Diesel Park West are an English

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band from

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, England. Formed in 1980, they have released nine official albums, plus six

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

that have appeared in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Current line-up

*John Butler (vocals, guitar) *Rich Barton (guitar, vocals) *Daryl Hopper (bass) *Dave Bryant (drums)

History

The early years, 1980–1987

The band was originally formed in 1980 as The Filberts (after local football team,

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

's former

Filbert Street Filbert Street was a football stadium in Leicester, England, which served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 until 2002. Although officially titled the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively b ...

ground), although they would also occasionally appear as The Psychedelic Filberts. Their main influences come from the West Coast sound of 1960s bands such as

Moby Grape Moby Grape is an American rock band founded in 1966, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting, and who collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz with rock and psychedelic music. They were ...

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song "For What It's Worth", relea ...

and

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

. The main creative force in the band is Butler, who writes nearly all the band's material. Butler and Moth (who had also drummed for Leicester bands Legay and then Gypsy) had previously played together in a short-lived band called The Flicks, releasing one album in 1979 called ''Go for the Effect''. Three Psychedelic Filberts tracks were released – a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

' "Lady Friend" on the ''Obscure Independent Classics Volume 2'' album; a cover of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' "

Rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

" which was included on Yeah Yeah Noh's final release, the ''Temple of Convenience EP''; and "Atlantis 1968", which appeared on the ''He Didn't Even Draw A Fish on My Shower Curtain''

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

. Beavan was at the same school with Butler and shared the same passion for West Coast music and then joining up with Butler and Smith in The Filberts. Rick Willson was a young guitar player and had his own studio in Barkby Road where the band started a long period of writing and recording. During this time they amassed a large number of songs, honing their skills and trying to get

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

attention. In 1984, the band released a one-off single as The Come On called "Guitar Party", and provided the backing band to

Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one '' Billboard'' hit " Runaway". In 1999, he was ind ...

on his 1983 tour but it was several years before they got a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

. In 1987, Butler received a call from

David Balfe David Balfe (born 1958 in Carlisle, Cumberland) is a musician and record company executive, most notable for playing keyboards with the Teardrop Explodes, founding the Zoo and Food independent record labels, signing Blur and for being the subj ...

from the small

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

Food Records Food Records was a British rock record label set up in 1984 by David Balfe (formally of Zoo Records), who later took on Andy Ross as his partner. Originally formed as an independent record label with distribution going through Rough Trade D ...

, leading to the band's signing to Food. August 1987 saw the release of band's debut single, "When the Hoodoo Comes". It began to get airplay on late night radio shows and word of mouth about the band started to spread, and the Food label was acquired by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

. Mick Salisbury joined the band at around this time as third guitarist.

Major record label years, 1988–1992

With a big label now behind the band, they went into

Olympic Studios Olympic Studios was a renowned British independent commercial recording studio based in Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st century, including Jimi Hendr ...

in January 1988 to start work on their debut album. With

Chris Kimsey Christopher Kenneth Kimsey (born 3 December 1951 in Battersea, London, England) is an English record producer, mixer and musician most famous for having co-produced The Rolling Stones' ''Undercover'' and '' Steel Wheels'' albums. He was also an ...

producing, the sessions were completed in May 1988. Soon after Salisbury was replaced by Rich Barton. Their second single, "Jackie's Still Sad" was released in October 1988, metaphorically incorporating the life of

Jackie Onassis Jackie or Jacky may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters named Jackie or Jacky ** Jackie, current ring name of female professional wrestler Jacqueline Moore ** Jackie Lee (I ...

