The Lads – Some Demos (1987-1988)

‘The split of FGTH and the legal episodes aside marked the beginning of solo careers of both Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford. Holly teamed up with producers Steve Lovell (who once played the guitar in the pre-FGTH Hollycaust), Stephen Hague and the late Dan Hartman and went on to release several singles which included the massive hits, Love Train & Americanos. Holly also went onto to release four solo albums (Blast, 1989; Hollelujah, remix compilation album, 1990; Dreams That Money Can't Buy, 1991; and Soulstream, 1999). Paul Rutherford released three relatively unsuccessful ABC produced singles, none of which were hits although Get Real, his first release was a club hit abroad, the album Oh World (1989) followed.

‘The lads, O'Toole, Nash, and Gill, were determined to go on after Liverpool as Frankie Goes To Hollywood with a new singer. They continued to use the name and aired an ad on Music Box in 1987 asking for interested singers to apply for the job. The ad featured some demo take-outs which sounded like the Liverpool-Frankie. The Lads set up offices in Kensington and also advertised in the music press for a new singer. During a period of two years, two singers were successfully recruited: first came Dee (Dave) Harris (ex-Fashion), then Grant Boult in 1988. During this time the Lads came up against an issue with them continuing to use the name FGTH. Holly, back in 1984 had, without informing the rest of the band registered the F.G.T.H. name as a Limited Company, some dismay was expressed when the rest of the band discovered this but it was agreed between them all that a contract should be drawn up between Holly and the rest of the band that in essence stated that no-one person could leave and continue to use the FGTH name without the permission of each other. Now, as the lads were using the name after Holly left, they kept this agreement in mind and approached Paul Rutherford, who had no objections to them continuing with the name, they then approached Holly’s lawyers for his approval, a condition on the possible use of the band name was came the reply, it was felt by the Lads that any conditions would be unworkable and they declined the offer.

‘Mark, Ped, Nasher & Grant were now without a band name but booked themselves into studios in Camden (London), under various name (Slapper, Trout & Pike and The Shuffle Brothers being two) and continued to record & write songs with Grant being the main singer & lyricist. Songs recorded at the time included such titles as; Tearing My Soul Apart, England In The Rain, Love Come Back In Fashion, Deep Inside A Bad Dream, Boss Dog, I Want You and the wonderfully Franki’esque sounding, Suck On This.’

Some Demos (1987-1988)

- Boss Dog Symphony (Instr.)

- Boss Dog Symphony (Vox)

- In the Coolest Winter

- In God We Trust

- Untitled

lads

(see: http://www.steveirving.entadsl.com/FGTH/html/fgth_history5.html )

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Liverpool Sessions (1985-87)

‘After the huge successes of the previous 18 months and extensive touring the band needed some time off just to relax and contemplate the future and also to work on a new album. After all the members returned from well deserved individual holidays they were brought back together by ZTT to the Irish Manor House surroundings of Boris House in Kilkenny, mainly to start writing the next release and also for Tax reasons. The first track to be penned was Warriors Of The Wasteland, which was reported as a possible next-album title as early as July 1985. By now feelings between Holly & the rest of the band were becoming strained, musical directions being one of the main problems, the Lads by this time had grown in their appreciation of studio knowledge and along with their love for playing live wanted to carry this sound onto the new album, Holly wanted to keep it dance based, a sound he always loved. The lads would record demo’s on their four track portastudio downstairs at Boris House then pass the tapes onto Holly to write the lyrics and record the vocals in his room.

‘After Ireland they all travelled to Ibiza for a short while to lay down tracks at Mediterranean studios, about half of the album had been written by this point. After two weeks, next was the Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, The Netherland [see relevant posts]. Trevor Horn had promised the band he was to be producer of the new album, however, Steve Lipson (his junior) took the producer role - unbeknown to the band - this only created more feelings of discomfort. Steve was perhaps too easy going. Holly would turn up at 9 am in the studio to start with, the lads preferred starting late in the afternoon and working through the night, as a result very little time was spent with each party recording at the same time, ZTT later claimed Holly appeared for only 23 days recording out of a seven month period, although Holly was going through some personal & private trauma’s at this time he would later reveal in his Autobiography.

