In the early nineties before widespread internet use and podcasts if you wanted to discover new music, you listened to the radio. I fondly remember coming home from a night out on a Saturday, switching on the radio turning the volume off and recording John Peel while I slept. I would wake up in the morning and the light on the radio would still be on. From this I made many discoveries. Some of the things I heard I would never listen to again, like a spoken word radio parody about Aggie Hendricks Drag Racing, the other was The Bedflowers I’m So Cool. This is no longer a distant memory, with the help of the internet.
The Bedflowers were a duo from Tottington north of Manchester. Janice White and Danny Moran formed the band in 1989. They recruited some help in the form of Howard Goody and Shelia Seal both from The Man from Delmonte to create a three track demo. Songs - Summer 1990 would be their only release and it was on the Manchester Bop! label, which was home to Demonte too.
It has a catchy, fresh gangly twee guitar feel. Janice Whites’s vocals sound not unlike Amelia Fletcher’s from Talulah Gosh. The whole thing was recorded on a shoestring budget which adds the the amateurish appeal.
It is the lyrics and the wit that are the real selling point of the demo. Candidate for the greatest song title ever would be You're Not Blonde and Stupid, But Nobody's Perfect. The standout track is I'm So Cool. In just under 3 minutes it mentions everything that was important to me in 1990. It has references to Dr Martens, the NME and The Wedding Present. It is a sideways look at youth culture in the early nineties.
The Bedflowers : Songs - Summer 1990
http://www.mediafire.com/?9oskh0drnvrwcdl
Songs - Summer 1990 appears courtesy of There And Back Again Lane
Really liking this
ReplyDeleteCracking stuff. There's also the wonderful My Ex-Lover's Address on the Waaaaaah CD (not sure if there's enough a's in there) which moves the guitar away from jangy towards My Bloody Valentine - You can hear it on ye-newe Napster: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnixe0ixVpA
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I did go to Aflecks Palace in 1990.
After a quick look at Discogs besides the 3 songs on Songs Summer 1990, My Ex-Lovers Address was the only other song they did. Wow they make See See Rider look productive.
ReplyDelete<3 <3 <3 ohmygosh I LOVE YOU FOR THIS! I actually wrote about The Bedflowers here:http://bonjourgirl.blogspot.com/2011/07/im-so-cool-by-bedflowers.html
ReplyDeleteYour blog rules. I'm currently a teenage shoegazer myself (of today's era) and can't thank you enough for your blogs.
I'm trying to understand the lyrics of "you're not blonde and stupid, but nobody's perfect.
ReplyDeleteI came out with this, can anybody correct it?
if you're looking for an excuse
not to do your homework I am here
if you need a reason
not to see your boyfriend I am here
Well you always clear that the one you love
is becoming an habit these days
if you need someone
to release your burden I am here
I adore your shoes
I will be your (?) my dear
I will wear(?) you close
I will let you know that I am here
I'll send you all the puns that I can find
until you won't fall in love with my mind
I'll write your name on my pencil pants
when you are not here
you're my best friend
but you don't know
that I love you
does it show?
I want to hold you
does it show?
I want to kiss you
My parents hate you
have a (?)
'till I am here
If your friends ignore you
while I will adore you
I am here
She dresses in men clothes
but she's scaried of(?) what some mad man does
If your boyfriend spoils(?) you
like i could have told you
my dear
you're my best friend
but you don't know
that I love you
does it show?
I want to hold you
does it show?
I want to kiss you
You're not blonde and stupid
but I know
nobody's perfect
but I know
that you don't love me
and now, your mother hates me