, and although it failed to

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

, it gained a number of positive reviews, including 'single of the week' in ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

''. The album, ''Shakespeare Alabama'', was released on 30 January 1989, and was well received in the

music press Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

, but the album only reached No. 55 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. To coincide with the album release, the band supported

Big Country Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although it has retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music incorporated Scot ...

on tour, and then followed that up with a headlining tour of their own. "Like Princes Do" was released as the third single from the album. After the release of a reworked "When the Hoodoo Comes" in August 1989, the band fell quiet and it would be over a year after ''The Hoodoo EP'' before their next release – an album of

b-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

, covers and

outtakes An outtake is a portion of a work (usually a film or music recording) that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and DV ...

, entitled ''Flipped''. During this time Smith departed the band, and they eventually went to record their second album without a full-time drummer (although Manu Katche drummed on several songs on the album). In September 1990, they went to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

to work with

Laurie Latham Laurie Latham (born 1955) is a British rock producer who worked with Glenn Tilbrook, Paul Young and others. He has produced albums by Ian Dury & the Blockheads, Echo & the Bunnymen, Squeeze, The Stranglers, The Christians and Slapp Happy. Ca ...

, using a drum machine on many tracks. Recording was finished in early 1991, however release of the album was delayed several times by EMI. A new single, "Walk With the Mountain", was scheduled to be released in September 1991 and a video was recorded in America, however EMI cancelled the release. The eventual lead single, "Fall to Love", was released early the following year, reaching No. 48 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1992. Their album, ''Decency'', was released on 3 February 1992, and peaked at No. 57 in the

. On the supporting tour, Dave Anderson joined the band full-time on drums. "Boy on Top of the News", a song inspired by

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...

was released as the second single from the album and reached No. 58 on the singles chart. In September 1992, a cover of the

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

, "

God Only Knows "God Only Knows" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album ''Pet Sounds''. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is a Baroque-style love song distinguished for its harmonic innovation and its subversion of typica ...

" was released as a single in various formats, each with a number of other cover versions including

's "Bitter Wind",

' "

While My Guitar Gently Weeps "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album ''The Beatles'' (also known as "the White Album"). It was written by George Harrison, the band's lead guitarist. Harrison wrote "While My ...

", and

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

' "

Tumbling Dice "Tumbling Dice" is a song recorded by the English Rock music, rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' Jagger–Richards, songwriting partnership, the song has a blues, boogie-woogie rhythm that scholars and m ...

". In 2016, Strata Books published a memoir on its website written by John Butler about ''Shakespeare Alabama'' in which he discusses the band's struggles to secure their record deal, the creative challenges they faced in the recording studio and the aftermath of the album’s release.

Independent years, 1993–1997

The band left EMI and

Demon Records Demon Music Group (DMG) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-issuing recordings as compilations on physical media (CDs and vinyl) via supermarkets and specialist stores. History DM ...

came in straight away for the band. In early 1993, the Diesels recorded their third album, ''Diesel Park West vs. the Corporate Waltz''. In contrast to ''Decency'' the album was recorded quickly and two singles, "Six Days to JuJu" and "The Cat's Still Scratching" were released. The band moved on from Demon Records. The band never stopped writing and recording in their Barkby Road studio. During 1994 they recorded more than four albums worth of material, some of which would not be released for many years. Another

, Permanent Records signed them in and, in 1995, they released ''FreakGene'', their fourth album.

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Raised in ...

later recorded a cover of "I See No Ships" from the album. Geoff Beavan had left the band prior to recording this album and was replaced by Ian Michie. After the album's release the Diesels toured the country and then went home to Leicester to continue writing and recording.

Solo, original line up reformation and later years, 1997–present

EMI released a

best of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

in 1997 called ''Left Hand Band'' (Butler, Willson and Michie all being left-handed). The last album ''FreakGene'' had caught the attention of several major labels and subsequently Butler signed to

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...

for a solo deal. His album, ''The Loyal Serpent'', was released on 3 November 1997, and gained a four star review in ''

Q magazine ''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series ''The Old Grey Whistle Test''. '' ...

