Description
Medieval Death LP and free DVD + Mordicus “Rights ‘n Trials” LP. Official videos, audio, info.
Check the exclusive video showing this tape for sale
Medieval Death LP and free DVD + Mordicus “Rights ‘n Trials” LP. Official videos, audio, info.
Check the exclusive video showing this tape for sale
Sleepy People – Paint On Ceiling On The Sky
Label: Soporific Foundation – none
Format: Cassette, Album
Country: UK
Dated: 1997
Rock , Folk, World, & Country
Rock Art , Psychedelic Rock , Indie Rock
Tracklisting
1 Soporific Life
2 100 Years Ago
3 Everything (you know is wrong)
4 Halfway World
5 Strange Planet
6 Home Where Is Your Telly Is
Notes
With lyric booklet
Sleepy People (later renamed Blue Apple Boy) was a British psychedelic rock band known for eccentric, energetic songs and live performances, as well as for incubating three of the five future members of short-lived (but briefly famous) Britpop band Ultrasound.
A mix of warm inviting early Genesis, classic Cardiacs, Pere Ubu, Gentle Giant, Gong and that unique Sleepy People sound. The tapes flew all over the world and Sleepy People built up a rather healthy underground reputation – and to cut a long long long story short the underground success coupled with the frustrating non-acknowledgement from the mainstream pulled them in two…. half the band choose to head down to London in search of streets paved of gold, record contracts, fame and fortune – whilst the other half re-grouped in Newcastle, the Newcastle half kept the name and somehow managed to find a front man capable of replacing Tiny.
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Sound
In both incarnations, the band featured an eclectic sound blending psychedelic rock, New Wave pop, punk, and progressive rock. Other ingredients have included noise-rock, nursery rhymes, ska, Muzak, bossa nova, circus/fairground music, tango and anything which the band members found inspiring. The band were strongly influenced by the theatrical British psychedelic band Cardiacs and shared much of their sound, with other cited influences including The Monochrome Set. The bandâs lyrics varied from cheerful or sinister nonsense to surreal representations of everyday life and hallucinatory twists on eccentric stories from tabloid newspapers.
Early years and line-up changes
The band roots were in a short-lived previous band called Pop Kid led by guitarist/songwriter/backing vocalist Paul Hope. Sleepy People formed around a line-up of Hope, Tiny Wood (lead vocals), Rachel Theresa (flute, backing vocals), Richard Green (bass), Kerry Harrison (drums) and Liz Wardby (keyboards). The band established itself in a run-down house in Jesmond, Newcastle (which the members called “Sleepy Hallâ€.[1]) and began making itself a fixture on the small venues of the British live circuit, gaining attention via a bizarre stage act featuring eccentric costumes, make-up and haircuts plus music-hall-style comedy (in the manner of Split Enz and Cardiacs). Tiny Wood also made the most of his imposing stage presence and considerable bulk, dressing in a variety of costumes including one resembling a Chinese mandarin.
Though tuneful, the bandâs music was complicated, demanding and often considered uncommercial, winning over some audiences and confusing others. This in turn resulted in a frequent turnover of personnel. Between 1992 and 1995 Pete Haslam replaced Liz Wardby on keyboards, and Andy Peace replaced Kerry Harrison on drums (he himself was subsequently replaced by former Dead Flowers drummer Graeme Swaddle). Paul Hope has commented “”The songs… were all part of a stage show that was designed to provoke a response on the soporific and conservative pub circuit up and down the country, and at that we excelled!””
Blunt Nails In A Sharp Wall album
In 1994, the band issued their first album Blunt Nails In A Sharp Wall on self-released cassette. The songs – based on a broad template of tightly-played psychedelic pop – were eccentric and sometimes absurdist, with ingredients veering from disco (“”Sordid Sentimental””) to full-on progressive rock (“”Rare Bird At The Window””). The album was re-released on CD by Org Records in 1999.
Departures to Ultrasound, and second major line-up
A major line-up change followed in 1995 when Wood, Green and Haslam all amicably left Sleepy People in order to move to London and set up a new band with Andy Peace. Initially called Pop-A-Cat-A-Petal, this band (now minus Haslam, and adding Vanessa Best and Matt Jones) cut down on their early progressive rock instincts and eventually became the more glamorous Ultrasound
To replace the departed members, Paul Hope and Rachel Theresa Hope recruited singer Phil “”Earl Slick”” Sears (who would become godfather to their newborn baby girl Dorothy Pippin Hope), bass player Bill Bailey and keyboard player Danny Orange. “”Home Is Where Your Telly Is/Hanghar”” (a self-released double A-side single featuring the new lineup) kept up the momentum.
Orange left in 1997 to pursue a theatre career and was replaced by Anna Blaydon (also known as “”Anna Tanglewood””). Bailey left at around the same time, to be replaced by Gary Spangles Bowden.
“”Typhoid And Swans”” album
In 1997, the band recorded their second album Typhoid And Swans (released on Edgy Records). The band’s songs were now less eccentric than previously, with Hope favouring more direct lyrics and making use of Searâs rich quasi-operatic voice (although signs of the bandâs more theatrical past remained in the shape of the lengthy “”Everything You Know Is Wrong””). Former Gong violinist Graham Clark made a guest appearance on the album.
Several songs from this period were recorded for a live-in-the-studio mini-album called Paint A Ceiling On The Sky, which was released on cassette.
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