Editing My Bloody Valentine (band) (section)

===1987: Lazy Records and Butcher's recruitment===
[[File:Bilinda Butcher (cropped 2).jpg|right|upright=0.8|thumb|[[Bilinda Butcher]] performing in 1989]]
{{Listen|filename=My Bloody Valentine - Clair.ogg|title="Clair"|description=From ''[[Ecstasy (My Bloody Valentine album)|Ecstasy]]'' (1987), "Clair" was one of the first recordings to feature vocalist and guitarist Bilinda Butcher.|pos=right}}

In early 1987, My Bloody Valentine signed to Lazy Records, another independent record label, which was founded by the [[indie pop]] band [[the Primitives]] and their manager, Wayne Morris. My Bloody Valentine's first release on the label was the single "[[Sunny Sundae Smile]]", released in February 1987. It peaked at number 6 on the UK Indie Singles Chart{{sfn|Lazell|1997|p=157}} and the band toured following its release. After a number of performances throughout the U.K., the band managed to secure a support slot with [[the Soup Dragons]], but on that tour in March 1987, David Conway announced his decision to leave the band, citing  a gastric illness, disillusionment with music and ambitions to become a writer.<ref name="booth" />

Conway's departure left the band without a lead vocalist, and Shields, Ó Cíosóig and Googe advertised in the local music press for a new singer. The audition process, which Shields described as "disastrous and excruciating," was unsuccessful because he had mentioned [[the Smiths]] in the advertisements "because [he] liked their melodies," attracting a number of vocalists whom he called "fruitballs."<ref name="ss" /> Although considering forming another group, the band experimented with vocalists [[Bilinda Butcher]] and Joe Byfield, both of whom had been recommended to the band by other musicians. Butcher, whose musical experience consisted of playing classical guitar as a child and singing and playing tambourine "with some girlfriends for fun," had learned that My Bloody Valentine needed a backing vocalist from her partner, who had met Ó Cíosóig on a ferry from the Netherlands. At her audition, she sang "[[The Bargain Store (song)|The Bargain Store]]," a song from [[Dolly Parton]]'s 1975 [[The Bargain Store|album of the same name]].<ref name="td">{{cite web|url=http://totallydublin.ie/music/music-features/butchers-block|title=TD Archive: My Bloody Valentine's Bilinda Butcher Interviewed|work=[[Totally Dublin]]|publisher=Totally Partner|last=Johannesson|first=Ika|date=3 September 2008|access-date=28 June 2013|archive-date=3 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503040644/http://totallydublin.ie/music/music-features/butchers-block}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=September 2020}} She was invited to join the group, with Byfield deemed unsuitable as a lead vocalist.

Following Butcher's recruitment, Shields shared lead vocals with her. Commenting on the transition, Shields noted that Butcher "sounded all right and she could sing one of our songs, we just had to show her how to play guitar."<ref name="ss" /> Shields was initially reluctant to take on a vocal role within the band, but said that he had "always sung in the rehearsal room [...] and made up the melodies." With the new lineup in place, the band intended to drop the My Bloody Valentine moniker, but according to Ó Cíosóig and Shields, the band was unable to decide on a name and kept the moniker "for better or for worse."<ref>{{cite interview|last1=Ó Cíosóig|first1=Colm|subject-link1=Colm Ó Cíosóig|last2=Shields|first2=Kevin|subject-link2=Kevin Shields|interviewer=Rachael Davis |title=Transmission |publisher=[[Channel 4]]|year=1988<!--|access-date=9 July 2013-->}}</ref>

Under pressure from Lazy Records to release a full-length album, the band compromised and agreed to release a single and subsequent mini-album, citing the need for time to stabilize their new lineup. "[[Strawberry Wine (My Bloody Valentine song)|Strawberry Wine]]", a three-track single, was released in November 1987 and ''[[Ecstasy (My Bloody Valentine album)|Ecstasy]]'' was released a month later. Both received moderate critical acclaim, and peaked at number 13 and 12 on the independent singles and albums chart, respectively.{{sfn|Lazell|1997|p=155}} However, "Strawberry Wine" was described as "certainly the better of the two releases", as ''Ecstasy'' was plagued by production difficulties, including errors in the mastering process. ''Ecstasy'' was criticised as the product of "a group who appeared to have run out of money halfway through recording,"<ref name="ss" /> which was later confirmed, as the band were funding the studio sessions themselves. My Bloody Valentine's contract with Lazy stated that the label would handle promotion of releases, whereas the band would finance the recording sessions. Following their departure from Lazy, which later rereleased "Strawberry Wine" and ''Ecstasy'' on the compilation album ''[[Ecstasy and Wine]]'' (1989) without the band's consent,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=My Bloody Valentine|magazine=Whoosh|issue=3|year=1989}}</ref> [[Rough Trade Records]] offered a deal to finance the recording and release of a full-length album, but the band turned it down.<ref name="ss" />