''. Although it was a solo album, his band mates all played a part of the recording. In 1998, a new Diesel Park West album was released, ''HIPReplacement'', comprising songs recorded around the time of "FreakGene". They also released a bonus CD, made up of the ''Shakespeare Alabama''

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * plural for Demo (computer programming) ...

. The album was released by small Oxford based label Thunderbird Records. Rich Barton and Dave Anderson had left the band by this point, although both play on the album. Anderson went into music tuition and session work. The original line-up of the band reformed and toured in 1999, playing ''Shakespeare Alabama'' in full (a decade ahead of other bands doing similar 'album' tours) and old

favourites. During the year the band recorded and played one off gigs in Leicester and London, showcasing some of their new material. However old resentments resurfaced and Smith left the band again. During this period, the band accepted an invitation to contribute to '' More Oar: A Tribute to the Skip Spence Album'', a

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

for

co-founder

Skip Spence Alexander Lee "Skip" Spence (April 18, 1946 – April 16, 1999) was a Canadian-born American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was co-founder of Moby Grape, and played guitar with them until 1969. In the same year, he released his only s ...

, who was terminally ill with cancer. In 2000, the band signed to Hypertension Records and their next album, ''Thought For Food'' was released in August. In early 2001, Butler unveiled his second solo album, ''Worthless Bastard Rock''. To complete their deal with Thunderbird Records, a compilation of the demos from ''Shakespeare Alabama'' and ''Decency'' called ''King of Ghosts'' was released in 2002. ''Shakespeare Alabama'' was reissued in August 2006. A DVD of the Diesels in concert over the years was released in April 2007, called ''Damned Anthems''. The Diesel's next album, ''Blood And Grace'', was released in June 2007, preceded by the single "There's A Grace" on their own Danville Records label. The follow-up single "Personal Lives" came out in August. Rob 'Vom' Morris (ex

Crazyhead Crazyhead are an English garage punk band from Leicester, England. Though lumped in with the largely media-created grebo scene, they were more influenced by the garage rock of the late 1960s, as well as bands like The Ramones, The Stooges and ...

) joined on drums. "There's a Grace" received

radio airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

and

Janice Long Janice Berry ( Chegwin; 5 April 1955 – 25 December 2021), known professionally by her first married name Janice Long, was an English broadcaster who was best known for her work in British music radio. In a career that spanned five decades, s ...

invited them onto her

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

show for a session. The Diesel's teamed up with Chris Kimsey again to record for a new album called ''Do Come In, Excuse The Mess'' released in August 2012 which has gained some radio play. Butler released ''Ringstead'', as a download only on the Diesel Park West website in March 2012. Recorded, mainly in 2005 with producer Lee Russell in a converted Northamptonshire church. Another album by Diesel Park West was released in March 2012. ''What Kept You'' is a collection of unreleased tracks from 1994–1996, recorded during the period that brought about ''FreakGene''. The album proves what a fertile period this was for Butler and the band. It is available as a download on the Diesel Park West website. A further series of archive material was released on the official website. Some of this previously unreleased material dated back to 1987 and included their entire BBC radio sessions. Also released was a covers album of Byrds songs (''Diesels play Byrds''), showing again where the Diesel's passions lay. These releases have proved a big hit with fans. The Diesels released a new EP called ''You, You, You & You'' in May 2013, a collection of six new songs available initially as a download on their official website. Lead single, "Someday Back Together" has had radio play on Radio Caroline. Rich Barton rejoined Diesel Park West in 2014 and he has played with the band in more recent gigs and festivals. John Butler released his third solo album, ''Universal Stranger'' in July 2017 on Strataville, preceded by the single, ''A Little Misunderstanding'' in April. These recordings will be released as Jon C. Butler to avoid any confusion with the other musical John Butler. In April 2017, a pre-order for ''Universal Stranger'' including a limited edition retrospective album ''A Backward Glance'' was announced on Pledge Music. Geoff Beavan took a break from the band due to health reasons and Ian Michie rejoined on bass. The Diesels album ''Let It Melt'' was released on 13 September 2019, their ninth official release and the first one to fully feature guitarist Rich Barton since the ''Corporate Waltz''. Three singles have been released prior to the album. "Living in the U.K.", "Suki" and "Pictures in the Hall". The new album has already been reviewed positively even in some UK press but most significantly has received an extremely warm reception this time in the American music media. Sadly, Geoff Beavan died on February 14, 2022. The tenth Diesel Park West album, ‘Not Quite The American Dream’ was released on July 29, 2022. The album was recorded during the COVID lockdowns of 2020. It was preceded by a couple of singles, 'One Shot of Happiness' and 'Secondary Modern Man'. Both of which have charted on the British Heritage Chart. Rob Morris and Ian Michie have both left the band. A new band has been put together featuring John Butler, Rich Barton, Daryl Hopper (bass) and Dave Bryant (drums).

