The Snapdragons (sometimes referred to as The Snapdragons UK, to distinguish them from the later US band of the same name) were an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band from

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. They were led by their singer and main songwriter, James Taylor (not to be confused with The Prisoners mainman or the American singer-songwriter of the same name). They released two

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s and four

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

in the late 1980s and early 1990s, while signed to the

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

Native Records Native Records is a small British independent record label formed in Sheffield, England. The label was founded by Kevin Donoghue in 1985, after he left RCA Records and during his time at the Music Factory where he was a sound engineer. In J ...

History

The band signed to Native Records, who released their first single, "The Things You Want", in 1988, and in February that year they recorded a session for

Simon Mayo Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo (born 21 September 1958) is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022. Mayo has presented across three BBC stations for extended periods. From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio ...

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.Garner, Ken (1993) ''In Session Tonight'', BBC Books, , p. 295 "The Things You Want" was included on Volume VI of the ''Indie Top 20'' series of albums (and later on

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...

' ''C88'' compilation). The band's debut album, ''Dawn Raids on Morality'', was produced by Pat Collier and released in 1989. In 1989, they also recorded a session for the

DJ,

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 ...

.Cacciatore, Alessio & Di Berardino, Giorgio (2018) ''Britannica. Dalla scena di Manchester al Britpop'', Vololibero, The band toured the UK and supported other Native Records acts, such as

The Darling Buds The Darling Buds are an alternative rock band from Newport, South Wales. The band formed in 1986 and were named after the H. E. Bates novel '' The Darling Buds of May'' – a title taken in turn, from the third line of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18: ...

and

Richard Hawley Richard Willis Hawley (born 17 January 1967) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. After his first band Treebound Story (formed while he was still at school) broke up, Hawley found success as a member of Britpop band Longp ...

's debut band, Treebound Story. The band were amongst indie bands tipped to do well in 1990, alongside

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

The Family Cat The Family Cat were a British independent band, formed in Stoke Newington, London in 1988. Three members were originally from Cornwall, one from Plymouth and one from Southampton. Career The band played live for five years and recorded three ...

, Asia Fields and The Wood Children. However inconsistent performances by the band, and the departure of John Sullivan and later "Spike" Mullings, hindered the band's ability to reach a wider audience. The follow-up album ''The Eternal in a Moment'' (1990) was a compilation of tracks from singles and EPs not found on the first album, and included "The Things You Want" and "The Eternal in a Moment", which were the band's first two singles. A second studio album entitled ''Mass'' was recorded with Nigel Lister replacing John Sullivan on guitar. However this was not issued by Native, due to legal problems which effectively saw the demise of the band. Drummer Pel Riccardi went on to join the

Utah Saints Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its we ...

. The band's last single, "Dole Boys on Futons", was included on Cherry Red's ''C89'' compilation in 2018.Canty, Ian (2018)
C89 Album Review
, ''

Louder Than War ''Louder Than War'' is a music and culture website and magazine focusing on mainly alternative arts news, reviews, and features. The site is an editorially independent publication that was started by journalist John Robb in 2010 and is now ru ...

'', 24 July 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2021

Personnel

*James Taylor (vocals, guitar, main songwriter) *John Sullivan (guitar, piano, songwriter) *Simon "Spike" Mullings (bass guitar) *Pellegrino "Pel" Riccardi (drums)

Discography

;7" singles *1988 "The Things You Want" - 7NTV 37 *1989 "The Eternal in a Moment" - 7NTV 47 ;12" singles *1988 "The Things You Want" - 12NTV 37 *1989 "Dole Boys On Futons" - 12NTV 41 *1989 "No Expectations" - 12NTV 46 *1989 "The Eternal in a Moment" - 12NTV 47 *1989 "Dole Boys on Futons" - CD NTV 41 (3 inch CD) ;Albums *1989 ''Dawn Raids on Morality'' *1990 ''The Eternal in a Moment''

References

External links

BBC John Peel - The Snapdragons at Maida ValeOfficial Native Records website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snapdragons, The Indie rock groups from Leeds Alternative rock groups from Leeds Musical groups established in 1987 1987 establishments in England Musical groups disestablished in 1990 1990 disestablishments in England