Biff Bang Pow! were an indie pop band from London, England, active between 1983 and 1991, centering on Creation Records boss Alan McGee.

History

Glaswegian Alan McGee had previously been in the band The Laughing Apple, who released three singles in 1981/82.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 409 After moving to London, McGee formed a new band, Biff Bang Pow!, taking their name from a song by one of his favourite bands, The Creation.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave'', Virgin Books, , p. 43-44 The first release on Creation records, "'73 in '83" by The Legend! came with a

flexi-disc The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable. ...

featuring Laughing Apple's "Wouldn't You", a song that would later appear on the first Biff Bang Pow! album. The initial Biff Bang Pow! line-up was McGee on guitar and vocals, with Dick Green on guitar, Joe Foster on bass, and Ken Popple on drums, these recording the first 2 singles "50 Years of Fun" and "There Must Be A Better Life". Dave Evans then replaced Foster (who went solo as Slaughter Joe), and guitarist/organist Andrew Innes (later to join

Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simone Butler (bass), and Darrin Mooney (drums) ...

) joined on a part-time basis. Debut album ''Pass The Paintbrush...Honey'' was released in early 1985, displaying a mixture of mod, psychedelia, and new wave influences. 1986 saw arguably the band's strongest album ''The Girl Who Runs The Beat Hotel'', which expanded on the first album's psychedelic and sixties pop influences, and featured collaborations with artist/painter

JC Brouchard JC may refer to: Airlines * JC International Airlines, Cambodia * Japan Air Commuter (IATA code: JC) *JAL Express (1998–2014; IATA: JC), Japan * Rocky Mountain Airways (1965–1991; IATA: JC), United States Arts and media * "JC" (song), a 1996 ...

. This album coincided with the peak of the first wave of indie pop and as this gave way to shoegazing and

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

, Creation Records also moved in that direction, with the label increasingly being associated with artists such as My Bloody Valentine and Ride. With Biff Bang Pow!, however, McGee continued with guitar pop, becoming increasingly melancholy with releases such as ''Oblivion'' (1987), ''Love Is Forever'' (1988), ''Songs For The Sad Eyed Girl'' (1990), and ''Me'' (1991), which proved to be the last album proper by the band.Robbins, Ira & Anderson, Lydia
Biff Bang Pow!
, '' Trouser Press'', retrieved 2010-12-29 Two compilations, ''L'Amour, Demure, Stenhousemuir'' and ''Debasement Tapes'' were subsequently released on Creation, with ''Bertula Bop'' released in 1994 on the Tristar label. A further collection, ''Waterbomb'', compiled by Joe Foster, was released on Rev-Ola in 2003.Sendra, Tim
''Waterbomb'' Review
, Allmusic, retrieved 2010-12-29

Discography

All on Creation Records except where stated. Chart placings shown are from the UK Independent Chart.Lazell, Barry:"Indie Hits 1980–1989", 1997, Cherry Red Books,

Albums

*'' Pass the Paintbrush, Honey....'' (1985) *'' The Girl Who Runs the Beat Hotel'' (1987 – reissued May 1988 on CD/C, including first album) *''

Oblivion Oblivion may refer to: Film * ''Oblivion'' (1994 film), an American space Western * ''Oblivion'' (2013 film), an American post-apocalyptic science fiction film Literature * ''Oblivion'' (''Power of Five''), a 2012 novel by Anthony Horowitz * ...

'' (1987) *'' Love Is Forever'' (1988) *'' Songs for the Sad Eyed Girl'' (1990) (CD incl. Oblivion, C incl. Love Is Forever) *'' Me'' (1991)

Compilations

*''The Acid House Album'' (Jun 1989, CRELP046 PCRECD046 D *''For The Sad Eyed Girl'' (1990) *''L'Amour, Demure, Stenhousemuir'' (Nov 1991, CRELP099 PCRECD099 DCCRE099 *''Debasement Tapes'' (Feb 1992, CRELP125 PCRECD125 D *''Bertula Pop'' (Apr 1994, Tristar, WK 57565 D *''Waterbomb: The Best Of'' (Jul 2003, Rev-Ola, CRREV28 D *''Biff Bang Pow! & The Laughing Apple - The Singles'' (2010, Vollwert, xCDr *''The Singles As And Bs'' (2016, Poppydisc, 7xFile, ALAC *''A Better Life : Complete Creations 1984-1991'' (May 2022, Cherry Red, CRCDBOX125

xCD XCD can refer to: * XCD, ISO 4217 currency code for the Eastern Caribbean dollar The Eastern Caribbean dollar (symbol: EC$; code: XCD) is the currency of all seven full members and one associate member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean St ...

Singles

*"Fifty Years of Fun" (Feb 1984, CRE003 " – No. 31 *"There Must Be a Better Life" (Jun 1984, CRE007 " *"J. C. Brouchard With Biff Bang Pow! - Someone Stole My Wheels (1986) *"Love's Going Out of Fashion" (Mar 1986, CRE024 "CRE024T 2" – No. 6 *"Someone Stole My Wheels" (Nov 1986, CRE034 "CRE034T 2" – ''credited to JC Brouchard with Biff Bang Pow !'', No. 31 *"The Whole World Is Turning Brouchard" (Feb 1987, CRE038 " – No. 26 *"She Haunts" (Feb 1988, CRE051 2" – No. 28 *"Sleep" (Nov 1990, CAFF, CAFF13 "– ''The Mods Are Back!'', split single with The Times) *" Bang Pow! / The Times - The Mods Are Back! (7", Single)

References

{{Biff Bang Pow! British indie pop groups English rock music groups Musical groups established in 1983 Creation Records artists Musical groups disestablished in 1991 1983 establishments in England 1991 disestablishments in England