Stretchheads were a
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
band from
Erskine
Erskine (, sco, Erskin, gd, Arasgain) is a town in the council area of Renfrewshire, and historic county of the same name, situated in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the southern bank of the River Clyde, providing the lo ...
, Scotland, active between 1987 and 1991, releasing two albums in that period.
History
The band was formed in 1987 by Richie Dempsey (drums).,
[Strong, Martin C. (2003) "The Great Indie Discography", Canongate, ] P6 (aka "Fat Bastard", "Wilberforce", real name Phil Eaglesham,
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
), Mofungo Diggs (Steven MacDougall,
bass) and Andy MacDonald (aka "Dr. Technology",
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
). The band wore asbestos firewear, gas masks, dubious ethnic shirts and balaclavas on stage, and blossomed despite depressing support slots with indie establishment acts such as Happy Mondays, The Wonderstuff and The Shamen. They began their recording career on the
Moksha Recordings label run by arch psychopath Charlie Cosh with the ''Bros are Pish''
EP, poking fun at then chart-toppers
Bros, among others.
This resulted in discussion in a Smash Hits interview, with Craig explaining to the Goss brothers what 'Pish' Meant. Their debut album, ''Five Fingers, Four Thingers, a Thumb, a Facelift and a New Identity'' followed in 1989. Cosh has since, despite his establishment record industry credentials subsequently held the band to ransom for the original demo tapes. After recording the Blast First financed recording sessions at Shabby Road in Kilmarnock, Dempsey departed to join Dawson, and was replaced by Mr. Jason (Jason Boyce) of the Dandelion Adventure, and the band were signed up by top indie label
Blast First
Blast First is a sub label of one-time independent record label Mute Records, founded in approximately 1985. It was named after a phrase taken from the first number of the radical Vorticist journal ''Blast'', published by Wyndham Lewis in 1914 ...
.
Their first release on Blast First was the 1990 EP ''Eyeball Origami Aftermath Wit Vegetarian Leg''. A further single ''23 Skinner'' followed in January 1991 before their second album was issued, ''Pish In Your Sleazebag''. Touring Europe and playing shows with Dutch band Revenge Of The Carrots and old colleagues
Dog Faced Hermans
Dog Faced Hermans were a post-punk band that formed in Scotland in the mid 1980s and remained active through the mid 1990s. They emerged from the UK anarcho-punk scene with a guitar/bass/drums line-up, but also incorporated trumpet and other ...
, the band split up in 1991, before which they recorded a session reluctantly granted due to John Walters antibodies to what he saw as 'Northern Comedycore' for
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
's
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
show.
Stretchheads Peel Session
''Keeping It Peel'', BBC A year later, their last, posthumous, release was the ''Barbed Anal Exciter'' EP.
Musical style
Musically they were influenced by both the US independent hardcore of Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitaris ...
and the Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run.
Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...
and Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been ...
, Killdozer and British indie bands such as Big Flame and Bogshed
Bogshed were an Indie band formed in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England, in 1985 by Phil Hartley (vocals), Mark McQuaid (guitar), Mike Bryson (bass) and Tristan King (drums). They released two albums, two EPs and two singles before splitting ...
as well as gaining connections with the inspiring Dutch / Belgian anarchist scene and collectives via The Ex and took the sound of those bands to a new extreme. They have since been compared to both US Post-Hardcore bands Jack 'o' Nuts and the Japanese noise rock of the Boredoms
Boredoms () (later known as V∞redoms) is a rock band from Osaka, Japan formed in 1986. The band's sound is often referred to as noise rock, or sometimes Japanoise (Japan’s noise music scene), though their more recent records have moved towar ...
and Ruins
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...
. p6's vocals have been described as "inhuman, reminiscent of nothing so much as Sesame Street's Grover with electrodes affixed to his genitals", with their music described as "the weirdest, fastest and heaviest thing ever to come cartwheeling out of Scotland".[Wolk, Douglas]
Stretchheads
, TrouserPress
Discography
Albums
*''Five Fingers, Four Thingers, a Thumb, a Facelift and a New Identity'' (1989) Moksha Recordings (1000 Copies)
*''Pish In Your Sleazebag'' (1991) Blast First
Blast First is a sub label of one-time independent record label Mute Records, founded in approximately 1985. It was named after a phrase taken from the first number of the radical Vorticist journal ''Blast'', published by Wyndham Lewis in 1914 ...
Singles and EPs
*''Bros are Pish'' Etched 7-inch EP (1988) Moksha Recordings (500 Copies)
*''Eyeball Origami Aftermath Wit Vegetarian Leg'' 7-inch EP (1990) Blast First
*"23 Skinner (Have a Bang on This Number)" 12-inch (1991) Blast First
*''Barbed Anal Exciter'' 10-inch EP (1000 copies) (1993) Blast First
Other rarities
*'Three Steps To Heaven' - Cassette EP (1987) (50 copies)
*'Asylum Suck' - A Pox On The Poll Tax Compilation LP (1988) (Revolt)
*'Collectivisation Of Breasts In Moscow' - Media Pack (1989) (3 Copies)
*'Groin Death' & '3 Pottery Owls' on Pathological Compilation 1989
*'Spanish Castle Magic' on 'If 6 Was 9' Hendrix Tribute (1989)(Imaginary)
*'Jimi's Magic Spanish Castle (Live)' - Flexi, Catalogue Magazine 1989
*'Manic Depression (Live) - Flexi, Ablaze! Magazine 1989
*'Born To Be Wild (In the Style Of Bogshed)' - Unreleased Steppenwolf Tribute 1989 (Imaginary)
*'Eyeball Origami Aftermath Wit Vegetarian Leg' VHS Promo 1990
*John Peel Radio Session, BBC June 1991
*P6 Lyric Booklet - Ltd Edition of 23, 1998
*Oregano Accumulator - Live Aktions 1989-90 & Remix Compilation 2013
References
{{Reflist
External links
Stretchheads
on Myspace
Scottish rock music groups
Blast First artists
Scottish punk rock groups