME
HERB GARDEN
THE MOONFLOWERS
PRAISE SPACE ELECTRIC
MONK AND CANATELLA
THE PEOPLES SECTION
We’ve added information on the following personalities:
JIMMY GALVIN
JOHN STAPLETON
JERRY UNDERWOOD
SIMON EDWARDS
ARCHIVE RECORD LABELS
Full discography has been added on Circus Records
Full discography has also been added for Fried Egg Records
LOADS OF NEW PICTURES ADDED AND MP3’s
NEXT MONTH new releases:
Us and Them – EP
The Delegates
Subject Technica (I Must Be Firm Like a Green Banana)
Pregnant
Secrets
The Sidneys
Pregnant Go Poofing In Venus
Pregnant
I Go Wild
The Wishing Storm
3 Songs
Wendy Partridge
NEW CD RELEASES:
THE BEST OF FRIED EGG RECORDS – OUT NOW!
BRISTOL THE PUNK EXPLOSION – OUT JUNE 14TH
NEW VINYL RELEASES:
THE CORTINAS ‘MK 1’ – RELEASED JUNE 21ST
ALL THE ABOVE AVAILABLE ON LINE FROM ALL GOOD RETAIL SITES OR FROM YOUR LOCAL RECORD SHOPS
OVER AND OUT
