Heavenly | |
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Background information | |
Origin | England |
Genres | Twee pop, indie pop, indie rock |
Years active | 1989–96, 2023–24 |
Labels | Sarah Records, K Records, Wiiija |
Members | Amelia Fletcher Mathew Fletcher Peter Momtchiloff Robert Pursey Cathy Rogers |
Heavenly are a twee pop band, originally forming in Oxford, England in 1989. Amelia Fletcher (vocals/guitar), Mathew Fletcher (drums; Amelia's brother), Peter Momtchiloff (guitar) and Robert Pursey (bass) had all been members of Talulah Gosh, [1] a key member of the C86 scene.
Heavenly debuted with the 7" single "I Fell in Love Last Night", followed by another 7", "Our Love Is Heavenly", both released in 1990 on Sarah Records. [1] Heavenly vs. Satan , the group's debut album, came out in 1991. [1] At this stage in their career, the instrumentation remained very much the same jangly guitar style used by Talulah Gosh. [2]
Before releasing the critically acclaimed Le Jardin de Heavenly , Cathy Rogers (keyboard, back-up vocals) joined the band. [1] Her harmony vocals and keyboards became an integral part of the group's sound. The group's second album also features the track, "C is the Heavenly Option," featuring the guest vocals of K Records founder Calvin Johnson, who released Heavenly's records in the US. [3] [4]
Before their next long-player, Heavenly released two non-album 7" singles, "P.U.N.K. Girl" and "Atta Girl." These signalled a growing complexity in Fletcher's songwriting, particularly "Atta Girl," in which Fletcher and Rogers sung in rapid-fire trade-off vocals. A broadening (and darkening) of lyrical subject matter was shown in the B-side, "Hearts and Crosses," which told the story of a date rape, with an upbeat keyboard riff providing an ironic counterpoint. [5] [6]
The band's third LP was The Decline and Fall of Heavenly (1994). [7] In 1995, the band contributed the song "Snail Trail" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Bothered produced by the Red Hot Organization. [8]
The group's last album was Operation Heavenly (1996). Arriving in the middle of the Britpop boom, the album contained a cover of the Serge Gainsbourg-penned and France Gall-performed "Nous ne sommes pas des anges," sung entirely in French by Fletcher. [9] Due to the closing of Sarah Records it was released on Wiiija. [10] It included a second Calvin Johnson guest spot on the track "Pet Monkey." [9]
However, shortly before the release of Operation Heavenly, Mathew Fletcher took his own life. [6] The remaining members announced that the band name Heavenly was to be retired, but that they would continue, using the name Marine Research, a moniker under which they released a single album, 1999's Sounds from the Gulf Stream, on K Records (it was not released separately in Britain). Afterwards, Marine Research dissolved. [11]
The band's core members reformed in 2002 as Tender Trap, releasing four albums before calling it a day in 2013. As of 2024, Fletcher and Pursey are both in The Catenary Wires and Swansea Sound, while Momtchiloff plays in Would-be-goods and Tufthunter.
Heavenly reunited for a concert at Bush Hall in London in May 2023, with Ian Button replacing Mathew Fletcher on drums. In 2024, the band played further dates in Spain, France and the US. [12] The band also premiered new songs on those tour dates as well.
The Field Mice were an English indie pop band on the independent record label Sarah Records. They had top 20 success in both the singles and albums UK Independent Charts.
Twee pop is a subgenre of indie pop that originates from the 1986 NME compilation C86. Twee pop gets its name from the aesthetic of twee, which is known for its simplicity and childlike innocence. Some of its defining features are boy-girl harmonies, catchy melodies, and lyrics about love. For many years, prominent independent record labels associated with twee pop were Sarah Records and K Records.
