Heavenly were a

twee pop Twee pop is a subgenre of indie pop that originates from the 1986 '' NME'' compilation '' C86''. Characterised by its simplicity and perceived innocence, some of its defining features are boy–girl harmonies, catchy melodies, and lyrics about lo ...

band, originally forming in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England in 1989. Amelia Fletcher (vocals/guitar), Mathew Fletcher (drums; Amelia's brother),

Peter Momtchiloff Peter Momtchiloff (born 10 March 1962) is a British guitarist and bassist. He was educated at Winchester College and Worcester College, Oxford. His musical career began in 1978 playing bass guitar in Winchester band The Big Figure. At Oxford ...

(guitar) and Robert Pursey (bass) had all been members of

Talulah Gosh Talulah Gosh were an English guitar-pop group from Oxford, and one of the leading bands of the indiepop movement, taking their name from the headline of an NME interview with Clare Grogan. They supposedly formed in 1986 when Amelia Fletcher a ...

, a key member of the

C86 ''C86'' is a cassette compilation released by the British music magazine '' NME'' in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from British independent record labels of the time. As a term, C86 quickly evolved into shorthand for a guitar-based music g ...

scene.

History

Heavenly debuted with the 7" single "I Fell in Love Last Night", followed by another 7", "Our Love Is Heavenly", both released in 1990 on Sarah Records. '' Heavenly vs. Satan'', the group's debut album, came out in 1991. At this stage in their career, the instrumentation remained very much the same jangly guitar style used by Talulah Gosh. Before releasing the critically acclaimed '' Le Jardin de Heavenly'',

Cathy Rogers Cathy Rogers (born 28 May 1968) is an English television executive, producer, presenter and musician. She is best known as the presenter of the British reality competition series '' Scrapheap Challenge'' and its American counterpart ''Junkyar ...

(keyboard, back-up vocals) joined the band. Her harmony vocals and keyboards became an integral part of the group's sound. Another strikingly different element of the group's second album was the inclusion of the track, "C is the Heavenly Option," featuring the guest vocals of

K Records K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent music ...

founder

Calvin Johnson Calvin Johnson Jr., (born September 29, 1985) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons with the Detroit Lions. He played college football at Georgia Tech, where he twice ...

, who released Heavenly's records in the US. Before their next long-player, Heavenly released two non-album 7" singles, "P.U.N.K. Girl" and "Atta Girl." These signalled a growing complexity in Fletcher's songwriting, particularly "Atta Girl," in which Fletcher and Rogers sung in rapid-fire trade-off vocals. A broadening (and darkening) of lyrical subject matter was shown in the B-side, "Hearts and Crosses," which told the story of a

date rape Date rape is a form of acquaintance rape and dating violence. The two phrases are often used interchangeably, but date rape specifically refers to a rape in which there has been some sort of romantic or potentially sexual relationship between ...

, with an upbeat

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

riff providing an ironic counterpoint. The band's third LP was '' The Decline and Fall of Heavenly'' (1994). In 1995, the band contributed the song "Snail Trail" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Bothered produced by the Red Hot Organization. The group's last album was '' Operation Heavenly'' (1996). Arriving in the middle of the

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

boom, the album contained a cover of the Serge Gainsbourg-penned and

France Gall Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall (9 October 1947 – 7 January 2018), known professionally as France Gall, was a French ''yé-yé'' singer. In 1965, aged 17, she won the Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg. Between 1973 and 1992, ...

-performed "Nous ne sommes pas des anges," sung entirely in French by Fletcher. Despite the closing of Sarah Records and release on Wiiija, the album was still recognisably the Heavenly sound, and even included a second

guest spot on the track "Pet Monkey." However, shortly before the release of ''Operation Heavenly'', Mathew Fletcher, took his own life. The remaining members announced that the band name Heavenly was to be retired, but that they would continue, using the name

Marine Research Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

, a moniker under which they released a single album, 1999's ''Sounds from the Gulf Stream'', on K Records (it was not released separately in Britain). Afterwards, Marine Research dissolved. The band's core members reformed in 2002 as Tender Trap, releasing their debut album, ''Film Molecules'', on K Records once again. 2006 saw the release of two new Tender Trap releases – two EPs, ''Language Lessons'' and ''¿Como te Llamas?'', and an album, ''6 Billion People''. Heavenly will reunite for a concert at Bush Hall in London on 20 May 2023.

Discography

Albums

*'' Heavenly vs. Satan'' (1991) *'' Le Jardin de Heavenly'' (1992) *'' The Decline and Fall of Heavenly'' (1994) *'' Operation Heavenly'' (1996)

EPs

*'' P.U.N.K. Girl'' (1995)

References

External links

Go Heavenly!
*
Heavenly at TweeNet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heavenly English pop music groups K Records artists Sarah Records artists British indie pop groups Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Musical groups from Oxford

History

Discography

Albums

EPs

See also

References

External links