Discography

Albums

*''Shakespeare Alabama'' (January 1989) UK #55 *''Flipped'' (

Compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

, August 1990) *''Decency'' (February 1992) UK #57 *''Diesel Park West vs. The Corporate Waltz'' (June 1993) *''FreakGene'' (May 1995) *''Left Hand Band'' (Best of, February 1997) *''HIPReplacement'' (September 1998) *''Thought for Food'' (August 2000) *''King of Ghosts'' (March 2002) - collection of demos for ''Shakespeare Alabama'' and ''Decency'' *''Blood and Grace'' (June 2007) *''Do Come in Excuse The Mess'' (August 2012) *''You, You, You & You'' ( EP) (May 2013) *''Let It Melt'' (September 2019) *''Not Quite The American Dream'' (July 2022)

Singles

*"When The Hoodoo Comes" (1987) *"Jackie's Still Sad" (1988) *"All the Myths on Sunday" (1989) UK #66 *"Like Princes Do" (1989) UK #58 *"When The Hoodoo Comes" (''The Hoodoo EP'') (1989) UK #62 *"Fall to Love" (1992) UK #48 *"Boy on Top of the News" (1992) UK #58 *"God Only Knows" (1992) UK #57 *"Six Days to JuJu" (1993) *"The Cat's Still Scratching" (1993) *"The Natural Things" (withdrawn, 1995) *"Love It" (1998) *"There's A Grace" (2007) *"Personal Lives" (2007) *"Charlotte, It's All Over" (2012) *"Someday Back Together" (2013) *"Living in the U.K." (2019) *"Suki" (2019) *"Pictures in the Hall" (2019) *"One Shot of Happiness" (2022) *"Secondary Modern Man" (2022)

Downloads (official website)

*"BBC Radio 1 Sessions (1987–2007)" *"What Kept You (songs from 1993–1995)" *"Hang Johnson (songs from 1997–1999)" *"Snooker, Curry & Dope (songs from 2000)" *"Butler Willson (songs from 2002)" *"Diesels Play Byrds (2008)" *"Ringstead (unreleased John Butler solo 2012)"

Compilation contributions

*'' More Oar: A Tribute to the Skip Spence Album'' (

Birdman Records Birdman Records is an independent record label based in South San Francisco, California, that was founded in 2000 by David Katznelson, former A&R vice president of Warner Bros. Records. History Birdman Records is the flagship label of the Birdman ...

, 1999)

DVD

*''Damned Anthems'' (2007)

John Butler solo

Albums

*''The Loyal Serpent'' (September 1997) *''Worthless Bastard Rock'' (February 2001)

Singles

*"Wings of the Morning" (withdrawn, 1997)

As 'Jon C. Butler'

Album

*''Universal Stranger'' (28 July 2017)

Single

*''Ghost In My Heart'' (June 2017) *''A Little Misunderstanding'' (April 2017)

References

External links

*
Jon Butler solo website
* {{Authority control English alternative rock groups Musical groups from Leicester