The Wedding Present
| The Wedding Present | |
|---|---|
 The Wedding Present in Barcelona 2010. |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Indie rock , jangle pop , C86 |
| founding | 1985 |
| Founding members | |
| David Gedge | |
guitar |
Peter Solowka (until 1991) |
| Keith Gregory (until 1993) | |
| Shaun Charman (until 1988) | |
| Current occupation | |
Vocals, guitar |
David Gedge |
guitar |
Patrick Alexander (since 2012) |
Bass, vocals |
Pepe le Moko (since 2010) |
Drums |
Charles Layton (since 2009) |
The Wedding Present are a British indie rock group formed in Leeds in 1985 . Their music has evolved from the fast-paced indie rock of the “ C86 scene” to an increasingly versatile sound. In addition to the singer and main songwriter David Gedge , the band has had many changing members over the years.
The Wedding Present was inactive from 1997 to 2004 until Gedge revived the name for his band Cinerama .
Band history
Early phases and reception records period
Gedge's first group was The Lost Pandas, but they broke up in 1984 when their drummer Janet Rigby, then girlfriend of David Gedge, left him for guitarist Michael Duane. Gedge and the pandas bassist Keith Gregory decided to continue the band under the name The Wedding Present.
Gedge had had this name on his mind for a long time, but so far he had feared problems because of the similarity of the name to that of one of his favorite bands, The Birthday Party . However, when the Lost Pandas split up, The Birthday Party also broke up. So Gedge felt that The Wedding Present was now appropriate.
Together with Gregory he recruited Peter Solowka, an old school friend, as a guitarist. They also had many drummers audition, including John Ramsden and Mike Bedford, with whom they recorded a demo tape. In the end, they chose Shaun Charman.
The band toured UK clubs to prepare for the recording of their first self-financed single. Go Out and Get 'Em, Boy! instead of Will You Be Up There? selected, although the latter was a fan favorite.
Charman lacked confidence in his musical abilities; therefore Julian Sowa took over the drum parts on the A-side of the single instead, but Charman played on the B-side . In 1985 the single was released by the band's record company, Reception Records.
After the veteran BBC radio DJ John Peel had praised the band, two more singles followed, which were successful in the indie charts. Peel invited the band to record a radio session for his show (three songs appeared on the 1988 compilation Tommy (1985-1987) ; the entire session was released in 1986 on the EP Don't Try And Stop Me, Mother ).
By the time the band began work on their debut album, a number of independent and major labels had shown interest in them. However, all offers to continue to publish their own works were refused.
The album was titled George Best , named after the famous British soccer player, and was released in October 1987. Due to disagreements over the production with their record producer, Chris Allison, the recording was remixed by the band and their sound engineer Steve Lyon.
George Best was critically acclaimed, and the band was soon considered a member of the C86 scene - a categorization that was heavily rejected; nevertheless the band was represented on the compilation C86 . The tone of the album was characterized by fast rhythm guitars and Gedges lyrics of love, lust, lovesickness and feelings of revenge, which should become his trademark.
Soon after the album was released, her first singles and radio sessions appeared on the compilation Tommy (1985–1987) . When Solowka, whose roots are in Ukraine, played a Ukrainian folk song during another John Peel radio session , the band, at Peel's encouragement, had the idea of recording some Ukrainian folk songs. For this they recruited two guest musicians: singer / violinist Len Liggins and mandolin player Roman Remeynes. In this line-up, three “ peel sessions ” of Ukrainian folk songs were recorded.
Between the recording of the first and second “Ukrainian” sessions, Charman was fired from the band. The substitute was Simon Smith, who stayed with the band until 1997. The band planned to release eight tracks from the "Ukrainian" sessions on a 10 "record . While these albums were being pressed, however, the distribution company Red Rhino, with which the band was working, went bankrupt. Instead of looking for a new distribution company, they decided Band to discontinue their record company Reception Records and sign a contract with the major label RCA .
In July 1988 The Wedding Present appeared in the GDR. The band played at the invitation of the Berlin FDJ and the GDR radio station DT 64 at a music festival in the Werner-Seelenbinder-Halle in East Berlin , at which the American punk singer-songwriter Jonathan Richman , the Polish punk band Voo Voo and the GDR groups The Expander des Progress and Feeling B were part of the line-up. On the eve of the concert, musicians from Wedding Present and Feeling B fought a guitar duel at the Tierpark-Club youth club in Berlin-Lichtenberg , which contemporary witnesses describe as "legendary".
Change to the major label
Although the band was now under contract with a major label and was accordingly criticized from some quarters, they were able to make their own selection of music producers and singles under the terms of the contract, and also all singles that RCA discarded, with another company without Publish breach of contract.
