 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2010) |
The Mighty Lemon Drops | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Sherbet Monsters |
| Origin | Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1985–1992, 2000 |
| Labels | Chrysalis, Sire |
| Past members | Paul Marsh Dave Newton Tony Linehan Martin Gilks Keith Rowley Marcus Williams |
The Mighty Lemon Drops were an English rock group active from 1985 to 1992.
Originally called the Sherbet Monsters, [2] the quartet first formed in the spring of 1985 in Wolverhampton, in the Black Country. [1] Paul Marsh, Dave Newton and Tony Linehan had played together in a band called Active Restraint in 1982, with Newton later leaving to become a founding member of the Wild Flowers. Dave Newton and Tony Linehan were the principal songwriters for the group. Their sound can best be described as a more psychedelia-influenced post-punk, played with a ringing Rickenbacker guitar as the lead instrument. [2] They drew comparisons to Echo and the Bunnymen, who were also influenced by psychedelia.
After losing original drummer Martin Gilks (later to join the Wonder Stuff), the Drops line-up settled as Paul Marsh (vocals), David Newton (guitar), Tony Linehan (bass), and Keith Rowley (drums). In December 1985 the quartet, now officially the Mighty Lemon Drops, released their first independent single "Like an Angel", on Daniel Treacy of Television Personalities' Dreamworld Records label which went to the top of the UK Indie Chart and sold 14,000 copies. They also recorded a session for John Peel around the same time. Becoming part of the C86 movement, which was championed by the New Musical Express , they were soon snapped up by Geoff Travis of Rough Trade for his new Blue Guitar label, a subsidiary of Chrysalis Records. They signed with Sire Records for the United States and Canada around the same period. Derek Jarman produced the video for the "Out of Hand" single in 1987 which was followed by their hit "Inside Out" in 1988. In the UK, albums Happy Head and World Without End both charted (#58 and #33 respectively). In the US, World Without End was a number one Modern Rock/College album in 1988 and Happy Head was one of the 50 best albums of the year 1986 according to Sounds magazine critics poll. [3] These two albums relied heavily on Newton's use of a vintage Vox Mark VII semi-acoustic "Teardrop" 12-string electric guitar and a Micro-Frets Spacetone 6-string guitar. The band eventually parted company with Chrysalis in the UK after three albums (Happy Head, World Without End and Laughter), failing to repeat their initial independent success, but remained signed with Sire in the US, with Laughter , another US Modern Rock No. 1 entering the lower regions of the Billboard 200 in 1990. During the sessions for Laughter, Linehan left the band and was replaced by Marcus Williams. [1]
The band released two more albums, Sound ... Say Goodbye to Your Standards and Ricochet before finally breaking up in 1992. Three more albums followed (live albums All the Way and Young, Gifted & Black Country and the greatest-hits package Rollercoaster) and at the end of 2000 the band played a one-off comeback gig in Wolverhampton. In 2007, the band were reported to have been offered the chance to reform at the Coachella Festival.[ citation needed ]
Dave Newton still works as a recording engineer and record producer, and has completed projects for the Little Ones, the Blood Arm, the Soft Pack, the Henry Clay People, Everybody Was in the French Resistance...Now!, the Sweater Girls, Torches, and the Movies. In 2006, he produced a cover version of "Inside Out" (as well as playing bass guitar on the track) for the Lassie Foundation's double album, Through and Through.
In 2011, Newton produced the third album by the Blood Arm, Turn and Face Me . [4]
All of the Mighty Lemon Drops albums are now officially available again through Wounded Bird Records, licensed through Warner Bros., all with extra tracks, B-sides and liner notes.
In March 2014, the band released Uptight: The Early Recordings 1985–1986, on Cherry Red Records. [5]
Alternative TV are an English band formed in London in 1977. Author Steve Taylor writes: "Alternative TV pioneered reggae rhythms in punk and then moved on to redefine the musical rules".
Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder (bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined the band onstage as a dancer/percussionist. Rowetta joined as a second vocalist in 1990. They were initially signed to Tony Wilson's Factory Records label.
