The Mighty Lemon Drops
Encyclopedia
The Mighty Lemon Drops were an English
rock
group active from 1985 to 1992.
, in The Black Country. Paul Marsh, Dave Newton and Tony Linehan had played together in a band called Active Restraint in 1982, with Newton later leaving to become a founding member of The Wild Flowers
. Dave Newton and Tony Linehan were the principal songwriter
s for the group. Their sound can best be described as a more psychedelia influenced post punk, played with a ringing Rickenbacker
guitar as the lead instrument. They drew comparisons to Echo and the Bunnymen, who were also influenced by psychedelia.
After losing original drummer Martin Gilks
(later to join The Wonder Stuff
), the Drops line-up settled as Paul Marsh (vocals), David Newton (guitar), Tony Linehan (bass), and Keith Rowley (drums). In December 1985 the quartet, now officially The Mighty Lemon Drops, released their first independent single
, "Like An Angel," on Daniel Treacy of Television Personalities "Dreamworld Records" label which went to the top of the UK Indie Chart
and sold 14,000 copies. They also recorded
a session for John Peel
around the same time. Becoming part of the C86 movement
, which was championed by the New Musical Express
, they were soon snapped up by Geoff Travis of Rough Trade for his new Blue Guitar label, a subsidiary of Chrysalis Records
. They signed with Sire Records
for the United States
and Canada
around the same period. Derek Jarman
produced
the video
for the "Out of Hand" single in 1987 which was followed by their hit
"Inside Out" in 1988. In the UK, albums Happy Head and World Without End both charted (#58 and #33 respectively) and in the US World Without End was a Number 1 Modern Rock/College album in 1988. The band eventually parted company with Chrysalis in the UK after three albums (Happy Head, World Without End and Laughter), failing to repeat their initial independent success, but remained signed with Sire in the US, with Laughter, another US Modern Rock #1 entering the lower regions of the Billboard 200
in 1990. During the sessions for Laughter, Linehan left the band and was replaced by Marcus Williams.
The band released two more albums, Sound...Say Goodbye To Your Standards and Ricochet before finally breaking up in 1992. Three more albums followed (live album
s All The Way and Young, Gifted, & Black Country, and the greatest-hits package Rollercoaster) and at the end of 2000 the band played a one-off comeback gig
in Wolverhampton. In 2007 the band were reported to have been offered the chance to reform at the Coachella festival.
Linehan now works as a project manager and emigrated to New Zealand
in April 2007.
Newton still works as a recording engineer
and record producer
, and has completed projects for The Little Ones
and The Blood Arm
. In 2006, he produced a cover version
of "Inside Out" (as well as playing bass guitar
on the track) for The Lassie Foundation
's double album
, Through and Through.
All of The Mighty Lemon Drops albums are now officially available again through Wounded Bird Records, licenced through Warner Bros, all with extra tracks, b-sides and liner notes.
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...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group active from 1985 to 1992.
Biography
Originally called the Sherbet Monsters, the quartet first formed in the spring of 1985 in WolverhamptonWolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, in The Black Country. Paul Marsh, Dave Newton and Tony Linehan had played together in a band called Active Restraint in 1982, with Newton later leaving to become a founding member of The Wild Flowers
The Wild Flowers
The Wild Flowers were a British post-punk band, formed in 1983. They released six albums in total between 1984 and 1997.-History:The band was formed in 1983 in Wolverhampton, England, consisting of members Neal Cook , Dave Newton , Mark Alexander , and Dave Fisher...
. Dave Newton and Tony Linehan were the principal songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
s for the group. Their sound can best be described as a more psychedelia influenced post punk, played with a ringing Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker, is an electric and bass guitar manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California...
guitar as the lead instrument. They drew comparisons to Echo and the Bunnymen, who were also influenced by psychedelia.
After losing original drummer Martin Gilks
Martin Gilks
Martin Richard Gilks was an English musician. He was a founder member and original drummer for The Wonder Stuff, based in Stourbridge ....
(later to join The Wonder Stuff
The Wonder Stuff
The Wonder Stuff are a British alternative rock band, originally based in Stourbridge, West Midlands, in the Black Country, England.-Origins:...
