The Wonder Stuff

In the mid eighties an alternative rock band emerged from the black country to storm the charts and make the indie scene a sought after alternative.

The band consisted of Miles Hunt, Malcolm Treece, Rob Jones and Martin Gilks. The band spawned from another band Pop will eat itself. The band formed in 1986 and then self financed there first release and EP called 'A wonderful day'.

This provoked much interest in the music offices and eventually the band signed to Polydor Records.

After the signing of the contracts the band released a number of singles with 'Unbearable', 'give give give me more more more', 'A wish away' and 'It's yer money i'm after' which was there first top 40 hit in the UK singles chart.

This led to 1988 album release 'the eight legged groove machine' which debuted very well in the UK and reached number 18 in the UK album charts. There live music was gaining more interest and were on the road playing at Glastonbury and Reading festivals and also touring Europe and the USA. In between all that they found time to release 'who wants to be the disco king'.

In 1989 saw another successful year for the band when 'Don't let me down gently' broke into the top 20 UK single charts and this was followed by the album Hup which went top 5 in the UK album charts.

Personnel changes did occur where Rob Jones left the band to move to the USA and was replaced by Paul Clifford and also Martin Bell joined the band where his influence of Violin and Banjo were prevalent on some of there songs such as Golden Green and Unfaithful.

It wasn't until the early 1990s that the band really became household names They released the critically acclaimed album Never Loved Elvis which went top 3 in the UK album charts but it was the release of the single 'Size of a cow' reached number 5 in the UK single charts and was backed up by 'Caught in my shadow' which went top 20.

They then covered a Tommy Roe cover 'Dizzy' with comedian Vic Reeves and the song went to the top of the charts and this lifted the band profile hugely and the follow up 'welcome to the cheap seats' went top 10 in the single charts.

But like all good things sometimes they come to an end and the band eventually went there separate ways in 1994 after playing the Phoenix festival near Stratford upon Avon. During the 1980s the band released 2 studio albums and released 9 singles enjoying 5 top 40 successes.

Simple Minds Waterfront 30 years on..

30 years ago this month Simple Minds released one of there best known Anthems Waterfront. The release of the song saw a shift away from the Electronic new wave sound and a leaning towards a more rock sound which ultimately lead to the stadium sound they became famous for.

The song became famous for it's repetitive bass line introduction coupled with the drumming of Mel Gaynor which gave Simple Minds a more rock feeling an suited the stadium arenas they were about to embark on.

The song was released as the first single of the album 'Sparkle in the Rain' which hit the top of the album charts in 1983.

The song was released on Virgin records and the song was written by Simple Minds and was produced by Steve Lillywhite whose earlier work was with Ultravox, U2, The Pogues, XTC, Siouxie and the Banshees, Peter Gabriel amongst others, he was also married to Kirsty MacColl.

The B side featured the classic song from the NEW GOLD DREAM album 'Hunter and the Hunted'.

The song peaked at number 13 in the UK singles chart and the song also featured on the first Now That's what I call music album although the version on the album was slightly different without the bass introduction. 30 years the band are doing there celebration tour and the song still features heavily on there set.

Sisters of Mercy Floodland

26 years ago this week saw the commercial breakthrough for Goth Rockers Sisters of Mercy with the atmospheric album Floodland.

The band had split two years earlier When Hussey and Adams left the band to Form The Mission.

Andrew Eldritch was intending to record solo but teamed up with Bassist Patricia Morrison. Andrew wrote all the songs for the album and then enlisted the help of legendary producer Jim Steinmann to finish of the album.

They released a single as a prelude to the release of the album and the success of 'this Corrosion' was a huge success in the UK reaching number 7 in the singles charts. This prompted much interest in the band and the release of the album was much anticipated.

In November 1987 saw the release of the album and again the album reached top 10 in the UK and was well received by the critics with the album selling over 100,000 copies on release alone. In America the album was released but only reached the top 100.

They then released 'Dominion' as the next single of the album and with a slight remix the single hit the top 20 in the UK and was a top 30 hit in the USA. The next single release was 'Lucretia my reflection' and again this did fare will in the charts and again was a top 20 hit in the UK.

The album was a throw away from the earlier goth guitar and bass sound and the emphasis on sequencers and drum machines. It did work and gave that atmospheric dark wave sound that few tried to copy around the time of Sisters of Mercy.

The tracks on the album are:-
Dominion
Flood I
Lucretia my Reflection
1959
This Corrosion
Flood II
Driven like the snow
Neverland (a Fragment)

The album was released by Merciful Release records and the album peaked at number 9 in the UK album charts.

The longest running no1 single in the UK

That distinction goes to Frankie Goes to Hollywood with there 1984 dance floor war song Two Tribes.

The song released on ZTT records went to number one for 9 weeks and there previous number one 'relax' enjoyed a upturn and went to number two whilst still occupying the top spot.

The song was famous for it's booming Bass sound and excerpts from the public information film 'Protect and Survive'. The song was originally recorded in 1982 for the John Peel sessions but was updated with the percussion sound at the height of the Cold War between America and Soviet Union.

The song was written by Peter Gill, Holly Johnson and Mark O'Toole and was produced by Trevor Horn. The song was backed by a cover of Edwin Starr 'War' and a Paul Morley interview over a instrumental named 'One February Friday'.

1984 saw Frankie number one for 15 weeks with 3 songs and enjoyed a record of 3 number ones with there first three releases. Only Gerry and the Pacemakers had did that in the 1960s. Godley and Crème directed the video of the Cold War Leaders Reagan and Chernenko wrestling in a ring and ultimately leading to the Universe blowing up. It was no hype that was the fear to the rest of the world what could have happened.