Home |  News |  Who Are They? |  History |  Discography |  Buy  |  Download  |  Vault |  Links |  Mail Us!
[1]   [2]   [3]   [4]   [5]   Next...  
An Epic tale of Intrigue, Suspense, Elation, heartbreak, and Ginsters Chicken Slices. The Full unexpurgated story of all things Stanley in nature. With Amps. And Songs. And Guitars.

Part 1: Shirley Towers: The Sidford Inn to Mikanoffs

Accrington Stanley were formed in Southampton by Dan O'Farrell (vocals/guitar) and Richard 'Baz' Barrett (keyboards/vocals) in 1986. The two school friends had been playing in the bizarrely named 'F Yes Bubble' with Chris Walsh (drums) and Richard Starke (bass), rehearsing up a garage-band mixture of their own songs and a few choice covers (The Kinks, The Doors, Bronski Beat) and playing them very loudly to petrified pubescent peers at Catholic Youth Clubs. Dan and Baz got a bit tired of the 'musical differences' inherent in the 'F Yes Bubble' set-up, and formed Accrington Stanley to pursue secret ambitions to be the new Simon and Garfunkel...the poor, deluded fools.

F Yes Bubble recorded one eponymous album on a borrowed 4-track. They released it themselves on cassette and sold numerous copies to fellow 15 year-olds. The album stands up surprisingly well today (but I could be biased.). By the time it was released the band had split up, with Richard Starke going on to do his own thing with 'The Kinky Boot Beasts' and 'Jane Pow' amongst others. Chris stayed on and Accrington Stanley became a three-piece and a going-concern. Baz covered the necessary bass-lines on his organ and the band quickly stockpiled a large number of their own songs. They started to book themselves into pubs, playing several gigs at 'The Sidford Inn' in Shirley. The regulars were deafened, but the band brought a sizable following with them. Sadly, the residency at the Sidford was cancelled when the landlord suddenly realised that most of the beer he was selling was being consumed by 15 and 16 year olds. He cacked himself and summarily fired the band. Them's the breaks.

This line-up of the band recorded another cassette-release album, Terrible Truths. This was a landmark in many ways. Firstly, it provided the first recorded version of 'James Stewart', a live and recorded favourite ever since, and secondly, it was the first time the band recorded with John Titcombe. John proved to be a vital part of the Stanley set-up, acting as producer, engineer and sound-man in the early years and as manager later on. Terrible Truths also included 'Running For King' (featuring Mario Turzo on trumpet), and the mythical 'Goin' Down the Mayfair', a cunning satire on Southampton teen dancing mores, so effective that 'the Mayfair' was pulled down but a few years later.

Not for the last time, Accrington Stanley ran into drummer problems. The talented Chris Walsh joined the merchant navy and was, in musical terms, 'lost at sea'. Dan and Baz wanted to continue playing but wanted someone imaginative and unusual to play the drums. They found Alfie Baker. The same week they found a guy who reckoned himself as a bass-player and, sceptical, they invited him to a rehearsal as well.

Alfie was an eccentric drummer from the word go. Arriving at the first rehearsal with a 'teach yourself drums' book, he quickly proved himself to be imaginative and unusual, as prone to set up his kit to 'look like an insect, man' as he was to practice his paradiddles. He was instantly accepted into the Stanley fold. The bass-player, Sam Burgess, quickly proved himself to be the most musically proficient bassist that anyone had heard, let alone played with and, once Dan, Baz and Alfie managed to cure him of his Level 42 addiction (a bottle of Merrydown and the first two Violent Femmes albums did the trick), he became the unchallenged 'king of bass'. He blew a mean trumpet, too.
The new four-piece Accrington Stanley rehearsed as often as they could and built a strong set based on the best of the Terrible Truths songs, an ever-increasing number of new originals and a widened choice of covers (including 'Psycho Killer') made possible by Sam's dexterity. They briefly became a five-piece with the addition of Nick Stevenson on guitar and flute, and this line-up quickly recorded a second album of 1987, Shambolic. The title reflected the recording conditions and the album certain captured a certain raw, slapdash approach which typified early (and middle, and late.) Stanley recordings and gigs. Songs such as 'Speechless', 'Calico' and 'Mummy, I'm Mangled' hinted at an increasingly direct approach. The Stanleys were starting to seriously rock!

Nick Stevenson left soon after to hang out in Winchester and become a chin-stroking jazzer, but the band continued to gig wherever they could. They started to attract a crowd wider than their friends and college classmates when they found themselves booked into an unlikely residency at the Greek Restaurant where Dan and Sam worked at weekends. 'Mikanoffs' was found in Bedford Place, near the centre of Southampton, and had never put on bands before. The owners (Mick and Noff, geddit?) had no aspirations to running a live music venue, but soon realised that bar takings for a Wednesday were going through the roof. The band played often, attracting a lively crowd, most of whom were nearly old enough to drink (although a police strip-a-gram hired for someone's birthday once cleared the bar very quickly.) and the Wednesday night gig became a focal point for a wide circle of people. The atmosphere was captured on a live album released on cassette - the imaginatively titled Live at Mikanoffs - which sold very well to people anxious to hear themselves ordering pints over the rumble of the band thrashing through venomous originals and some sterling cover versions.
The advantage of this regular gigging was that soon the band had enough money saved to actually record in a studio. After some frustrating days meeting some of the most arrogant tosspots in the already shallow sound-engineer gene-pool, Dan and Baz stumbled upon a garage-studio in North Baddesley. 'Sound on Sound', owned and operated by Mick Godden, a laconic but avuncular fellow, proved to be the perfect place to record the band. Whereas most engineers had blanched at the band's plans to record twelve tracks in two days, Mick Godden's comment was "That's good, six on each side." The recordings went similarly smoothly and the band came out proudly clutching the master tapes to GiddyBluePerfection.

The album was quickly released on cassette, professionally duplicated, with a proper cover and everything. It featured re-recordings of 'James Stewart', 'Speechless' and 'Pins and Medals', alongside live favourites such as 'Doubletime', 'Shuttered Room' and 'Sometimes Now'. The freedom of 16 track recording also enabled the band to experiment in different directions on songs like 'Pantomime Horse', '1,000 Canoes' and 'Christy', using violins, flutes and banjos to create a deeper sound. In short, it was cool, and while it didn't make many critics' 'Album of the Year' for 1988, those that bought it still swear by it. The release of GiddyBluePerfection also saw the band 'enjoy' their first (and nearly last!) brush with the media as Radio Solent gave them a half-hour interview on their evening show. Fame was surely only just around the corner! This period in the band's history came to an end in September 1988 when they played their last gig at Mikanoffs, a lively, all-ticket affair captured on video for posterity. The next week, Dan left for Manchester University and the future of the band hung in the balance....

[1]   [2]   [3]   [4]   [5]   Next...  
© 2008 Humphrey Records. Special thanks to Dominic O'Farrell. The website was designed at Stanley Towers. Any coincidence to persons living...(disclaimer)