The Bodines
Encyclopedia
The Bodines were a British
rock group from the mid- to late-1980s.
, England
, near Manchester
, in 1985. Fronted by the floppy-fringed Ryan, they became one of the better-known outfits from a crop of jangly indie
bands that sprang up around that time. They made their debut with "God Bless", an early release by Creation Records
. Shortly afterwards, Lilley was replaced on drums by John Rowland. Two further singles followed; their second, "Therese", was included on the famous C86
compilation album. Like their contemporaries Primal Scream
, The Mighty Lemon Drops
and The Weather Prophets
, The Bodines went on to sign up with a major label with great hopes of transferring their success to the mainstream charts. The group joined Magnet Records
, where a remix of "Therese" became their major label debut.
In July 1986, The Bodines participated in the Festival of the Tenth Summer
. The Bodines's debut album, Played (produced by Ian Broudie
, later to enjoy success as a recording artist as the Lightning Seeds
) scraped in to #94 in the UK Albums Chart
, in the summer of 1987. None of the Bodines' singles got into the UK Singles Chart
. Under pressure for failing to deliver the hit record that their major label backers required, the Bodines split up, albeit temporarily. Rowland went on to play with The Rainkings
.
In 1989, a reformed line-up of Ryan, Brotherton, new bassist Ian Watson, and new drummer Spencer Birtwistle released the single "Decide" on Manchester's Play Hard label and contributed a further new track to the same label's Hand to Mouth compilation. A couple of years later, Ryan reappeared with a new band called Medalark Eleven (mis-named after Harlem Globetrotters
' Meadowlark Lemon
), assisted by Gareth Thomas on bass and Adrian Donohue on drums. Reunited with Creation Records, they released a couple of singles ahead of the album Shaped Up, Shipped Out.
On 23 August 2010, The Bodines debut album Played was reissued with 7 bonus tracks on the label Cherry Red.
The Japanese release (Cat. No. VDP-1319) contained two extra tracks: "Therese" (New Extended Mix) and "Heard It All"
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rock group from the mid- to late-1980s.
Core line-up
- Michael Ryan - vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Paul Brotherton - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Tim Burwood - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- John Rowland - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Other members
- Paul Lilley - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Ian Watson - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Spencer BirtwistleMembers of The FallOne of the most notable aspects of the career of The Fall has been the number of musicians to have passed through the group since their formation in 1976. The group has just one constant, vocalist Mark E. Smith. Aside from him, there have been about 66 members over the band's 35 year existence...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Andrew "Booty" Boot - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
History
The Bodines, consisting of Mike Ryan, Paul Brotherton, Tim Burtonwood and Paul Lilley, emerged from GlossopGlossop
Glossop is a market town within the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Glossop Brook, a tributary of the River Etherow, about east of the city of Manchester, west of the city of Sheffield. Glossop is situated near Derbyshire's county borders with Cheshire, Greater...
, 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...
, near Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, in 1985. Fronted by the floppy-fringed Ryan, they became one of the better-known outfits from a crop of jangly indie
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
bands that sprang up around that time. They made their debut with "God Bless", an early release by 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...
. Shortly afterwards, Lilley was replaced on drums by John Rowland. Two further singles followed; their second, "Therese", was included on the famous C86
C86 (music)
C86 is a cassette compilation released by the British music magazine NME in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from independent labels of the time. As a phrase, C86 quickly evolved into shorthand for a guitar-based musical genre characterised by "jangly" guitars and fey melodies, although other...
compilation album. Like their contemporaries Primal Scream
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie and now based in London. The current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes , Martin Duffy , and Darrin Mooney...
, The Mighty Lemon Drops
The Mighty Lemon Drops
The Mighty Lemon Drops were an English rock group active from 1985 to 1992.-Biography:Originally called the Sherbet Monsters, the quartet first formed in the spring of 1985 in Wolverhampton, in The Black Country...
and The Weather Prophets
The Weather Prophets
The Weather Prophets were a British indie band formed in London in 1986 after the break-up of The Loft. After two studio albums, the band split up, with singer Peter Astor going on to a solo career.- History :...
, The Bodines went on to sign up with a major label with great hopes of transferring their success to the mainstream charts. The group joined Magnet Records
Magnet Records
Magnet Records was a record label started in 1973 by Michael Levy and acquired by Warner Bros. Records in 1988 for an estimated £10m.Artists on the label included Alvin Stardust, Matchbox, Adrian Baker, Silver Convention, Guys 'n' Dolls, Darts, Kissing the Pink, Bad Manners, David D'Or, Blue Zoo...
, where a remix of "Therese" became their major label debut.
