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ESSENTIAL BOP
Steve Bush
Simon Tyler
Danny Cotterill
Dave Robinson
Phil Howard
Mike Fewins
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Free
Download "Croaked"
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Essential Bop was one of those 'post-punk' bands that flourished everywhere in the immediate aftermath of the tidal wave that had not long before engulfed things like facial hair, lengthy solos, baggy trousers and Tender Expressions of Love. Castigated at the time for 1) being students (well, a few of us were) 2) using keyboards (we certainly did) 3) being 'arty' (if only they knew); and 4) for not hanging out enough with the avante-garde brigade (where are they now ?) we endured the taunts and eventually managed to garner quite a following - more by accident than design.
At the time (1979) the local competition was pretty fierce. The Pop Group were busy working on their 'We're weird, us' act, which was going down jolly well, The Art Objects were starting to motor along nicely, and bands like the Exploding Seagulls, The Spics and The Glaxo Babies were packing 'em in. In such company we were very much 'pigeons in the outfield', but by hanging in gamely we sort-of flourished. In those days Bristol had plenty of places to play, and a DJ was a person who played a few records before (and after) the Real Thing, not someone whose name appeared on the masthead above those of the people who'd actually created the music.
In the years that followed all manner of low-rent Spinal Tapisms transpired as we slithered up and down the greasy pole that is/was popular music. Sometimes we played great, other times we sounded like an explosion in a roadie's underpants. We wrote and recorded songs that were by turns pathetic, pretentious, presentable and - occasionally - perfect.
Our singles featured in the independent charts and the great Paul Morley trekked down to the sticks to interview us. Suddenly our butts were kissable within the BS postal area, and possibly elsewhere. Cor!
A US tour was offered, and we arrived in New York in August of 1981 just as everyone else was leaving to escape the heat and humidity. Still, we had a laugh (when we weren't fighting with each other) and the Yanks dug us. In the end the fighting overcame the music and we bowed out at the Peppermint Lounge, NYC, never to play live again. The return to Bristol was so depressing that I can recall the horror to this day. Coming back to the same old grind in Thatcher's grey Britain was too much to take, and we knocked it on the head.
Around this time virtually every rock musician in Bristol decamped to London because bands from Bristol just couldn't get arrested, whilst those from cities like Manchester and Liverpool seemed to get signed on the strength of their vowel sounds. We, too, had a crack in the Smoke - rehearsed, did some recording. But the thought of climbing that hill again was just too much, and we let it die for good.
Now the world has caught up with that unique Bristol combination of angst and irony, and hails it as some kind of miracle. Truth is, it was there all along. Whilst Essential Bop embodied much that was indulgent in that so-called 'New wave' era, we did 'give it plenty' and swam against the tide, using a wide variety of strokes. If you were there, all I can say is "sorry", but If you weren't you certainly missed something, and if you can remember what it was, please let me know.
(Steve Bush April 2000)
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| EUROPEANS
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Jonathan Cole
Jon Klein
Stephen Street
James Cole
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The biggest selling indie band from Bristol in their time? The band spilit when Rialto Records signed Jonathan Cole as a solo artist. Jon Klein disappeared off to London with Kevin Mills from the X-Certs to become the Specimen and created the
Batcave, he later joined Siouxie and the Banshees and recorded on three of the albums. John was lucky to get this far having jumped from a window whilst in The Europeans and broken his neck! Steve Street joined Apartment and Interview and was fortunate to play Top of the Pops with a band called The Planets. Steve retired as a bass player and recorded just about every band in Bristol as an engineer/producer - he later worked for Tears for Fears.
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| JUAN FOOTE' N' THE GRAVE |
Stuart Gibb
Jim Maclean
Tony Heyes
Andy Pinner
Bryan Cox
Snakey Lineton
Billy (Ogmore) Phillips
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| MISDEMEANOUR |
Kevin McFadden
Bob Watson
Steve Capaldi
Keiron Wright
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LATER
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Kevin McFadden
Bob Watson
Lyndon Perry
Phil Rice
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Formed from the ashes of Vitus Dance. They were managed by U2's tour manager and should have been huge.Kevin McFadden was a prolific song writer and brilliant front man but maybe a little too Bruce Springstein influenced for the UK.
Free Download "Radio Radio"
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| NO DEPOSIT |
Paul Poundbury
Mike Crafer
Mark Cooper
Roger Garbett
Simon Davies
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Released one single for Shoc-Wave Records.
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| THE PIGS |
Kit Gould
Eamonn McAndrew
Nigel Robinson
Ricky Galli
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| THE POP GROUP |
John Waddington
Mark Stewart
Gareth Sager
Dan Katsis
Bruce Smith
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We are all prostitutes sleeve designed by Rich Beale later in Head, Apache Dropout, Pregnant and currently Don Mandarin.
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