PRE-BAGGY/MADCHESTER 'BLONDE' STUFF

A reader and contributor from way back in the early days, Jeff in Chicago, dropped me a note last week asking for "pre-baggy/Madchester 'Blonde' stuff"

I'm guessing he means the likes of this:-

mp3 : The Primitives - Really Stupid

The Primitives formed in the mid 80s, and while the music was pretty decent, it was the presence of an attractive singer called Tracey Tracey that gained them loads of column inches and photographs in the male-dominated world of the UK weekly music papers.

Between 1986 and 1991, they released three LPs (or four if you include one put up by their original indie label), as well as ten singles, of which this was the most successful, reaching #5 in the UK charts in 1988:-

mp3 : The Primitives - Crash

I'm also guessing that Jeff was thinking of this:-

mp3 : The Darling Buds - If I Said

The Darling Buds formed in the mid 80s, and while the music was pretty decent, it was the presence of an attractive singer called Andrea Lewis that gained them loads of column inches and photographs in the male-dominated world of the UK weekly music papers.

Between 1987 and 1992, they released four albums and eleven singles, of which this was the most successful, reaching #27 in the UK charts in 1988:-

mp3 : The Darling Buds - Hit The Ground

I'm also guessing that Jeff was thinking of this:-

mp3 : Transvision Vamp - I Want Your Love

Transvision Vamp formed in the late 80s. I reckon much of their music was mediocre, and indeed without the the presence of an attractive singer called Wendy James they would have failed to get many column inches and photographs in the male-dominated world of the UK weekly music papers.

Between 1987 and 1991, they released three LPs as well as ten singles, and unlike the other 'blonde' bands they were lazily lumped in with, they enjoyed substantial fame with three Top 20 hits, including Baby I Don't Care which went Top3 in both the UK and Australia.

Of the three blonde singers, Wendy was the only one happy enough to get her tits out for a photo shoot....strangely enough, her band was the one that received most attention, most airplay and most chart hits. Hmmmmmm.

Finally, although this has nowt to do with the 'blonde' movement, here's a single I always associate with the period:-

mp3 : Daisy Chainsaw - Love Your Money
mp3 : Daisy Chainsaw - Get Real Pleasure

Daisy Chainsaw formed in 1989. They soon became known for their live shows during which lead singer Katie Jane Garside would scream, holler and yell her way through the set, holding the audience's attention with weird dancing and antics such as dressing in nightclothes and drinking from baby bottles. They were just too strange to ever be mainstream, although the fantastic and frantic 7" single I've listed above did reach #26 in the UK charts in 1992.

Katie Jane left the band in 1993 after the release of their debut LP, and while the rest of them soldiered on for a couple of years, it was all over for everyone by 1995.

Happy listening Jeff......and everyone else.