In July 1986, The Bodines participated in the Festival of the Tenth Summer
Festival of the Tenth Summer
The Festival of the Tenth Summer was a music and art festival that took place in Manchester in July 1986. The festival was organised by Factory Records to 'celebrate Manchester' specifically with reference to the first performance by the Sex Pistols at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester on 4...
. The Bodines's debut album, Played (produced by Ian Broudie
Ian Broudie
Ian Broudie is a British singer-songwriter, musician and record producer from Liverpool, England. After emerging from the post punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to form the short-lived groups Original Mirrors and Care in the early 1980s as well...
, later to enjoy success as a recording artist as the Lightning Seeds
Lightning Seeds
The Lightning Seeds are an English alternative rock and pop band from Liverpool, England formed in 1989 by Ian Broudie , formerly of the Big in Japan band....
) scraped in to #94 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The 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...
, in the summer of 1987. None of the Bodines' singles got into the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The 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 ...
. Under pressure for failing to deliver the hit record that their major label backers required, the Bodines split up, albeit temporarily. Rowland went on to play with The Rainkings
The Rainkings
The Rainkings were an English indie rock band, formed in 1989 by former members of Inspiral Carpets and The Bodines. Stephen Holt had been the original singer in Inspiral Carpets, performing on their first few releases, including the Planecrash EP, but left, along with Dave Swift in 1989, forming...
.
In 1989, a reformed line-up of Ryan, Brotherton, new bassist Ian Watson, and new drummer Spencer Birtwistle released the single "Decide" on Manchester's Play Hard label and contributed a further new track to the same label's Hand to Mouth compilation. A couple of years later, Ryan reappeared with a new band called Medalark Eleven (mis-named after Harlem Globetrotters
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...
' Meadowlark Lemon
Meadowlark Lemon
Meadow "Meadowlark" Lemon is an American basketball player, actor, and minister. For 22 years, Lemon was known as the "Clown Prince" of the touring Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. He played in more than 16,000 games for the Globetrotters and is a 2003 inductee of the Naismith Memorial...
), assisted by Gareth Thomas on bass and Adrian Donohue on drums. Reunited with Creation Records, they released a couple of singles ahead of the album Shaped Up, Shipped Out.
On 23 August 2010, The Bodines debut album Played was reissued with 7 bonus tracks on the label Cherry Red.
Singles
- "God Bless" 7" b/w "Paradise" Creation Records CRE 016 1986 #8
- "Therese" 7" & 12" b/w "I Feel", "Scar Tissue" Creation Records CRE 028, CRE 028T 1986 #4
- "Heard It All" 7" & 12" b/w "Heard It All", "Clear", "William Shatner" Creation Records CRE 030, CRE 030T 1986 #4
- "Therese" 7" & 12" b/w "Heard It All" Magnet Records BOD1, BODT1 1987
- "Skankin Queens" 7" & 12" b/w "My Remarkable Mind" Magnet Records BOD2, BODT2 1987
- "Slip Slide" 7" & 12" b/w "Naming Names", "Long Time Dead" Magnet Records BOD3, BODT3 1987
- "Decide" 12"b/w "Hard On", "The Groove" Play Hard Records Dec 18 1989 #15
Albums
- Played Magnet Records BODL 2001 1987
- "Skankin Queens"
- "What You Want"
- "Scar Tissue"
- "Tall Stories"
- "Clear"
- "Untitled"
- "Therese"
- "Slip Slide"
- "The Back Door"
- "William Shatner"
The Japanese release (Cat. No. VDP-1319) contained two extra tracks: "Therese" (New Extended Mix) and "Heard It All"
- "Played" with 7 bonus tracks, reissued Cherry Red 23rd August 2010
Compilation appearances
- NME C86 Compilation NME 22 Contributed "Therese". Free with the NME Weekly Music paper. Was also released as a 500 numbered promo was released for radio with the number NME Pro 1. It was later released with a different sleeve on Rough Trade with the number ROUGH 100. 1986
- It's Different For Domeheads Creation CRELP 5 Contributed "Paradise"
- Record Mirror 12". Free release with the Record Mirror Magazine on Ensign RM6. Contributed "Back Door (live)" 1986
- Flowers In The Sky 1984-1987 Creation CRELP 028 CD Contributed "God Bless"
- Creation Soup Volume 2 Creation CRECD 102 (on vinyl as CRELP 102) Contributed "God Bless", "Paradise"
- Creation Soup Volume 3 Creation CRECD 103 (on vinyl as CRELP 103) Contributed "William Shatner"
- Hand To Mouth Playhard Contributed "Hard On" and "Call Your Name"
Other releases
- "William Shatner" Canadian Live Bootleg (7") Label Unknown BODX1 This was free with BODT1
External links
- Slip Slide - The Bodines by Tom Bartlett
- The Bodines by Bird Poo