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Part 4: Kilburn Thunder: Lovebound, Biddy's and the Ginster's Chicken Slice |
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Flushed with the 15 minutes of superstardom across the world and convinced that they had now had the ultimate weapon with which to topple the Madonnas, Michael Jacksons and Whitney Houstons from their platinum perches, the Stanleys set about booking more showcase gigs on the London circuit. All of the familiar venues turned up on the band's gig itinerary in this period: the Mean Fiddler, Bull & Gate, Rock Garden, Dublin Castle and the rest all now had another contender tuning up in their disused toilets with "dressing room" stencilled on the door; while the Hepworth/Titcombe Overdrive (as they were not known) saw to the business of thrusting a promo copy of "Lovebound" into the right faces in the right offices at the right time. |
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"The Beatles also had a crap name. And I hear they did alright" was the zenith of critical acclaim acheived from this run of gigs (Courtesy of Melody Maker). Dismissing the notion of bathos, the band decided to take their wares to the pub circuit, ostensibly to make a point to themselves about being the ultimate live band irrespective of the London Indie scene's critical hegemony, but when challenged over a pint, to "make some f****** money for a change". Interesting rarities around this time (at least, rarer than the band's non-platinum-selling recorded output) include Hey Hey (a live favourite) and a piano and string quartet version of "Zeppo Speaks". (watch this space for a download one of these days!) |
 Ultimately, The round of
London pubs and seedier dives proved the decider for drummer Anthony Christmas
in mid-1993 after a poorly-attended show at a pub in the shadow of Canary
Wharf. The "Lovebound" album would finally get released on the
band's own label a year later. (Anthony would later appear behind the kit
for Indie critical darlings Rialto.)
Once again Kev Sheriton stepped in and wielded the sticks while the band
slogged around London. Significantly, there was a growing set of new material
that the boys wanted to record. The prolific muse of O'Farrell had struck
in no uncertain terms and many of these songs were being worked into the
live set, as the band's North London reputation allowed them increasingly
to play their own material over hilarious pub-rock takes on classic covers. |
 Armed
with a four-track recorder and the upstairs of Biddy Mulligan's Public
House in Kilburn, the Stanleys bashed out the latest set of material in
two afternoons. The lo-fi glory of this effort has been remastered as "The
Biddy Sessions".The curse of Accrington Stanley drummers struck again after disagreements within the inner circle over recorded performances saw Kevin dropping out of the band for a spell. Enter Alex Bridge, who in the best tradition of Accrington Stanley Sticksmen, maintained a singular path through the crazy world of showbiz = "the louder I 'its 'em, the louder they gets - the louder they gets, the more I likes it- the more I likes it, the harder I 'its 'em"...etc. It was Alex's exuberance and zero-tolerance for bullshit that kickstarted the Stanleys into a further round of gigging. With Kevin's continued pep-talks, Baz looking up far-flung venues around the country and John closing the deals, the band found themselves on a three-week non-stop tour to spread the word beyond the London faithful. |
 None
of this could have happened without the Road Manager/organisational
mastermind of "Sir" John Titcombe. An honorary Knighthood bestowed
upon John by the band for his unflagging support in the formative days,
he had already more than earned his Stanley stripes. Now his near-military
precision in getting the band back and forth, his dedication in maintaining
the roadworthiness of the famed "Stanleymobile", not to mention
his superhuman patience, turned Accrington Stanley into a formidable touring
machine.
Thus began the "lovebound" tour up and down the UK. Playing in half built nightclubs, universities, Hells Angel hangouts, youth clubs and local pubs for local people, Accrington Stanley worked a 2-hour live set within a broken string of perfection - allegedly on the nights where the curse of 3-men-and-a-dog struck the venue in question, say the band - yet this period showed the Stanleys at their live best. (Watch this space for some MP3s for download, once we wrestle the live tapes from their custodians!) |
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The band begged and scraped accomodation in crumbling student terraces, suburban semis of uncertain derivation, multiplex cinemas, a farm and (for the drawer of the short straw) the back of the van. Like all touring bands, life blurred into a long haul of all night Motorway service stations (necessitating a staple diet of Ginsters Chicken Slices), mechanical failures on the North Yorkshire Moors, hastily repaired snare drums and an eccentric attitude towards prevailing medical opinions of recommended minimum hours of sleep. |
 So there it was. One spell in casualty,
one postponement of set due to fire alarm, one on-stage fight, one mysterious
case of toxic waste deposited in a sleeping bag, one moped ride into
a lake, one drastic keyboardist's image upheaval and five diseased livers
later, the Stanleys returned from the tour to the welcoming arms of the
organisms which had moved into the North London abode. |
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Stanleys! I want to go home now |
So up they trotted
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Humphrey Records. Special thanks to Dominic O'Farrell. The website was
designed at Stanley Towers. Any coincidence to persons living...(