The new record company bought the remaining "Ukrainian" records from the band, pressed another lot, and finally the album was released in April 1989 under the title Українські Виступи в Івана Піла ("Ukrainian John Peel Sessions").
The first regular album the band recorded for their new label was released that same year. For "Bizarro" they teamed up again with music producer Chris Allison, and although the structures and themes of the songs were pretty much the same as before, the album had a higher production quality due to its larger budget. Bizarro's only single , Kennedy , brought the band their first success in the UK singles charts .
With their growing popularity on American college radio, the band turned to the USA for their next project. It was decided to take up the bizarro track Brassneck again, this time with the American music producer Steve Albini . This began a two-year collaboration: Both the band's next single ( Corduroy ) and the next album ( Seamonsters ) were recorded with Albini in his Pachyderm Recording Studio in Minnesota .
Unlike its predecessors, Seamonsters sounded more like American alternative rock of the time, which is why the British music magazine Melody Maker compared the album to "sandpaper for your ears". However, the end-of-year reader survey showed that the album's lead single, Dalliance , was among the most popular songs in 1991. Immediately after recording the album, the band announced that Solowka had meanwhile been fired. His replacement was Paul Dorrington from the Leeds group Tse Tse Fly. Solowka then reunited with Liggins and Remeynes to form The Ukrainians .
The next year the band took on a single project where they released a new 7 "single every month . Each single had a limited circulation of just 10,000 copies, and all hit the top 30 of the UK singles chart, making Elvis Presley's record for most UK singles Top 30 hits in a year was set.
To relieve the songwriter Gedge, the B-sides did not consist of new songs, but of different cover versions . The singles, which emerged with various music producers, including Ian Broudie ( Lightning Seeds ) and Jimmy Miller ( The Rolling Stones ), were re-released in 1993 on the compilations Hit Parade 1 and Hit Parade 2 . Soon after the end of this project, the band announced that they would leave the RCA label .
The band spent most of 1993 free time, only giving concerts occasionally. When one stepped back in public in the spring of 1994, the press release soon followed that bassist Keith Gregory had left the band due to motivation problems; he was replaced by Darren Belk.
Mid 1990s
For their next album, The Wedding Present flew back to the USA and recruited the American music producer Steve Fisk to record Watusi . Compared to Seamonsters , the album had a more eclectic sound, from warm pop songs to psychedelic tones.
However, Watusi did not sell as well as the previous albums, and the two singles ( Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah and It's a Gas ) missed the top 50 of the British single charts. After all, it was the only album released by the band on Island Records .
In 1995 guitarist Paul Dorrington left the band. Instead of looking for a replacement, Belk took over both the guitar and bass parts. The band appeared rarely that year, and with Sucker was just one new single that they financed.
The Wedding Present returned to an independent label when they signed a deal with Cooking Vinyl in 1995 . The group now consisting of three people recorded the short album Mini , which revolved around cars. Although Darren Belk played both guitar and bass on the album, Jayne Lockey was enlisted as the band's new bass player soon after it was released. Shortly thereafter, Belk left the band completely and was replaced by Simon Cleave.
This new line-up went into the studio to record the Saturnalia album. This marked a new step as the whole band was now writing the songs. After touring to promote the album, The Wedding Present took a long break.
Time out and Cinerama project
Although several compilations were released during this break, Gedge's first new material came out in 1998 on the album Va Va Voom , which he recorded with his girlfriend Sally Murrell under the band name Cinerama .
Gedge turned his energies more and more to the Cinerama project; Under this name three studio albums were released from 1998 to 2003. At first, the band's sound was very different from The Wedding Present. For example, orchestral instruments were used, similar to film music. Over time, however, he came closer and closer to The Wedding Present.
Around 2003 Gedge separated from Murrell, who then left the band. During the recording of the next Cinerama album, he decided to release the album under the name "The Wedding Present" because of the growing resemblance of the sound to his old band. However, instead of bringing the old members back into the band, Gedge stuck to the Cinerama musicians.
Return as "The Wedding Present"
In 2004 his decision was made public and the first new "Wedding Present" material appeared in eight years: The single Interstate 5 , released in September 2004, gave a foretaste of the album Take Fountain . Both were released on Scopitones, the record company Gedge founded for Cinerama .
The band spent several years on tour, including a. also to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album George Best . The Wedding Present has since completed other “anniversary tours” for both Bizarro and Seamonsters . During this time, the cast of the group went through many changes.
Their next studio album brought the band back together with Steve Albini , who had produced the Seamonsters album as well as some Cinerama albums. The result, El Rey appeared 2008. 2012 they released the album Valentina , the 2016 album Going, Going ... followed.
