Crazyhead

Had a spot of ebay therapy recently and picked up a few late 80s' indie slices of vinyl one of which was Crazhead's debut " Desert Orchid".Crazhead were another midlands band lumped in with the so called "Grebo" scene of the late 80s' . As with fellow grebos' ,Gaye Bykers On Acid , Crazhead's debut album "Desert Orchid" was also seen as a bit of a dissapointment upon it's release in 1988 due to the slightly polished production .I was only familiar with the singles of the time , "Have Love Will Travel" and "What Gives You The Idea That You're So Amazing Baby?". Although the singles are the standout tracks on the album the rest of the album is much better than I had expected , the photo above should indicate how they sound , rock n roll maaaan , with a touch of the The Stooges , which is no bad thing . Was suprised to find out that they only split up as recently as 2000 and there is talk of some form of reunion . Named after the much loved national hunt horse, "Desert Orchid" is here .

Gaye Bykers On Acid

This bunch were "The Next Big Thing "of 86/87 and much lauded by the music press at the time . Gaye Bykers On Acid were lumped in the music journo created "Grebo" scene along with Crazyhead ,Zodiac Mindwarp & The Love Reaction,Pop Will Eat Itself and a few others long forgotten by me. Long hair,biker gear,spraypaint,effects pedals,patchouli oil,drum machines,samplers along with a hint of narcotic allsorts seemed to be some of the elements in the make up of this very brief lived genre.After a couple of indie eps GBOA were signed to Virgin Records in 1987 ,to much expectation. Unfortunately when the debut album (and accompanying movie !) "Drill Your Own Hole" came out it was almost underwhelming after the hype the band successfully generated. Dominated by drum machines , wah wah guitar and samples the album still comes across as gimmicky in places but Git Down , After Suck There's Blow and T.V Cabbage are worthy of a place on anyones alternative 80s' playlist.The next album in 1989s' "Stewed To The Gills" was a a major improvement but it was too late for Virgin and the band were dropped due to poor sales. Two more albums were released on thier own label before before splitting in the early 1990s'. Style over substance ? Dunno but they sure brightened up the dull and over earnest mid to late 80s' indie scene before the rise of Madchester.Some of it still sounds ok to me ,the mentioned tracks from the debut , Nosedive Karma ,Everythang's Groovy and most of Stewed To The Gills are all worth a listen. May post these tunes at a later date in the meantime here is the debut to start with .