The Bollweevils (1985-1993)

Introduction   *** The Bollweevils story    Formation   The Record Deal    It starts to go slightly wrong   It goes very, very wrong   Aftermath   *** Press    *** Recordings    *** Downloads

A gigging band The credit for getting The Bollweevils up and running as a live act must go to Steve McKevitt, a friend who was playing bass in local indie band The Big Push. Steve introduced Mark and Ray to Sarah Griffiths, a singer in local goth outfit The Reptiles. It was Steve who suggested that with Mark on lead guitar, himself on bass, and Sarah singing, that The Bollweevils could start playing live. Another friend, Dave Lloyd was persuaded to come in on rhythm guitar, but no drummer could initially be found and when they came to play their first gigs in early 1988 a drum-machine had to be used.   Initially Ray acted as manager to the band and continued to write songs with Mark. It was at this time that live favourites like "That Little Red-Headed Girl" and "Bubble of Passion" were written.   Another friend, Paul Lester, was pursuing a different path in the music business, determined to become a rock journalist. The Melody Maker published his first piece of writing, which just happened to be a review of the first gig played by The Bollweevils. Paul's ecstatic praise, claiming "This is what electricity tastes like," made a few people in the industry sit up and take an interest in the band. Publicity and promotion was made much easier by such a positive and prominent review! (Paul Lester eventually went on to become editor of the Melody Maker.)    For perhaps 18 months the band gigged constantly, travelling around the country, persuading larger venues to give them support slots on the strength of the demo tapes and reviews. Reviews in local and national press were all positive, likening their live sound to that of Blondie, amongst other bands. The whole experience was fun, with well-received gigs, and the obligatory catalogue of misadventures. One low-point was getting stuck in St Helens on bonfire night , with all the band equipment locked in a multi-story car park, and no transport home. High points were gigs at packed local venues such as The Hallamshire and the late lamented Take Two.   During this time the band honed their sound and learnt which songs were getting the most positive reaction live and on tape. One song, "That Little Red Haired Girl" had to be dropped from the live set when Chris joined because it was discovered that the manic drum-machine program for the song was unplayable by a real drummer. Mark and Sarah were writing some powerful new songs, though: the power-pop "Turn Your Head" was soon followed by the driving "All the Same", "Nothing Now" and "Carry On".   The next page: The Record Deal