Immaculate Fools

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Kevin Weatherill (2018).

The Immaculate Fools were a British alternative rock band from Kent .

Band history

The group was founded in the autumn of 1983 by the brothers Kevin Weatherill (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Weatherill (bass), Peter Ross (drums) and Andy Ross (guitar and keyboard) in Kent / England and in 1984 on one of their pub Tim Robinson discovered gigs. In September 1984 the Fools released their first single, the song "Nothing Means Nothing" and made it into the TOP 75 of the single charts. At the turn of the year 1984/1985 their debut album "Hearts Of Fortune" followed, which with the title track contained a top 40 hit in Great Britain, supported by the successful appearance of the Fools at Channel 4's Euro Tube Song Contest. The single "Immaculate Fools" reached the top 60, followed by the fourth single "Save it". After a successful tour, where the Spanish tour had to be interrupted for 6 months due to the collapse of the lead singer on stage due to a pancreatitis, which was interpreted by the music press as a drug accident, the critically acclaimed (including 5 stars in the renowned sound Magazine) second album "Dumb Poet" with the 3 singles "Never Give Less Than Anything", "Wish You Were Here" and "Tragic Comedy". The latter, composed in the style of the Psychedelic Furs , was a minor hit on college radio. Subsequently, the band toured with Bob Dylan , Iggy Pop , the Simple Minds , the Stranglers and the Rolling Stones .

Before the planned detour of the Dumb Poet Tour to the US East Coast, Andy Ross left the band and had to be replaced by Brian Betts (guitar and mandolin) for the rest of the tour. To make matters worse, the Fools lost their record deal and thus the sponsor for the tour due to structural changes at A&M in the current tour. But with Barry Wickens (violin, dulcimer, acoustic guitar and accordion), another all-rounder joined the band on the current tour, which was to decisively shape the following sound of the Fools. In 1989 the Fools returned from the tour to England and, after another forced break due to the lead singer's health problems, began recording the third album, after Peter Ross had left, with the new band members Paul Skidmore (drums) and Ian Devlin (keyboards ). “Another Man's World” with the three singles “Sad”, “The Prince” and “Falling Apart Together” is considered by many critics to be the best album of the Immaculate Fools and a milestone in folk / rock / alternative music. Rather unnoticed in Great Britain, it was awarded gold in Spain.

The 3 follow-up albums also showed that the Fools, with their musical mixture of pop, Celtic folklore, folk and alternative rock, were more successful in Germany and especially in Spain, where they had achieved superstar status since the 1990s. The great acceptance in Spain was, among other things, the reason why the band gave up the recording studio established in London at the end of the 1980s and settled in the Catalan region in the early 1990s to set up their studio in their home.

On the 1992 album "The Toy Shop", guitar-heavy indie rock dominates alongside folky sounds. With keyboardist Ian Devlin, the Fools had previously left a band member again. After the album was released, the band went on tour again to support Ron Wood . Sam Beyer, the director of the smells-like-teen-spirit clip by the band Nirvana , produced a video for the single “Stand Down”, which was very successful on American college radio . And again the Fools were terminated from the record deal during the current tour.

In 1994 the album "Woodhouse", which was recorded mainly with acoustic instruments in the Woodhouse studio in Spain, was released (1995 new edition by Cooking Vinyl ), with Nick Thomas replacing the former drummer Paul Skidmore. In addition to songs composed exclusively by Kevin Weatherill, the album also contained two cover versions for the first time, namely the Beatles song "Rain" and the Nick Cave classic "The Ship Song". Two years later, the Immaculate Fools recorded their sixth and final album. In stark contrast to the harmonious and folky-acoustic predecessor album, "Kiss And Punch", the album title and title of the only single, consisted of electrically-rocking and bulky songs. After a successful tour of Germany, Kevin Weatherill left the band in 1997. From now on he wanted to dedicate himself to his musical roots, the blues, as a solo artist. After Weatherill's exit, the Immaculate Fools disbanded.

In 2015 Kevin Weatherill released the album "Turn The Whole World Down" under the old band name Immaculate Fools but with a completely new line-up, which only contains well-known but acoustically arranged songs from the era up to 1997. In July 2016 he announced his departure from the newly formed band.

In April 2017 Weatherill released the album "Keep the blade sharp" again with other band members under the name Immaculate Fools.

Solo projects of the singer

In 1998 Kevin Weatherill recorded the heavily blues-heavy album "Primitive" under the pseudonym Dirty Ray . Until 2010, "Primitive" was the only solo work by the constantly touring songwriter, who continues to play songs by the Immaculate Fools during his appearances, which mostly take place in Spain. In 2010 the second solo album "Big World For A Little Man" was released, again based more on the style of the Immaculate Fools, which Dirty Ray makes known to a larger audience through smaller appearances, which are now taking place again for the first time in his homeland in England.

In 2013 Kevin Weatherill's third CD was released with the title “A man like this” in collaboration with musician Linda Lamb. This appeared under the name "Weatherill and Lamb".

Kevin Weatherill is musically active both under the pseudonym Dirty Ray and under the band name Immaculate Fools with a focus on Spain.

Discography

  • Hearts Of Fortune (1985, A&M Records)
  • Dumb Poet (1987, A&M Records)
  • Another Man's World (1990, Discos CBS)
  • The Toy Shop (1992, Columbia / Sony)
  • Woodhouse (1994, Magic Sponge R./1995, Cooking Vinyl )
  • Kiss And Punch (1996, Cooking Vinyl)
  • Turn The Whole World Down (2015)
  • Keep The Blade Sharp (2017)

Web links