The Flatmates, part of the mid-1980s British

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

boom, were part of

The Subway Organization The Subway Organization was a British independent record label founded in 1985 in Bristol by Martin Whitehead. Indie pop and ''C86'' The label was associated with the indie pop movement and the seminal '' NME'' cassette tape '' C86'', that in ...

, a

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

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 ...

formed by Martin Whitehead. Whitehead is also guitarist and main

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

for the band.

History

Following the group's formation in 1985, singles such as "I Could Be in Heaven", "Happy All the Time" and "Shimmer" established the band as a successful indie band but The Flatmates disbanded in April 1989 before releasing a proper studio album. The group's core members were Martin Whitehead (guitar) and Debbie Haynes (vocals). Initially, the band also included Kath Beach (bass guitar) and Rocker (drums). Prior to recording their first single, Beach left the band and was replaced by Sarah Fletcher. The line-up of Haynes, Whitehead, Fletcher and Rocker recorded the first two Flatmates singles, 1986's "I Could Be in Heaven" and 1987's "Happy All the Time", both Whitehead compositions. Rocker left the band prior to their third single, November 1987's "You're Gonna Cry", and was replaced by Joel O'Bierne. Ironically, "You're Gonna Cry" was a Rocker composition, the only A-side he would pen for the band. "Shimmer", released in March 1988 as the fourth Flatmates single, was the band's biggest hit, produced by

Chris Allison Christopher John Allison (born 1961) is a British record producer and founder/head of Sonic360 Records. His work has been associated with artists such as The Beta Band, Coldplay, Walter Becker, Kinky, Plastilina Mosh, Emmanuel Jal, The Wed ...

reaching No. 2 on the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rel ...

. Shortly after the single was released, Tim Rippington was added as a second guitarist. Bassist Fletcher then left The Flatmates prior to their fifth and final single "Heaven Knows". She was eventually replaced by Jackie Carrera; however it was Whitehead who played bass on "Heaven Knows", while Rippington handled all the guitar. The group split up in 1989, with Carrera joining

The Caretaker Race The Caretaker Race were an English indie pop band formed in East London in 1986 when singer/guitarist Andy Strickland (also a part-time music journalist) left The Loft. Strickland recruited Dave Mew (drums), Henry Hersom (bass guitar), and Sal ...

and Whitehead and O'Bierne forming The Sweet Young Things. Whitehead later formed the short-lived band Shrimptractor in 1992. Two collections of Flatmates material have been released on CD, ''Love and Death'' (1989) and ''Potpourri (Hits, Mixes and Demos '85 - '89)'' (2005). The group were reformed by Whitehead in 2013, featuring Lisa Bouvier on vocals, and released a single called "You Held My Heart" on Archdeacon of Pop Records. In August 2015, Bristol-based indie label Local Underground released a second new Flatmates single, featuring covers of "When You Were Mine" by Prince, and "Comedian" (originally titled "Comedienne") by Cinerama. The band’s first full studio album, “The Flatmates” was released in March 2020.

Discography

Albums

*''The Flatmates'' (2020)

Compilation albums

*''Love and Death'' (1989) *''Potpourri (Hits, Mixes and Demos '85 - '89)'' (2005)

Singles

References

External links

The Flatmates website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flatmates, The British indie pop groups Musical groups from Bristol