The Bollweevils (1985-1993)

Introduction   *** The Bollweevils story    Formation    A Gigging Band   The Record Deal    It goes very, very wrong   Aftermath   *** Press    *** Recordings    *** Downloads

It starts to go slightly wrong Negotiations to find a producer were resolved when ABC's Steve Singleton agreed to take on the job but it was not until January 1991 that The Bollweevils were finally able to get into the studio to record their second single. There was a big budget, but it was six months before the single was finished. Problems were occurring, with Chris leaving his drumsticks behind to follow a career in medicine, resulting in Caroline Bodin being brought in to replace him. Five-days spent in Sheffield's Fon studio had not resulted in finished recordings. Once the songs were finally recorded they were mixed by Steve Singleton and his engineer/assistant Dave Lewin, but neither the band nor Decoy were happy with them.   The tracks were duly re-mixed in June with punk/dance producer Alan Scott, but the Life's A Scream EP was never released.   In August 1991, over eighteen months since the release of the first single, the band appointed professional management and added a second guitarist, Mark Shaw formerly of Circus Circus Circus and on drums Pete Darnborough (from Leeds techno-goths MDMA.) Another EP was recorded in September with Jim Beattie (ex Primal Scream) as producer. Mouth was released in November and received radio airplay and apparently made the top 100, but apparently Vinyl Solution were unable to get adequate distribution it disappeared without trace.   At this time all of the singles recorded to date were put together on a Japanese promo album which recycled the title Life's A Scream.   At the beginning of 1992 a final single, Missing Out was recorded for Vinyl Solution, but once again it was a single that was never released. Vinyl Solution had suddenly discovered the dance music craze and the money to be made from it, and their interest in guitar bands waned. The management company encouraged the band to leave Decoy with the promise of a much better deal somewhere else.   The band continued to gig and write songs, eventually getting together the interest and money to record an album in March 1993. Bob Mould agreed to produce the album, and Craig Leon, who had produced Blondie and the Ramones, was to be persuaded to lend a hand. All was looking positive at last, and the band were booked into The Windings, a residential studio in Wales. Everything they could conceivably need, with a certain amount of equipment generously loaned by friends, was shipped to darkest Wales and recording started.   Next page: It goes very, very wrong    page updated 23rd March 2007