‘The album with around 11 tracks recorded was eventually completed and passed onto to Trevor Horn to mix for it’s release, he was now acting as Executive Producer. This process took around 5 months as Trevor was busy with other artists on his books at the time. In the end, the new album Liverpool was released on October 20, 1986, Liverpool eventually contains only 8 tracks and sounds very different to Welcome To The Pleasuredome. Holly later said that he didn't like the new style that the Lads were attempting and was sometimes bemused at their approach, preferring the 'electronic dirty disco' style of Pleasuerdome. The Lads as said earlier had learned much over the last few years, technology had advanced and recording wise they wanted to move on from an electronic sound to a much more live fee, in fact the original pre-produced Horn tracks from Holland were even more ‘Rock’ sounding than the released final mix of the album.’

Some of the demos recorded in the various sessions included unreleased tracks:

- Kiss

- Forest

- Delirious

Others are alternative takes of numbers to appear on Liverpool LP or on the singles’ b-sides:

- Rage Hard (1 and 2)

- The Waves

- Anyone Out There

lvpl_sessions

( see: http://www.steveirving.entadsl.com/FGTH/html/fgth_history3.html )

Dead or Alive - Live at Rotter’s Bar, Manchester (1982) [Re-Up]

This is arguably among the early shows featuring the new line-up, featuring bass player Mike Percy, new guitarist Wayne Hussey and keyboard player Monty Healy (cf. the article in the picture, referred to another gig – this time at Pickwick’s – a few weeks before the Manchester show).
Here are Merseysound journalist Linda Walsh's memory of the 1982 Pickwick's show: "What a difference seven months makes [with] the departure of Mitch and Sue and the arrival of their replacements Wayne Hussey and Mike Pursey [sic]. [...] After wading through the thick 'smoke' which now engulfed the stage the band produced a set of over an hour long brimming over with new songs. Altough they were all excellent in quality none of them were, unfortunately the slower numbers I've been waiting for to stop the lengthy set verging dangerously on the edge of monotony. New material such as the now hopefully released 'It's Been Hours Now' was mingled with the old favourites, 'Number Eleven', 'Nowhere to Nowhere' and a superb rendition of 'Flowers' which more than compensated for the somewhat disappointing 'I'm Falling'. Burns' voice continued to soar and plummet to amazing heights and depths backed by a powerful display of drumming courtesy of Joe Musker" (Feb. 1982)

Live at Rotter’s Bar 1982

(The tracks are organized in alphabetical order)
– Guildered Splinters
– It’s been Hours Now (1 and 2)
– Military
– Misty Circles (1 and 2)
– Number 11
– Number 12
– Number 11 / Military
– Selfish Side
– The Stranger
– Whirlpool

DoA – At Rotter’s Bar (1982)

The Front Room - Joe Public (1981) [Re-Up]

Obscure band which collaborated (consisted of?) such figures as Mike Percy (later Moderates, Dead or Alive), Dave Griffiths, Kevin Marr, Bolly, Mooey, Joe Riley, David Alton, Al Moneypenney, David Mathiesan. The band apparently recorded one only single in August 1981:


Joe Public (1981)
- Joe Public
- Camera


Merseysound reviewed the single as follows:
‘If title like ‘Joe Public’ suggests a down-right-sounding People’s Protest then the first single by The Front Room will come as a surprise. A continuous mesh of voices over a synthesized riff suggests nothing so much as The Games’ ‘Planet War’ from the recent Street to Street album. My complaint is that ‘Joe Public’ (‘written for the benefit of the kids in Liverpool’) seems to have something to say and this sophisticated treatment obscures most of it. The recent ‘We Want to Work’ single proves that you can be clear without being disastrously clumsy, and The Front Room should bear this in mind. The sound isn’t unattractive although it works less well on ‘Camera’, the B-side, where the synthesizer gets in the way of some Bowie-ish vocals and deadens the whole song. Well-meaning though.’ (Merseysound 18, September 1981)

In 1982 The Front Room changed their name to A Second Language.

front room

(thanks to our friend Multihit)

The Moderates - Yes to the Neutron Bomb (1981) [Re-Up]

After the release of ‘Fetishes’ the Moderates reconvened in the studio to re-work on ‘Yes to the Neutron Bomb’ for a single release.