Members
- David Gedge : vocals, guitar (1985 until now)
- Peter Solowka: guitar (1985–1991)
- Keith Gregory: Bass (1985-1993)
- Shaun Charman: drums, vocals (1985–1988)
- Simon Smith: drums (1988–1997)
- Paul Dorrington: guitar (1991–1995)
- Darren Belk: bass, vocals (1993–1995), guitar (1995–1996)
- Jayne Lockey: bass, vocals (1995–1997)
- Simon Cleave: guitar (1996-2006, 2009)
- Terry de Castro: bass, vocals (2004-2010)
- Kari Paavola: drums (2004-2005)
- Simon Pearson: drums (2005)
- Graeme Ramsay: drums, guitar (2006–2012)
- Christopher McConville: guitar (2006–2009)
- Charles Layton : drums (2005, 2009 to date)
- Pepe le Moko : bass, vocals (2010 until now)
- Patrick Alexander : guitar (2012 until now)
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
|||
| 1987 | George Best |
UK47 (2 weeks) UK |
|
| 1989 | Bizarre |
UK22 (3 weeks) UK |
|
| 1991 | Seamonsters |
UK13 (3 weeks) UK |
|
| 1994 | Watusi |
UK47 (1 week) UK |
|
| 1996 | Saturnalia |
UK36 (1 week) UK |
|
| 2005 | Take fountain |
UK68 (1 week) UK |
|
| 2012 | Valentina |
UK77 (1 week) UK |
|
| 2016 | Going, going |
UK35 (1 week) UK |
More studio albums
- 2008: El Rey
Compilations
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
|||
| 1988 | Tommy (1985-1987) |
UK42 (3 weeks) UK |
|
| 1989 | Українські Виступи в Івана Піла |
UK22 (3 weeks) UK |
"Ukrainian John Peel Sessions"
|
| 1992 | Hit Parade 1 |
UK22 (2 weeks) UK |
|
| 1993 | Hit Parade 2 |
UK19 (2 weeks) UK |
More compilations
- 1999: Singles 1989-1991
- 1999: Singles 1995-1997
- 2005: Search for Paradise: Singles 2004-2005
- 2007: The Complete Peel Sessions 1986-2004
- 2007: Yé Yé: The Best Of The RCA Years
- 2008: How The West Was Won
EPs
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
|||
| 1990 | 3 songs |
UK25 (4 weeks) UK |
|
| 1996 | Mini |
UK92 (1 week) UK |
More EPs
- 1986: Don't Try and Stop Me, Mother
- 1986: The Peel Sessions
- 1988: Radio 1 Sessions: The Evening Show
- 2012: 4 chansons
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
|||
| 1987 | My Favorite Dress George Best |
UK95 (1 week) UK |
|
| 1988 | Nobody's Twisting Your Arm |
UK46 (2 weeks) UK |
|
| Why Are You Being So Reasonable Now? |
UK42 (2 weeks) UK |
||
| 1989 | Kennedy Bizarro |
UK33 (3 weeks) UK |
|
| 1990 | Brassneck Bizarro |
UK24 (3 weeks) UK |
|
| 1991 | Dalliance Seamonsters |
UK29 (3 weeks) UK |
|
| Lovenest Seamonsters |
UK58 (1 week) UK |
||
| 1992 | Blue eyes |
UK26 (2 weeks) UK |
|
| Go-go dancer |
UK20 (1 week) UK |
||
| Three |
UK14 (2 weeks) UK |
||
| Silver shorts |
UK14 (1 week) UK |
||
| Come play with me |
UK10 (2 weeks) UK |
||
| California |
UK16 (1 week) UK |
||
| Flying Saucer |
UK22 (1 week) UK |
||
| Boing! |
UK19 (1 week) UK |
||
| Love slave |
UK17 (1 week) UK |
||
| Sticky |
UK17 (1 week) UK |
||
| The Queen of Outer Space |
UK23 (1 week) UK |
||
| No Christmas |
UK25 (1 week) UK |
||
| 1994 | Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Watusi |
UK51 (2 weeks) UK |
|
| It's a Gas Watusi |
UK71 (2 weeks) UK |
||
| 2, 3, Go |
UK67 (1 week) UK |
||
| 1997 | Montreal Saturnalia |
UK40 (2 weeks) UK |
|
| 2004 | Interstate 5 Take Fountain |
UK62 (1 week) UK |
|
| 2005 | I'm From Further North Than You |
UK34 (3 weeks) UK |
More singles
- 1985: Go Out and Get 'Em, Boy!
- 1986: Once More
- 1986: You Should Always Keep in Touch with Your Friends
- 1987: Anyone Can Make a Mistake
- 1995: Sucker
- 2005: Ringway to SeaTac
Video albums
- 1990: * PUNK (compilation of their early music videos and a 1990 concert in Leeds)
- 1993: Dick York's Wardrobe (Compilation of Hit Parade Music Videos)
- 2008: An Evening with The Wedding Present (a 2005 concert in London)