), the Drops line-up settled as Paul Marsh (vocals), David Newton (guitar), Tony Linehan (bass), and Keith Rowley (drums). In December 1985 the quartet, now officially The Mighty Lemon Drops, released their first independent single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Like An Angel," on Daniel Treacy of Television Personalities "Dreamworld Records" label which went to the top of the UK Indie Chart
UK Indie Chart
The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK.- History :In the wake of punk, small record labels began to spring up, as an outlet for artists that were unwilling to sign contracts with major record companies, or were not considered...
and sold 14,000 copies. They also recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
a session 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...
around the same time. Becoming part of the C86 movement
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...
, which was championed by the New Musical Express
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...
, they were soon snapped up by Geoff Travis of Rough Trade for his new Blue Guitar label, a subsidiary of Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
. They signed with Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
around the same period. Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman
Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman was an English film director, stage designer, diarist, artist, gardener and author.-Life:...
produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
the video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the "Out of Hand" single in 1987 which was followed by their hit
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
"Inside Out" in 1988. In the UK, albums Happy Head and World Without End both charted (#58 and #33 respectively) and in the US World Without End was a Number 1 Modern Rock/College album in 1988. The band eventually parted company with Chrysalis in the UK after three albums (Happy Head, World Without End and Laughter), failing to repeat their initial independent success, but remained signed with Sire in the US, with Laughter, another US Modern Rock #1 entering the lower regions of the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
in 1990. During the sessions for Laughter, Linehan left the band and was replaced by Marcus Williams.
The band released two more albums, Sound...Say Goodbye To Your Standards and Ricochet before finally breaking up in 1992. Three more albums followed (live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
s All The Way and Young, Gifted, & Black Country, and the greatest-hits package Rollercoaster) and at the end of 2000 the band played a one-off comeback gig
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
in Wolverhampton. In 2007 the band were reported to have been offered the chance to reform at the Coachella festival.
Linehan now works as a project manager and emigrated to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in April 2007.
Newton still works as a recording engineer
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, and has completed projects for The Little Ones
The Little Ones (band)
The Little Ones is an indie pop band based in Los Angeles, California. They were previously signed to Astralwerks Records and released one EP on that label, titled Sing Song. In 2006, Matt Costa invited them to open for him at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, which has brought them in a rise...
and The Blood Arm
The Blood Arm
-Band Information:The Blood Arm were formed in LA in 2003 and were nominated for the LA Weekly Music Award for Best New Artist in 2004. They won the Best Live Act award at the 2005 South By Southwest Music Conference. Franz Ferdinand have often mentioned The Blood Arm as their favourite band in...
. In 2006, he produced a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "Inside Out" (as well as playing bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
on the track) for The Lassie Foundation
The Lassie Foundation
The Lassie Foundation is an indie band from Southern California. Their style has been described as "pink noise pop." They disbanded in 2006 after having released three albums as well as several EPs, but have reunited and are working on a new full-length album....
's double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
, Through and Through.
All of The Mighty Lemon Drops albums are now officially available again through Wounded Bird Records, licenced through Warner Bros, all with extra tracks, b-sides and liner notes.
Singles
- "Like An Angel" 1985
- "The Other Side Of You" 1986 - #67 UK Albums ChartUK 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...
- "My Biggest Thrill" 1986
- "Out Of Hand" 1987 - UK #66
- "Inside Out" 1988 - UK #74
- "Fall Down (Like The Rain)" 1988
- "Into The Heart Of Love" 1989
- "Beautiful Shame" 1989
- "Too High" (Remix) 1991
- "Unkind" (Remix) 1991
Studio albums
- Happy Head 1986 - 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...
#58 - Out of Hand 1987
- World Without End 1988 - UK #34
- Laughter 1989
- Sound... Goodbye to Your Standards 1991
- Ricochet 1992
Live albums
- All The Way (Live In Cincinnati) 1993
- Young, Gifted, & Black Country 2004
External links
- In Everything You Do - The Mighty Lemon Drop Archives (includes history, discography, gallery, interviews and reviews)
- David Newton & Thee Mighty Angels (David Newton & Thee Mighty Angels facebook page)