60 Ft. Dolls
Encyclopedia
Career
They were formed in Newport in 1992 by Richard J. Parfitt and Michael Cole, who met through Donna MatthewsDonna Matthews
Donna Matthews was the lead guitarist of the Britpop band, Elastica.Matthews left Elastica in 1999. In May 2004, Matthews' new band, Klang, released their debut album, No Sound is Heard...
(later of Elastica
Elastica
Elastica were an English alternative rock band that played punk rock-influenced music. They were best known for their 1995 album Elastica, which produced singles that charted in the US and the UK.-History:...
), who was at the time, dating Cole and working part-time in the same pizza restaurant as Parfitt. After problems finding the right drummer, they eventually took on pastor's son Carl Bevan. Initially influenced by touring American hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
bands that played in Newport (and in particular, prominent local venue T. J.'s), the Dolls played noisy yet melodic rock, described by the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
as "grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
mod...proto-pub
Pub rock (UK)
Pub rock was a rock music genre that developed in the mid 1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement, pub rock was a reaction against progressive and glam rock. Although short-lived, pub rock was notable for rejecting stadium venues and for returning live rock to the small pubs and...
metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
of the first order". In 1993, Huw Williams of the Pooh Sticks became their manager and released the debut single "Happy Shopper", named after a British convenience store chain
Happy Shopper
Happy Shopper is a United Kingdom brand of independent convenience products. The brand is owned by cash and carry company Booker Group.The products are sold by Booker to independent convenience stores and off-licences. Products include groceries, frozen foods, carbonated drinks and confectionery....
, on his own Townhill label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
.
After supports with Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
, Elastica
Elastica
Elastica were an English alternative rock band that played punk rock-influenced music. They were best known for their 1995 album Elastica, which produced singles that charted in the US and the UK.-History:...
and Dinosaur Jr., 60 Ft. Dolls released their second single "White Knuckle Ride" on Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
and then "Pig Valentine" on the RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
imprint Indolent Records. These early singles were championed heavily by BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq , sometimes known by his nicknames Lammo or "The Cat" is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio stations BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.-Early career:He was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire...
, and as a consequence were picked up by influential American DJ Rodney Bingenheimer
Rodney Bingenheimer
Rodney Bingenheimer, born December 15, 1947, is a radio disc jockey on the long-running Los Angeles rock station KROQ who is notable for helping numerous iconic bands become successful in the American market. His contribution to the music business has been described as important...
of KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
. This resulted in the band signing a deal with Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
in the USA. The New York Times listed "Pig Valentine" among its 1996 singles of the year. The band broke into the UK Top 40 with their third single "Talk to Me" (Indolent, 1996). This was followed by their debut album, The Big 3, which was called "[a]s close to soar-away rock perfection as it's possible to imagine" by the NME and "[p]ure, unadulterated, no nonsense, emotional, tuneful, impassioned, purposeful, hedonistic rock 'n' roll" by Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
. The album was included in Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
s 2003 retrospective feature "Top 12 Britpop albums of the 90s", which called it "a devilishly evocative document of the period".
The band toured extensively in the UK, Japan and Europe, including several summer festival appearances as well as opening for The Sex Pistols at their 1996 Finsbury Park reunion gig. But they were dogged by alcohol problems, and after an exhaustive three tours of the USA in 1997, never toured again. They released their second album, Joya Magica, in late 1998 and split soon after.
The band recorded two sessions for John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
's BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
show, in 1996 and 1998, and appear in the top 125 Peel sessions of all time.
Mike Cole once played guitar for Newport's The Darling Buds
The Darling Buds
The Darling Buds were an indie band from Newport, South Wales. The band formed in 1986 and were named after the H. E. Bates novel The Darling Buds of May – a title taken in turn, from the third line of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18: "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May".-Career:Influenced...
but was asked to leave after just three gigs. He was also asked to stand in for Paul McGuigan
Paul McGuigan (musician)
Paul McGuigan , better known by his nickname, Guigsy , is an English musician and one of the four founding members of the English rock band Oasis...
on Oasis' 1996 tour of the USA, but declined.
