Starting off as a janglesome Scottish indie group, Del Amitri had developed into a west-coast influenced leftfield pop act, and now with the wind of success in their hair (after the protracted build of Waking Hours), the group – Justin Currie, Iain Harvie, David Cummings, Andy Alston and Brian McDermott – paired up with producer …
Originally issued on Science/Virgin in September 1997, Modus Operandi established Photek (aka Rupert Parkes) as an unmistakable force within the realm of drum and bass and downtempo. Born in Suffolk, Parkes, learnt saxophone as a child, but by the early 90s, he like many others, got into electronic music, and by the middle of the …
Cocteau Twins – vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, guitarist Robin Guthrie, and bassist Simon Raymonde – formed in Grangemouth, Scotland in the late 70s. The brainchild of Guthrie and original bassist Will Heggie, by 1981 they had added Fraser and the following year signed to 4AD, one of the most illustrious of the indie labels. With Raymonde …
Cast were formed in 1992 and were something of a scouse supergroup, with leader, guitarist John Power previously bassist in The La’s and bassist Peter Wilkinson coming from Shack. Originally a loose conglomerate with various members, Power added guitarist Liam ‘Skin’ Tyson and drummer Keith O’ Neill, and by 1994 Cast were signed to Polydor. …
For those who still believe prog is a four-letter word, Caravan remain a mystery – More fool them, for they are missing out on some of the sweetest and most tuneful melodies in 70s rock, whether it be the jazz-inflected vaudeville of the title track of If I Could Do It All Over Again, I’d …
Ocean Drive the multi-platinum selling debut album from the much-loved Lighthouse Family is released for the first time ever on vinyl for National Album Day 2023 – Originally released on Wildcard/Polydor Records in September 1995, the album reached No 3 in the UK charts, and spawned four Top 20 singles. Lighthouse Family formed in Newcastle …
Originally released on Polydor Records in August 1981, Level 42’s self-titled debut album remains a very special and discrete record and has gone on to achieve a cult status separate from the rest of their catalogue. Formed at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama by way of Paris and the Isle Of Wight, Level …
The House Of Love – guitarist and vocalist Guy Chadwick, lead guitarist Terry Bickers, bassist Chris Groothuizen and drummer Pete Evans – formed in London in 1986 – Chadwick had been around the music industry for several years, but was energised seeing The Jesus And Mary Chain, inspiring him to form the band – Signing …
Formed in Manchester in 2007 after Jonathan Higgs and Jeremy Pritchard met at Salford University; they were joined by Higgs’s Northumberland school friends Michael Spearman and Alex Niven – High concept coursed through Everything Everything from the off: they unwittingly named themselves after a Radiohead song (in the manner that that band named themselves after …
Formed in Great Yarmouth in 1990, Catherine Wheel – singer guitarist Rob Dickinson, guitarist Brian Futter, bassist Dave Hawes and drummer Neil Sims – are possibly one of the greatest lost bands of that fabled decade – Swimming against several tides, they were loosely defined as ‘shoegaze’, and failed to fit in with the grunge …
