Talulah Gosh | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Oxford, England |
Genres | Indie pop |
Years active | 1986–1988 |
Labels | Sarah, K, 53rd & 3rd |
Spinoffs | |
Past members |
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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. [1] 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 (vocals, guitar, principal songwriter), her younger brother Mathew Fletcher (drums), Peter Momtchiloff (lead guitar), Rob Pursey (bass) and Elizabeth Price (vocals). Pursey left early on, to be replaced by Chris Scott.
The group made their live debut on 7 March 1986, and later the same year released a flexidisc on Sha La La flexilabel and two singles simultaneously on the Edinburgh-based label 53rd & 3rd, "Beatnik Boy" and "Steaming Train". [1] These singles, especially the former, were unashamedly cutesy, something also reflected in the names the group had adopted for themselves: leader Amelia was "Marigold", while Elizabeth became "Pebbles". Mathew Fletcher was rather less flatteringly nicknamed "Fat Mat". Their appearance led to them being labelled as an "anorak indie" band.
For their third single, the group returned to a song they had first recorded in session for Janice Long's show on Radio 1 in August 1986, "Talulah Gosh". Elizabeth Price left toward the end of the year to form The Carousel with Razorcuts frontman Gregory Webster, and so the single, released on 30 May 1987, was the first to feature replacement Eithne Farry (vocals, tambourine). [1] The single was less shambolic than their earlier offerings, and a video [2] was made for it which was played on The Chart Show (then shown on Channel 4), giving the band some mainstream exposure. The single was produced (some critics suggested it was over-produced) by John Rivers, as was the follow-up "Bringing Up Baby", [1] a sophisticated pop song that reduced the band's "shambling" element to the point where mainstream success seemed a possibility. Indeed, The Primitives would later take precisely this route to success – but Talulah Gosh never made the national chart. The ironically-titled debut (compilation) album Rock Legends: Volume 69 was released in October 1987, collecting tracks from the earlier singles and radio sessions. [1]
January 1988 saw not only the release of "Bringing Up Baby" but also the broadcast of a second Radio 1 session, this time for DJ John Peel. What was to be Talulah Gosh's last single, a punk thrash titled "Testcard Girl" (very loosely based on an old Heinz advertising jingle), was released in May. The group split later that year. [1] A posthumous collection of BBC radio sessions was issued by Sarah Records in 1991, [1] and a more comprehensive retrospective was released on K Records in 1996. A limited edition EP of demos, recorded in 1986, was issued for Record Store Day in 2011, at which point a new retrospective album was also announced, at that time to be called Grrrr. On 22 July 2013, Amelia Fletcher announced on her Facebook page that the album, now called Was It Just a Dream?, would be released in October 2013. It was launched along with a DJ set by Amelia Fletcher, Eithne Farry and Elizabeth Price at the London club Scared To Dance. [3]
After the split, Peter joined Razorcuts, while Amelia issued a one-off solo single, "Can You Keep a Secret?". Amelia and Mathew Fletcher and Peter Momtchiloff regrouped as Heavenly in late 1989, [1] with Talulah Gosh co-founder Rob Pursey also returning to the fold. Following the break-up of Razorcuts, Scott formed Saturn V with Gregory Webster and Razorcuts drummer Struan Robertson.
Heavenly are a twee pop band, originally forming in Oxford, England in 1989. Amelia Fletcher (vocals/guitar), Mathew Fletcher, Peter Momtchiloff (guitar) and Robert Pursey (bass) had all been members of Talulah Gosh, a key member of the C86 scene.
The Housemartins were an English indie rock group formed in Hull who were active in the 1980s and charted three top-ten albums and six top-twenty singles in the UK. Many of their lyrics conveyed a mixture of socialist politics and Christianity, reflecting the beliefs of the band. The group's a cappella cover version of "Caravan of Love" was a UK number one single in December 1986.
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Amelia Fletcher is a British singer, songwriter, guitarist and economist.
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And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987 is a compilation album by American band R.E.M. It features songs from the band's years at I.R.S. Records. All tracks have been remastered, and the set was released 12 September 2006. A companion DVD, titled When the Light Is Mine, was released the same day.
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.
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.
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