The Corn Dollies were an English indie band from London, active between 1987 and 1991.
Comprising Steve Musham (vocals and guitar), Tim Sales (guitar), Steve Ridder (bass), Jack Hoser (drums), and Jono Podmore (violin), [1] the band met in King's Cross although they all hailed from Dalston, aside from native Californian Ridder. [2] After their first Robert Forster-produced release on the Farm label, they released several singles on Medium Cool Records. The debut, "Be Small Again" was an indie hit, reaching No. 28 on the UK Independent Chart. The follow-up, "Forever Steven", originally released on the band's own Farm Label, was produced by Robert Forster of The Go-Betweens [3] reached No. 16. They also contributed a track to the various artist compilation Bananas, an album issued to help the Football Supporters Association campaign against the ID card scheme that was being mooted by the UK Government at the time. [3] They gained popularity throughout Europe after a tour in 1989, building a strong fanbase in Spain. [3] When Medium Cool collapsed, they moved to Midnight Music, releasing two albums. In support of Wrecked, they undertook a national tour supporting Ian McCulloch, but with the album's success being limited, the band split up in 1991. [3]
Inspiral Carpets is an English rock band, part of the late-1980s/early-1990s Madchester movement. Formed in Oldham in 1983, the band's most successful lineup featured frontman Tom Hingley, drummer Craig Gill, guitarist Graham Lambert, bassist Martyn Walsh and keyboardist Clint Boon.
The Primitives are an English indie pop band from Coventry, best known for their 1988 international hit single "Crash". Formed in 1984, disbanded in 1992 and reformed in 2009, the band's two constant members throughout their recording career have been vocalist Tracy Tracy and guitarist Paul "PJ" Court. Drummer Tig Williams has been a constant member since 1987. Often described as an indie pop or indie rock band, The Primitives' musical style can also be seen as straddling power pop, new wave and post-punk.
The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout its existence. Drummer Lindy Morrison joined the band in 1980, and its lineup would later expand to include bass guitarist Robert Vickers and multi-instrumentalist Amanda Brown. Vickers was replaced by John Willsteed in 1987, and the quintet lineup remained in place until the band split two years later. Forster and McLennan reformed the band in 2000 with a new lineup that did not include any previous personnel aside from them. McLennan died on 6 May 2006 of a heart attack and the Go-Betweens disbanded again. In 2010, a toll bridge in their native Brisbane was renamed the Go Between Bridge after them.
The Farm are a British band from Liverpool. Their first album, Spartacus, reached the top position on the UK Albums Chart when it was released in March 1991; Spartacus 30 was released in 2021 to commemorate the anniversary. Spartacus includes two songs which had been top 10 singles the year before. In 2012, they toured with their Spartacus Live shows and formed part of the Justice Tonight Band, supporting the Stone Roses at Heaton Park, Phoenix Park, Lyon and Milan. The Justice Collective had the 2012 Christmas number one with their recording of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother".
Loop are an English rock band, formed in 1986 by Robert Hampson in Croydon. The group topped the UK independent charts with their albums Fade Out (1989) and A Gilded Eternity (1990). Their dissonant "trance-rock" sound drew on the work of artists like the Stooges and Can, and helped to resurrect the concept of space rock in the late 1980s.
The Telescopes are an English noise, space rock, dream pop and psychedelic band formed in 1987 by artist, composer, and musician Stephen Lawrie, with band members David Fitzgerald and Joanna Doran joining later. The band's line-up is in constant flux; there can be anywhere between 1 and 20 members on a recording.
Sad Lovers and Giants are an English rock band from Watford, Hertfordshire, England, which formed in 1980. Their sound blends post-punk, atmospheric keyboards and psychedelia.
The Heart Throbs were an indie rock band from Reading, England. They released three albums on the One Little Indian label before splitting up in 1993.
The Popguns are an English indie rock band, which played a part in the British Indie pop scene. Originally from Brighton, East Sussex, they formed in 1986 by vocalist Wendy Morgan, guitarists Simon Pickles and Greg Dixon plus bassist Pat Walkington, and were joined by Shaun Charman, the former drummer for The Wedding Present in 1988.
Medium Medium was a post-punk band from Nottingham, England, initially active between 1978 and 1983.
That Petrol Emotion were a London-based Northern Ireland-originating band with an American vocalist, Steve Mack. It featured the O'Neill brothers from celebrated Derry pop-punk band The Undertones plus ex-members of fellow Derry bands Bam Bam and The Calling and The Corner Boys. They recorded five albums between 1986 and 1994, exploring an eclectic fusion of alternative rock, post-punk, garage rock and dance music which in part anticipated and overlapped with the dance-pop era of the 1990s.
The Business were an English punk band formed in 1979 in Lewisham, South London, England. The band lasted for four decades until their frontman Micky Fitz died from cancer in December 2016.
Age of Chance were a British alternative rock-dance crossover band from Leeds, England, active from 1983 to 1991. They were perhaps most known for their mutant metallic cover of Prince's "Kiss" which topped the UK Indie Chart in 1986, and peaked at No. 50 in the UK Singles Chart in January the following year. Despite signing for major label Virgin, and being favourites with the UK music press, they never enjoyed a major hit in the UK, although "Don't Get Mad… Get Even" reached No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart.
The Waltones were a British indie band from Manchester, England, who re-formed in September 2017.
King of the Slums were a British alternative rock band. Formed in Greater Manchester in the mid-1980s, the band specialised in a kind of electric violin and guitar-driven rock music, and released their debut single in 1986. Whilst the band earned some critical acclaim from the UK music press, commercial success eluded them and the group disbanded in the early 1990s following the release of their second studio album, Blowzy Weirdos (1991). An album of new material plus some older songs appeared in 2009 credited to both King of the Slums and Slum Cathedral User, which was the original name of the group. Three more albums followed, Manco Diablo (2017), Artgod Dogs (2018) and Encrypted Contemporary Narratives (2020) before the death of frontman Charley Keigher in 2021.
Medium Cool was a British independent record label, that existed between 1986 and 1989. Specializing in jangly guitar-pop, it released records by bands such as The Raw Herbs, The Siddeleys, The Rain, The Waltones, The Popguns, and The Corn Dollies.
Cry Before Dawn are a four-piece rock band originally hailing from Wexford in Ireland. They released several singles and two albums in the late 1980s and toured Ireland, UK and US.
Bradford is an English indie band originally from Blackburn, Lancashire, England. Current members of the group include vocalist-lyricist Ian Hodgson and musicians Ewan Butler and Stephen Street.
Hurrah! were a British jangle pop band formed in the early 1980s and active until 1991. Two band members traded off lead vocals on track-by-track basis, giving the band two distinctly different sounds.
The Subway Organization was a British independent record label founded in 1985 in Bristol by Martin Whitehead.