Cozy Powell was an English drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Graham Bonnet, Brian May, Whitesnake, Emerson, Lake & Powell, and Black Sabbath.
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.
Bam Balams were an Australian rock band which formed in 1984 and disbanded in 1992. They were led by singer-songwriter and guitarist, Brendan "Wig" Kibble. The group issued one album, Genuine Rock & Roll Medicine Show, an EP and six singles. Their records did well in the Australian independent charts but they did not appear on the ARIA Charts. They toured nationally but did not perform overseas.
Angelic Upstarts are an English punk rock / Oi! band formed in South Shields in 1977. AllMusic calls them "one of the period's most politically charged and thought-provoking groups". The band espouse an anti-fascist and socialist working class philosophy, and have been associated with the punk and skinhead subcultures.
Inspiral Carpets are 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 Wonder Stuff are a British alternative rock band. Originally based in Stourbridge in the West Midlands, England, the band's first lineup released four albums and nearly 20 singles and EPs, enjoying considerable chart and live success in the UK. The band have continued to tour and record since 2000.
The Groundhogs were an English blues and rock band founded in late 1963 in London. Named after John Lee Hooker's song "Ground Hog Blues", they were part of the burgeoning British rhythm and blues scene, backing Hooker on his album ...And Seven Nights. They were predominantly a power trio of Tony McPhee, Peter Cruickshank (bass) and Ken Pustelnik (drums), with Clive Brooks replacing Pustelnik in 1972 until the band split in 1974. They issued seven albums via Liberty/UA, including the UK Top 10 Thank Christ for the Bomb, Split and Who Will Save the World?.
U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. One of the first hardcore punk bands, elements of rhythm and blues music - including harmonica - also remained an occasional element of their work.
Gang Green are an American punk rock band originally from Braintree, Massachusetts. Chris Doherty (guitar), Bill Manley (bass) and Mike Dean (drums) started the band in 1980 and broke up in 1983. Doherty reformed Gang Green the following year, and the band experienced numerous lineup changes until its dissolution for the second time in 1992. Doherty has been the band's only constant member and has kept Gang Green active from 2005 onwards. The band was influential in the formation of the East Coast hardcore punk scene, and went on to become one of the forerunners of crossover thrash and speed metal in the late 1980s.
Martin Richard Gilks was an English musician. He was a founder member and original drummer for the Wonder Stuff, based in Stourbridge.
Armoured Angel were an Australian thrash and death metal band from Canberra, which formed in 1982 as Metal Asylum. The band's founding mainstay, Glen "Lucy" Luck provided bass guitar. They pushed the musical boundaries of the local thrash metal scene and were pioneers of Australian death metal. The group also helped establish Australia's metal festival, Metal for the Brain in 1991. They issued a studio album, Angel of the Sixth Order, in July 1999 before disbanding soon after.
David Newton is a British guitarist, songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of the band the Mighty Lemon Drops.
Chemical People were an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1986. The band toured the United States, Canada and in Europe and broke up in 1997.
The Dave Howard Singers is a cult Canadian alternative rock band/project originally formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The project is based around the talents of singer-songwriter Dave Howard and the signature sound of his Ace Tone organ. During the second half of the 1980s, the band were resident in Britain, where they were a cult act making several appearances on nationwide television.
World Without End is the second album by the Mighty Lemon Drops, released in 1988. It reached No. 34 on the UK Album Chart. The album contains their hit single "Inside Out", which reached No.74 on the UK Singles Chart.
The Wild Flowers were a British post-punk band, formed in 1983. They released five albums in total between 1984 and 1997.
Hogan's Heroes was an American hardcore punk band formed in New Jersey in 1984. During their time they recorded three full lengths for California label New Red Archives. The band broke up in 1993.
Laughter is the third studio album by English rock group The Mighty Lemon Drops. Released on Chrysalis/Sire in 1989, the album was the band's first to feature David Newton as the primary songwriter, as co-writer and bassist Tony Linehan quit early during the recording sessions. The album contains the hit U.S. modern rock singles "Into the Heart of Love" and "Where Do We Go From Heaven".
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
