Blow Up (band)
Encyclopedia
Blow Up were a British
indie pop
/indie rock
band active between 1986 and 1991.
, England
in 1986 by former 14 Iced Bears
member Nick Roughley (vocals), along with Alan Stirner (guitar), Whirl frontman Trevor Elliott on Bass , and The Milk Sisters Drummer Chris Window (drums). Signing to Creation Records
at their first gig by an awe-struck Alan McGee
they gained exposure with two singles on the label, 1987's 1966-Nuggets-style "Good For Me" and the epic "Pool Valley" (the latter taking its name from Brighton's bus station and featuring new bassist Aziz Hashmi). A BBC Janice Long
live session at the legendary BBC Abbey Road studios in 1987 brought the outfit well needed publicity with the help of Dave Nimmo on percussion. A tour of the Netherlands
and Belgium
was followed by their early recordings being collected on the Rollercoaster compilation issued on Megadisc in 1988. After two further EP's, the Pixies-influenced first album proper, In Watermelon Sugar, was issued in 1990. This line-up featued Justin Spear, son of Roger Ruskin Spear of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
and 'Paul' Reeves, who as Billy Reeves
formed theaudience
with Sophie Ellis-Bextor
in 1997. An ambitious further album, Amazon Eyegasm (featuring the former 14 Iced Bear Will Taylor on guitar and 'Red Ed' on drums) followed in 1991.
Blow-Up were described as 'the best band I ever signed, and the worst band I ever signed' by Alan McGee
.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
/indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band active between 1986 and 1991.
History
The band was formed in BrightonBrighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1986 by former 14 Iced Bears
14 Iced Bears
14 Iced Bears were a British indie pop band associated with the C86 music scene. Formed in Brighton in 1985, by Rob Sekula and Nick Emery the band featured a shifting line-up of musicians across their seven-year existence, centred around songwriter and vocalist Rob Sekula and guitarist Kevin Canham...
member Nick Roughley (vocals), along with Alan Stirner (guitar), Whirl frontman Trevor Elliott on Bass , and The Milk Sisters Drummer Chris Window (drums). Signing to Creation Records
Creation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
at their first gig by an awe-struck Alan McGee
Alan McGee
Alan McGee has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for The Guardian.McGee is best-known for co-forming and running the independent Creation Records label from 1983–1999, and then Poptones from 1999-2007...
they gained exposure with two singles on the label, 1987's 1966-Nuggets-style "Good For Me" and the epic "Pool Valley" (the latter taking its name from Brighton's bus station and featuring new bassist Aziz Hashmi). A BBC Janice Long
Janice Long
Janice Long is an English radio broadcaster currently working on BBC Radio 2. Her show is on Sunday to Thursday nights from midnight to 02:00. She is the older sister of TV and radio personality Keith Chegwin.-Early career:...
live session at the legendary BBC Abbey Road studios in 1987 brought the outfit well needed publicity with the help of Dave Nimmo on percussion. A tour of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
was followed by their early recordings being collected on the Rollercoaster compilation issued on Megadisc in 1988. After two further EP's, the Pixies-influenced first album proper, In Watermelon Sugar, was issued in 1990. This line-up featued Justin Spear, son of Roger Ruskin Spear of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band are a band created by a group of British art-school denizens of the 1960s...
and 'Paul' Reeves, who as Billy Reeves
Billy Reeves
Billy Reeves is a British songwriter, musician, record producer and broadcaster.In the early 1990s he formed the band Congregation , releasing one album, Egham, on the Fire Records label for whom Reeves has previously worked as a public relations manager. The group never achieved much success...
formed theaudience
Theaudience
Theaudience were a Britpop group active in the 1990s. They released one album and saw three singles enter the UK Singles Chart. The band's singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor became a successful solo artist after the band's disbandment....
with Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor is an English singer, songwriter, model and occasional DJ. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s, as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo, achieving widespread success in the early 2000s...
in 1997. An ambitious further album, Amazon Eyegasm (featuring the former 14 Iced Bear Will Taylor on guitar and 'Red Ed' on drums) followed in 1991.
Blow-Up were described as 'the best band I ever signed, and the worst band I ever signed' by Alan McGee
Alan McGee
Alan McGee has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for The Guardian.McGee is best-known for co-forming and running the independent Creation Records label from 1983–1999, and then Poptones from 1999-2007...
.
Singles/EPs
- "Good For Me" (1987, Creation Records) (UK IndieUK Indie ChartThe UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...
#37) - "Pool Valley" (1987, Creation Records)
- "Forever Holiday" (1988, Ediesta)
- "Forever Holiday" (1989, Cherry Red)
- "Own World Waiting" (1990, Cherry Red)
- "World" (1991, Cherry Red)
Albums
- Rollercoaster (1988, Megadisc)
- In Watermelon Sugar (1990, Cherry Red)
- Amazon Eyegasm (1991, Cherry Red)