UKC

For me, it's a crying shame that The Chameleons never hit the big time.

Script of the Bridge and Strange Times are incredible. Though WDAMB is pretty pants.

I played some stuff to a mate recently, who dismissed it as 'very derivative', until I pointed out it was recorded in 1983.

Very influential, but pretty much unknown, unless you're a Manc.

In reply to Dispater:
Wet Nuns, but it seems they split up after falling out.

A a grimey rocky-metal guitarist and drummer two piece, lots of energy when they were well slept, in the gig I went to in an upstairs pub room, the first few songs merged one into each other, so it was like a wall of music coming at you. It was a cool gig. The drummer Alexis didn't like them being called stoner rock, because they didn't smoke dope.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=wet+nuns

In reply to Dispater:

Lawnmower Deth deserved to be much, much bigger...

In reply to Dispater:

Witness. Saw them at Glastonbury 1999 and it really felt like one of those "I was there" gigs, but it turns out they just couldn't be arsed with being in a band. Before the Calm is a sublime record.

In reply to MonkeyPuzzle:

I love "before the calm" brilliant album.

"The Sound" should have made it big, RIP Adrian Borland.

So should "Screaming Blue Messiahs".

(Why is this thread not in "culture bunker"?)

In reply to stroppygob:


I'm not used to all these new fangled sub-forums; there was only one, back in the day.

In reply to Dispater:

LOL!! Nice one.

In reply to Dispater:

that would be the Merton Parkas then.

In reply to Dispater:

Super Furry Animals.

In reply to Dispater:
This is the upstairs room gig, apparently it was 'death-blues'.

It was a Halloween gig.

youtube.com/watch?v=HvGglqzrxMw&

Hope the guitarist goes onto good things.

youtube.com/watch?v=KAe5OFCuLxY&

Full album here...

youtube.com/watch?v=dxiNW4u_pSE&

End of the 'Wet Nuns spamming' by me. ()

In reply to Dispater:

WDAMB is their best album you philistine.

On TOTP being felt up by Sir James Nonce? Simon Bates introducing Look Inwardly as Our Tune? Thankfully it never happened.

D

In reply to Dispater:

I'm so indie I saw a band you've never heard of, in an underground bunker.

Then I killed them.

In reply to Dauphin:


I disagree, and know the band hated it; they rushed it out to meet the obligation of their first record deal, and to get out of the contract.

My sister dated Reg Smithies, so I've heard it from the horse's mouth.

In reply to Niall:



Very good. I've got slightly different sized feet.

In reply to Dispater:

Depends how you define "made it" and "hitting the big time".

A lot of decent bands hit the big time and quickly turn to shit. The Cranberries once upon a time were credible. If they hadn't hit the big time they might have churned out a couple more decent albums before splitting up due to lack of success, which (aside from their personal wealth) might have been a better result for all of us

Equally if the Manics had done the decent thing and called it a day after The Holy Bible and Richey's disappearance, and not hit the MOR big-time, they'd have had a good legacy.

The Triffids are a good example of this, toiling away for 12 years or so to great critical acclaim (and with songs featured in Neighbours ) but never QUITE broke through, and it almost feels more precious having things this way. Again, a selfish viewpoint and I am sure the band would love to be living in castles....

In reply to Dispater:

I always figured The Chameleons had done quite well because I've been familiar with the band name for about 15 years despite knowing nothing about them, which suggests that at least "blokey" music magazines like Mojo and Uncut have run articles on them....

and I am not a Manc.

In reply to Blue Straggler:



Quite. I'm sure Reg Smithies (Chameleons' lead guitarist) doesn't share your sentiment, living, as he was, in a council flat in Middleton, with a newborn baby, when I last saw him, at the Old Vic in Nottingham in 2001.

In reply to Dispater:

Wet Nuns were indeed boss, but i suppose royal blood have taken their ball and run away with it. Ah, what could have been...

I'm gutted that DeepJeep and Slow Motion Stranger never made it; I should be trout farming by now, not switching careers into IT!

In reply to Dom Whillans:

Me too, here's a hint, calling your band the "Roomtown Bats" doesn't get you any confused punters in.

In reply to Dispater:

The Triffids.

In reply to Dispater:

Aha but that does not necessarily prove that they'd never made it - many bands "make it" and later seem to hit the skids. e.g. The Skids

The net worth of Blondie as a commercial entity some time around 1986, was around $600...

Inspiral Carpets had loads of Top 20 hits and played to I think 10,000 at G-Mex in 1990. Tom Hingley works (happily I hope) on a fruit and veg stall, the last I heard.

In reply to sdodd:

Gaaaah! and "oi!"

QIn reply to Dispater: septic deth and bomb disneyland

In reply to Dispater:
McCloskey's Apocalypse.

Regulars at the Broadfield in the early seventies.

In reply to Dispater:
The Cardiacs.

The Flatmates.

The Sound.

and GobSausage, for the name alone.

In reply to Dispater:

Streetstonesonic (mark 1) and FreakJam. I'll keep trying though, the game ain't over yet...

In reply to Dispater:

The Bees

youtube.com/watch?v=OhuioD5S13U&

In reply to Dispater:
Lord Scotland.A band with a climber songwriter who did Kink at Stoney feet first.Still gigging in Chester,Dave Greenald. youtube.com/watch?v=RAgI2wy6GAI&

Dave is the long haired singer.

In reply to Dispater:

The Blue Nile. They should have been HUGE.

In reply to Dispater:

The folkies felt that Bob Dylan had 'sold out', when he started doing something new and went electric.

In reply to Dispater: the House of Love ought to have been much bigger than they were. As an indie band they released three of the best songs of the 80s - Christine, destroy the heart and Shine on. They signed to Fontana, released a couple of couple of OK singles and a re-issue of Shine on, but had clearly dried up.

I gather drugs may have been involved

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Dried up may be the wrong term there. Apparently there were vast quantities of alcohol consumed on tour which led to their demise.

Great band for a while though I agree.

In reply to wynaptomos:

and regularly used to chuck their guy chadwick out of the tour van along the motorway if memory serves?

In reply to Dom Whillans:
That was terry bickers - who I think was on the radio earlier this week. Guy Chadwick was the lead singer.

There were some fantastic bands on Creation in that period - Ride being another one