Carl Bevan's father, Pastor Ray Bevan, heads one of the biggest evangelical churches in the UK and once sang guest vocals on the Dolls' "Let The Spirit Move You", a 12"
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
white label-only release, limited to one thousand copies and mixed by Wubble-U
Wubble-U
Wubble-U were an English dance music act of the mid 1990s, that were signed to BMG's independent record label, Indolent Records. They were Laurant Webb, Justin Bailey, Dave Pine and Dave Coker, and were most famous for the single, "Petal". This was originally a 1994 release, that featured the...
.
Welsh pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer Duffy
Duffy (singer)
Aimée Ann Duffy , known as Duffy, is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her 2008 debut album Rockferry entered the UK Album Chart at number one. It was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 with 1.68 million copies sold...
credits Richard Parfitt with "changing her life" and setting her on the road to fame after he hooked her up with manager Jeanette Lee.
The track "Hair", written by Mike Cole about his then-girlfriend Donna Matthews, was placed Number 7 in Mojos "100 Most Miserable Indie Songs of All Time" feature.
The Dolls were included, with Catatonia
Catatonia (band)
Catatonia were an alternative rock band from Wales who gained a national following in the United Kingdom in the mid to late 1990s. The band consisted of Cerys Matthews on vocals, Mark Roberts on guitar, Paul Jones on bass , Owen Powell on...
and others, in a House of Commons Early Day Motion
Early day motion
An Early Day Motion , in the Westminster system, is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by Members of Parliament for debate "on an early day" . Controversial EDMs are not signed by Government Ministers, PPS or the Speaker of the House of Commons and very few are debated on the floor...
, extolling the virtues of Newport's rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
credentials.
Albums
- The Big 3 (Indolent, 1996/GeffenGeffen RecordsGeffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
, 1997) UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
: #36 - Joya Magica (Indolent/Geffen, 1998)
Singles
- "Happy Shopper" (Townhill, 1994)
- "White Knuckle Ride" (Rough TradeRough Trade RecordsRough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
, 1995) - "Pig Valentine" (Indolent, 1995)
- "Talk to Me" (Indolent, 1996) UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
: #37 - "Stay" (Indolent, 1996) UK: #48
- "Happy Shopper" (re-recording) (Indolent, 1996)UK: #38
- "Alison's Room" (Indolent, 1998) UK: #61
Compilation appearances
- "London Breeds" on I Was a Teenage Gwent Boy (Frug Records, 1994)
- "Dr Rat" on Club Spangle (Spangle Records, 1995)
- "British Racing Green" on For Immediate Use (Raw, 1995)
- "The Universal" on Long Ago and Worlds Apart (Nippon Crown, 1995)
- "Number 1 Pure Alcohol" on Home Truths (Echo, 1995)
- "Happy Shopper" on Indie Top 20, Volume 21 (Beechwood Music, 1996)
- "Talk to Me" on Indie Top 20, Volume 23 Beechwood Music, 1996)
- "Pony Ride" on London Calling 1 (London Calling, 1996)
- "Talk to Me" on Mad for It (TelstarTelstar RecordsTelstar Records was a record label founded in 1982 by Sean O'Brien and Neil Palmer with a government loan of £120,000. It was founded as a specialist compilation marketing label and had hits with a range of compilation franchises such as the Deep Heat, Kaos Theory and 100% ranges...
, 1996) - "Stay" on The Best Album in The World Ever! Vol. 3 (Circa Records, 1996)
- "Stay" on The Magnificent Seven cassette (Melody Maker covermount, 1996)
- "Baby Says Yeah" on John Peel's Sounds Of The Suburbs (Shifty Disco 1999)
- "Talk to Me" on Shine 5 (Universal Music TV, 1996)
External links
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/artists/a/60ftdolls/