The June Brides are an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 sub ...

group, formed in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1983, by Phil Wilson and Simon Beesley of International Rescue. Influenced by Postcard-label bands such as Josef K and punk-era bands such as

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independen ...

, The

Desperate Bicycles The Desperate Bicycles were an English punk band from London formed in 1977. They released a series of independent recordings through their own label Refill Records in the late 1970s, encouraging and inspiring many other bands to do likewise. ...

and

The Television Personalities The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy.Earp, Joseph.The Missing Man Of Music: A Search For The Elusive Dan Treacy Of Television Personalities. ''The Brag'', 26 July 2016 ...

, their mix of guitar pop with viola and trumpet formed a blueprint for many of the

bands that would follow.

History

After forming in June 1983, they first played live as a band in August that year, soon attracting the attention of future

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

boss

Alan McGee Alan John McGee (born 29 September 1960) is a Scottish businessman and music industry executive. He has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for ''The Guardian''. He co-founded the independent Creation Records label, r ...

, who gave them several gigs at the 'Living Room', but reputedly decided not to sign The June Brides to his new label as it would have been "too obvious".Taylor, Neil (1985) "...and the brides wore pink", ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', 2 February 1985, p. 20 Two Joe Foster-produced 1984 singles on The Pink Label, "In The Rain" and "Every Conversation" saw The June Brides receive much attention, and these two songs appeared frequently on compilation albums from that era. A year later, the mini-album '' There Are Eight Million Stories...'' appeared (produced by John O'Neill of

That Petrol Emotion That Petrol Emotion were a London-based Northern Ireland-originating band with an American vocalist, Steve Mack. It featured the O'Neill brothers from celebrated Derry pop-punk band The Undertones plus ex-members of fellow Derry bands Bam Bam and ...

) and went straight to number one in 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 rele ...

, staying there for a month. The album remained in the indie chart for 38 weeks. Disillusioned with Pink, the band moved to

Marc Riley Marc Riley (born 10 July 1961 in Manchester) is an English radio DJ, alternative rock critic, musician, and former music businessman. He currently presents on BBC Radio 6 Music. Formerly a member of the Fall, he co-owned a record label, In-Ta ...

's In-Tape label for two further singles - "No Place Like Home" and "This Town" and, in 1986, opened for

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

on their Irish tour dates. The June Brides were asked to contribute to the ''

s ''

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 ...

'' compilation but declined for fear of being pigeonholed. After losing confidence in In-Tape, they approached

Go! Discs Go! Discs was a London-based record label, launched in 1983 from offices in Wendell Road, Shepherd's Bush, by Andy Macdonald and Lesley Symons. The pair founded the label after Macdonald left his job as press officer at Stiff Records, and Sym ...

, who had offered them a deal the previous year, but with the band falling out of favour with critics and some of their early fans, Go! Discs were no longer interested. The band split in 1986, with singer Wilson embarking on a solo career on

.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, In 2006, Sarandon paid tribute by naming their fourth 7" album ''The June Bride'', which saw Phil Wilson guesting on vocals. The band were also honoured in 2006 by a tribute album '' Still Unravished'', released on Irish label yesboyicecream records, which featured covers by bands such as

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (musician ...

Television Personalities The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy.Earp, Joseph.The Missing Man Of Music: A Search For The Elusive Dan Treacy Of Television Personalities. ''The Brag'', 26 July 2016 ...

The Tyde The Tyde are an American indie rock group. Tracing their roots to early 1990s LA indie band Further, formed by Darren Rademaker and brother Brent. The Tyde cite Felt, the Beach Boys and the Byrds as major influences. They are not to be confused w ...

Jeffrey Lewis Jeffrey Lewis (born November 20, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and comic book artist. Early life Lewis was born in New York City and grew up on the Lower East Side. He attended State University of New York at Purchase, graduating in ...

and

The Jasmine Minks The Jasmine Minks are a British indie pop band, whose early singles were amongst the first releases by Creation Records. History Formed in Aberdeen in 1983, the band were initially a quartet of Jim Shepherd (guitar/vocals), Adam Sanderson (vo ...

Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He wrote the 2000 best-selling memoir ''A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius''. Eggers is also the founder of ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', a lite ...

and

Everett True Everett True (born Jeremy Andrew Thackray on 21 April 1961) is an English music journalist and musician. He became interested in rock music after hearing The Residents, and formed a band with school friends. He has written and recorded as The ...

contributed liner notes for the album.

also wrote an article in the UK newspaper ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', detailing his affection for the band. On 23 January 2009, Phil Wilson, Simon Beesley, Jon Hunter and Frank Sweeney reformed The June Brides for a one off show at The Others,

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

, London. In June 2012, the band reformed and released its first new single in 23 years via

Slumberland Records Slumberland Records is an American independent record label, formed in 1989 in Washington, D.C. and based in Oakland, California. The label has released recordings by Velocity Girl, Honeybunch, Lilys, Stereolab, Evans The Death, St. Christophe ...

and Occultation Records, followed by a second new single in 2014.

Discography

(chart placings are from the UK Independent chart)Lazell, Barry: ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', 1997, Cherry Red Books,

Studio albums

* '' There Are Eight Million Stories...'' (Sep 1985, Pink, PINKY5 P No. 1

EPs

* "In The Rain" / "Every Conversation" (Apr 1986, Pink, PINLY9 2" * ''Peel Sessions (22/10/85)'' (Apr 1987, Strange Fruit, SFPS023 2" No. 29

Compilations

* ''For Better Or Worse'' (Jan 1995, Overground, OVER40CD D * ''Every Conversation: The Story Of The June Brides & Phil Wilson'' (2005, Cherry Red, CDM RED 273 CD * ''London, England 1984-1986'' (2011, Social Music Records, SOCIAL-002 P

Singles

* "In The Rain" / "Sunday to Saturday" (Jun 1984, Pink, PINKY1 " * "Every Conversation" / "Disneyland" (Sep 1984, Pink, PINKY2 " No. 11 * "No Place Called Home" / "We Belong" (Nov 1985, In-Tape, IT024 "ITT024 2" No. 3 * "This Town" (May 1986, In-Tape, IT030 "ITT030 2" * "A January Moon" / "Cloud" (June 2012, Occultation/Slumberland, PAN7DC015/SLR175 " * "She Seems Quite Free" / "I'm Undone" / "Being There" (October 2014, Occultation/Slumberland, PAN7DE032/SLR207 " EP

Tribute albums

* '' Still Unravished - A Tribute to The June Brides'' (Feb 2006, Yesboyicecream, YBI01 P

References

External links

2005 interview with Simon Beesley

{{DEFAULTSORT:June Brides, The British indie pop groups Musical groups from the London Borough of Lewisham