Talulah Gosh were an English guitar-pop group from Oxford, and one of the leading bands of the indiepop movement, taking their name from the headline of an NME interview with Clare Grogan. They supposedly formed in 1986 when Amelia Fletcher and Elizabeth Price, both wearing Pastels badges, met at a club in Oxford. Their original line-up comprised Amelia Fletcher, her younger brother Mathew Fletcher (drums), Peter Momtchiloff, Rob Pursey (bass) and Elizabeth Price (vocals). Pursey left early on, to be replaced by Chris Scott.
Backwash is a retrospective compilation of music by the group Talulah Gosh.
Indie pop is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and subsequently generated a thriving fanzine, label, and club and gig circuit. Compared to its counterpart, indie rock, the genre is more melodic, less abrasive, and relatively angst-free. In later years, the definition of indie pop has bifurcated to also mean bands from unrelated DIY scenes/movements with pop leanings. Subgenres include chamber pop and twee pop.
Marine Research were an indiepop group, based in Oxford/London (UK), formed in 1997 by four of the five members of Heavenly, following the death of Heavenly drummer Mathew Fletcher. The band were joined on drums by DJ Downfall, who is also a solo recording artist.
Tender Trap were an English indiepop/twee pop band based in London, England, formed in 2001 by three of the five members of Marine Research - Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey, and John Downfall.
Amelia Fletcher is a British singer, songwriter, guitarist and economist.
Razorcuts were an indie pop band formed in 1984 in London. The group centred on Gregory Webster and Tim Vass, with various musicians including Peter Momtchiloff of Heavenly and Talulah Gosh, Angus Stevenson, and New Zealand drummer David Swift. Early releases on the Subway Organisation label, including the debut "Big Pink Cake", led to a deal with Creation Records, for whom they released two albums.
We Love the City is the third album by British indie rock band Hefner. It was released by Too Pure in two formats in 2000, the standard version and a second version with a disc featuring videos for "I Took Her Love for Granted" and "Good Fruit," as well as a John Peel session. The entire John Peel session was later released as the album Maida Vale. The album was reissued in 2009.
"Good Fruit" is a single by British indie rock band Hefner. Released in 2000 by Too Pure, it was the first single from their album We Love the City.
Peter Momtchiloff is a British guitarist and bassist.
Rock Legends: Volume 69 is a compilation of single tracks by the twee pop band Talulah Gosh.
They've Scoffed the Lot is a compilation of radio session recordings by the indie pop band Talulah Gosh.
"Parallel Horizontal" is a song by the indie pop band Marine Research. It first appeared as a single on 27 July 1999 and then as the opening track on their only album Sounds from the Gulf Stream on 24 August.
CD86: 48 Tracks from the Birth of Indie Pop is a compilation album of artists from the original C86 era, released in 2006 by Sanctuary Records. It is compiled by Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne.
The Decline and Fall of Heavenly is the third studio album by British indie pop band Heavenly. It was released in September 1994 by Sarah Records in the UK and K Records in the United States.
Heavenly vs. Satan is the first album by British twee pop band Heavenly. It was released by Sarah Records in January 1991, as SARAH 603. No producer is listed in the sleevenotes, although Richard Haines is credited with engineering.
P.U.N.K. Girl, also known as Atta Girl in the UK, is an EP by British twee pop band Heavenly, released by K Records on 11 July 1995. In 2005, Pitchfork Media's Nitsuh Abebe wrote that it was "so bouncy and full of hooks that it can take a while to notice it's kind of a concept record about date rape." This release combines the band's 1993 singles P.U.N.K. Girl and Atta Girl, which were released on Sarah Records.
Swansea Sound are an indie pop band from Kent and Swansea, formed in 2020. The group reunites Amelia Fletcher and Hue Williams, who previously sang together in 1990s indie band The Pooh Sticks. The songs are written by Rob Pursey, Fletchers's husband and long-term musical partner in Heavenly, Marine Research and Tender Trap. Ian Button, formerly of Death in Vegas and Thrashing Doves plays drums. Bob Collins, of The Dentists, plays guitar.