Here are Tom Gould’s recollections:
‘We were offered a contract by Greensleeves records (biggest reggae label), as ska had taken most of their customers, so they wanted to sign some ‘white pop bands’. They set up a subsidiary label called ‘Hyped Records’ for ours and a band from Birminghams’ releases , and booked us into a 24 track recording studio in London. During the session we realised that they didn’t really know what they were doing, as previously they bought finished tracks from studio’s in Jamaica. This is where we recorded the second version of ‘Yes to the Neutron Bomb’ and ‘Bus Girl’ (Bus Girl was about taking late night bus journeys in Liverpool, as there always seemed to be a young girl standing at the front of the bus talking to the driver – bus groupies?).
Our experience in the studio was awful as we also had an engineer who thought he was the greatest producer in the world, but was more of a hindrance than any help, so the recordings were pretty bad. At the end of the original ‘Yes to the Neutron Bomb’ on ‘Fetishes’, the explosion was created by four of us holding the keys down on the keyboard, which was plugged into a guitar amp with the settings for distortion, reverb, presence and volume on full, so most of the noise was feedback. On the second recording (the one you have in the directory is the Fetishes version, not the one that ended up on the single), the engineer could not reproduce it, he used a pretty weak explosion from a sound-effects record instead which sounded really crap!’

Yes to the Neutron Bomb (1981)
- Yes to the Neutron Bomb
- Bus Girl

yes to the neutron bomb

White and Torch - Singles (1980-84) [Re-Up]

.
In 1977 Roy White was singing and playing with the Liverpool punk act Berlin, with Johnny ‘Riff’ Reynolds (guitar, later 3D), James Mealy (bass), Gerry Garland (sax, both later Victims of Romance, Bamboo Fringe), and Roy Banks. The band toured quite extensively, and got some positive reviews by Melody Maker and Sounds, and at a certain point was even about to be signed by Decca. When the record company dropped them for Slaughter and the Dogs, Banks left and was replaced by Brian Rawlins (later Liverpool Express, 3D, Keep it Dark) and the band changed the name to Fun. This ‘progressive rockband’ had one track released on the compilation Street to Street Vol. 1 in 1978, which was also their swan-song.
In the meantime, Steve Torch, a former engineer for Open Eye records, was working as a solo artist, and released one single (Live in Fear b/w Smoke Your Own). White and Torch worked together for the first time when Fun became Victims of Romance, and Torch and Hambi (former Tontrix) were added to the line-up. The partnership between the two became more solid when, in the same period, they collaborated with Jayne Casey (former Big in Japan , later Pink Industry) in the Pink Military (White and Torch are among the personnel playing on the Pink Military’s Blood and Lipstick Ep, Sept. 1979).
In 1980 Roy White and Steve Torch released as a duo (plus session musicians) their first single (Who’s Asking You? b/w Stand Alone – the latter in the folder here attached) on Open Eye. The single did not impressed the public and the press, and the duo would probably have disappeared if Chrysalis hadn’t decided to reissue the song with a different production and a different b-side:

- Who’s Asking You? (1980)
- Who’s Asking You?
- Guess Who

In the following years W&T released a series of singles:

Parade (Don’t Sleep with Him) (1982)
- Parade (Don’t Sleep with Him)

- Man to Man

Let’s Forget (1983)
- Let’s Forget

- No, Not I



Miracle (1983)
- Miracle

- Heartbeat
.

.

Bury My Heart (1984)
- Bury My Heart

- Whatever Happens on Sunday

.

