Sun Carriage was a band formed in 1988 and disbanded late Spring of 1993. Sun Carriage was founded by Ron Price and Mathew Watts in
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
and relocated to
Camden where they were joined by fellow Plymouth exile Chris Leech. They recorded the "Sun Carriage / Determined" demo 7" (written by Ron Price; a very rare vinyl with only about ten pressed) for the fledgling Head Records run by Jeff Barrett (later the founder of
Heavenly). With principal songwriter Watts, the line up evolved to include Bex who had originally drummed in
Loop
Loop or LOOP may refer to:
Brands and enterprises
* Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live
* Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets
* Loop Mobile, an ...
and Sarah Wills on bass. Sun Carriage toured with Loop throughout the UK and supported various bands of the time such as House Of Love, Spacemen 3, Lush and even Happy Mondays. Bex was later replaced by Michael Ryan on drums, and soon after Chris Leech left, leaving the band as a trio of Watts, Ryan and Wills for the rest of its natural life.
Their music combined the artful influences of
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
with a bit of the pre-grunge and rock 'n roll/garage of
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...
and the
Stooges, some of the heaviness of
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
,
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
plus
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
and a dash of early
Roxy Music
Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera ...
, to name a but a few, often at a slug-like pace reminiscent of the
Melvins
Melvins (sometimes The Melvins) are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Initially, they performed as a trio but later also sometimes appeare ...
and a similar rawness to (then) early
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
.
Recordings
Sun Carriage released two 12" EPs on the
Wiiija catalogue:
* Sun Carriage EP - tracks : Sarah C.D, J.B. Smiles, Sick Dog Crawling (Can't See Love) -
* Wij 8 1990
* A Kiss to Tell EP - tracks : A Kiss To Tell (Parts 1 & 2), B.A.B.E, Written By... - Wij 10 1991
''reaching No2 in
N.M.E indie chart''
Other releases
* Now That's Disgusting Music - Live At The Sausage Machine { various }
Too Pure
Too Pure was a London-based independent record label formed in 1990 by Richard Roberts and Paul Cox. The label gained prominence after the release of PJ Harvey's debut album '' Dry'' in 1992, and subsequently found further success in the late ...
1, 1990
Broadcasts
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 ...
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, ...
Session - 09/06/1991
* Sick Dog Crawling
* BABE
* Kiss To Tell
* Written By
Produced by
Dale Griffin
Terence Dale "Buffin" Griffin (24 October 1948 – 17 January 2016) was an English drummer and a founding member of 1970s rock band Mott the Hoople. Later, he worked as a producer, and produced many of the BBC Radio 1 John Peel sessions from 1 ...
at
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. They also enjoyed sharing the stage with label-mates
. The band split in 1993, with Mathew Watts going on to form Codiac who only recorded a demo cassette in late June of that year.
Mathew returned to
in the late 1990s where he teamed up with his old "Saltash Monster" mates, including ex-members of Voices and Elephant Talk. From Feb 2008 to May 2009 Mathew Watts was guitarist with The Nameless Ones, a
band, alongside Andy Copelin (drums), Adam Speare (Bass) and Stephen Beer (vocals); please see links
Mathew passed away following a brave battle against
at the St. Lukes Hospice,
, on 13 May 2009.