The Bitter Springs Explained

The Bitter Springs
Alias:Last Party
Background:group_or_band
Genre:Alternative rock
Years Active:1985 - present
Label:Harvey, Dishy, Idol
Associated Acts:Vic Godard
Website:bittersprings.com
Current Members:Simon Rivers
Andrew Deevey
Paul Baker
Paul McGrath
Phil Martin
Nick Brown
Past Members:Kim Ashford
Daniel Ashkenazy
Neil Palmer
Steve Infield
Andy Gwatkin
Ollie Cherer
Jack Hayter

The Bitter Springs are an English rock group from the London suburb of Teddington. The band evolved from Last Party, who had formed in 1985, with the name changing in 1996. The band have released two albums as Last Party, and six as The Bitter Springs and also played with Vic Godard as Subway Sect, on and off for nine years.

History

Last Party formed in 1985, although their history stretches back to the band No Trains At The Bay, which the members formed at school in 1978, and who had a song called "The Last Party". One of their earliest gigs was in support of The Sound, their original drummer Steve Infield being a housemate of The Sound's bass player Graham Bailey.[1] They released their debut album on their own Harvey label the following year. They were the support act at The Stone Roses' first London gig, at the Greyhound in Fulham, and were favourites with John Peel, recording two sessions for his BBC Radio 1 show, one in 1987 and a second in 1989.[2] [3] In 1995, the band members at the time (singer Simon Rivers, bass player Daniel Ashkenazy, Kim Ashford, and Neil Palmer) decided on a new name, The Bitter Springs, changing their name "in the hope that journalists who had ignored the Last Party would give us another listen". The debut release under this new name, the Addison Brothers EP, featured Vic Godard, and the Bitter Springs enjoyed a long association with Godard, acting as his backing band, the Subway Sect, for nine years, also contributing to studio recordings including Godard's Blackpool album, where Godard and the Bitter Springs provide musical backing to lyrics by Irvine Welsh. The Bitter Springs themselves have released six studio albums, including Benny Hill's Wardrobe, which was "album of the month" in MOJO and rated at 4.5 out of 5 by Melody Maker,[4] the latest being That Sentimental Slush in 2006, described as "an, exuberant bomb blast of an album".[5] [6] [7] Allmusic's Stewart Mason described the album as "entirely typical of the band's output, showing both their strengths and weaknesses", and noted Rivers' "wry sense of humor and an eye for romantic futility".[8] Lyricist and singer Simon Rivers has also performed solo, the first time in 2007 supporting The Band of Holy Joy.[9]

Discography

Singles

As Last Party

As The Bitter Springs

Albums

As Last Party

As The Bitter Springs

Compilation appearances

Notes and References

  1. Clarkson, John (2007) "Bitter Springs : Interview", Penny Black Music, 7 January 2007
  2. McFadden, Lee (2006) "IN PROFILE: The Bitter Springs ", The Morning Star, 7 January 2006
  3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/artists/l/lastparty/ Last Party
  4. Sladeckova, Olga (2003) "Bitter Springs : Interview with Simon Rivers", Penny Black Music, 12 October 2003
  5. McFadden, Lee (2006) "Life's auteurs - ALBUM: The Bitter Springs - That Sentimental Slush", The Morning Star, 18 February 2006
  6. McFadden, Lee (2006) "Exploding with raw emotion - ALBUM: The Bitter Springs - Poor Trace", The Morning Star, 3 November 2006
  7. Clarkson, John (2006) "Bitter Springs : That Sentimental Slush", Penny Black Music, 22 October 2006
  8. Mason, Stewart "[{{Allmusic|class=album|id=r833386/review|pure_url=yes}} The Bitter Springs ''That sentimental Slush'' Review]", Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation
  9. Palmer, Neil (2007) "Simon Rivers : 12 Bar Club, London, 1/5/2007", Penny Black Music, 15 April 2007

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