In 1984 White and Torch also recorded a Peel Session performing four songs performing their latest single, a couple of b-sides from previous single releases (No, Not I and Heartbeat) and a new song: Don’t Be Shot (the song in the folder is taken from a TV show).
According to the press, the duo managed (or at least tried) to combine the Bacharach and David sense of the melody and the Walkers Brothers’ sensibility for ballads with a Bowie-like voice.
In 1985 the due split and Roy White started working as a solo artist (mainly with the support of the same session musician who had worked with White and Torch, namely Jim Mealy (guitars), David Levy (bass), Charlie Morgan (drums),Jackie Robinson (vocals)).

white and torch (1980-84)

(see also:
http://www.boredteenagers.co.uk/berlinpage2.htm
http://groups.msn.com/DexysMidnightRunners/whiteamptorch.msnw
http://www.myspace.com/thetruemen
http://raidingthevinylarchive.blogspot.com/2007/08/white-torch-or-david-essex-showcase.html )

(thanks to our friend Mykeyten at Rip It Up - Fade2Grey)

DaVincis - Eating Gifted Children (1988)

Da Vincis (aka DaVincis): Guitar band formed in 1984 as The Dream Play by Paul McCormick (vocals, guitars), Martin Smith (guitars), Chris Stevens (bass, later with Mugstar, Cicada Falls, Rattlebus), Faith Moore (drums). They became the Da Vincis in 1985 when Smith was replaced by Martin Ward (former Redo Zebri later Mugstar, Rattlebus) and Faith by Iain Bickle (ex Fire). As to this change in the line-up Sara Cohen claims: “When the drummer of the Da Vincis was ousted from the band and a replacement brought in, the improvement in the social relationships within the band was reflected in the nature and competence of its stage performance. The band members looked as though they were enjoying themselves and there was more contact between them. They watched, smiled, glanced, and made faces at each other, moved more about the stage, and generally seemed more confident and relaxed.” (Rock Culture in Liverpool, 1991, 82)

The Da Vincis became part of the collective of bands working at the Vulcan Studios, together with the Jactars, Crikey It’s the Cromptons!, Ryan, Decemberists, One Last Fight. Curiously, some of these bands shared the same strategies to write songs: “The process could take several months, particularly since it involved so much repetition and experimentation and there was often lengthy discussion and disagreement over factors such timing, counting, and tuning. [This] method of composition and rehearsal partly arose from, and was hampered by, […] lack of musical training. […] A member of the Da Vincis […] described their music making as a process of ‘hit and miss’ or ‘trial an error’.” (Cohen, 141). “The lyrics of [other bands and] the Da Vincis were written by the vocalists [McCormick, ndr] and their meaning was cryptic and personal to them. The othe band members appreciated that and although they didn’t understand the lyrics they admired them and found them interesting. Nevertheless the lyrics were written on their behalf and did express their own feelings in a way or another” (Cohen, 177). A member of the Da Vincis said that “all bands comprised members with different tastes in music which was usually reflected in their music. However […] sometimes it can all come together and you can produce something that is an expression of the whole band” (Cohen, 186).

After providing a track for the Vulcan’s compilation Ways to Wear Coats, the band also contributed a song (Ava Gardner) for a Merseyside Musicians Bur. Compilation cassette in 1987. In the same year they recorded a Peel Session (which contained the songs New Ways to Wear Coats, parodying the title of this compilation) and released the mini-Lp Eating Gifted Children.

Eating Gifted Children (1988)

- When you're in
- Thoughtless
- Charlotte
- Thomas Wolfe
- Safe Locked Alone
- Chris Said

In 1988 a second Peel Session and a single (Pull) were recorded featuring Steve Ashton on drums. The following year Mike James replaced Martin Ward on guitar for a German tour (Nov/Dec89). They also toured France before changing several lead guitarists, operating as a three-piece for a certain period of time, then disbanding after playing their last gig in March 1990.

You can find the band’s mini-lp here (thanks to our friend Rushbo)