Heavenly (British band)
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Heavenly are a twee pop band, originally forming in Oxford, England in 1989. Amelia Fletcher (vocals/guitar), Mathew Fletcher (drums; Amelia's brother), Peter Momtchiloff (guitar) and Robert Pursey (bass) were all previously members of Talulah Gosh,<ref name="Larkinindie">Template:Cite book</ref> a key member of the C86 scene.
History
[edit]Heavenly debuted with the 7" single "I Fell in Love Last Night", followed by another 7", "Our Love Is Heavenly", both released in 1990 on Sarah Records.<ref name="Larkinindie"/> Heavenly vs. Satan, the group's debut album, came out in 1991.<ref name="Larkinindie"/> At this stage in their career, the instrumentation remained very much the same jangly guitar style used by Talulah Gosh.<ref name=":02">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Before releasing the critically acclaimed Le Jardin de Heavenly, Cathy Rogers (keyboard, back-up vocals) joined the band.<ref name="Larkinindie"/> Her harmony vocals and keyboards became an integral part of the group's sound. The group's second album also features the track "C is the Heavenly Option," featuring the guest vocals of K Records founder Calvin Johnson, who released Heavenly's records in the US.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Before their next long-player, Heavenly released two non-album 7" singles, "P.U.N.K. Girl" and "Atta Girl." These signalled a growing complexity in Fletcher's songwriting, particularly "Atta Girl," in which Fletcher and Rogers sung in rapid-fire trade-off vocals. A broadening (and darkening) of lyrical subject matter was shown in the B-side, "Hearts and Crosses," which told the story of a date rape, with an upbeat keyboard riff providing an ironic counterpoint.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="A Bout Pitchfork">Template:Cite web</ref>
The band's third LP was The Decline and Fall of Heavenly (1994).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1995, the band contributed the song "Snail Trail" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Bothered produced by the Red Hot Organization.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The group's last album was Operation Heavenly (1996). Arriving in the middle of the Britpop boom, the album contained a cover of the Serge Gainsbourg-penned and France Gall-performed "Nous ne sommes pas des anges," sung entirely in French by Fletcher.<ref name="Option">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Due to the closing of Sarah Records it was released on Wiiija.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It included a second Calvin Johnson guest spot on the track "Pet Monkey."<ref name="Option"/>
However, shortly before the release of Operation Heavenly, Mathew Fletcher took his own life.<ref name="A Bout Pitchfork"/> The remaining members announced that the band name Heavenly was to be retired, but that they would continue, using the name Marine Research, a moniker under which they released a single album, 1999's Sounds from the Gulf Stream, on K Records (it was not released separately in Britain). Afterwards, Marine Research dissolved.<ref name="amgentry">Template:Cite web</ref>
The band's core members reformed in 2002 as Tender Trap, releasing four albums before calling it a day in 2013. As of 2024, Fletcher and Pursey are both in The Catenary Wires and Swansea Sound, while Momtchiloff plays in Would-be-goods and Tufthunter.
Heavenly reunited for a concert at Bush Hall in London in May 2023, with Ian Button replacing Mathew Fletcher on drums. In 2024, the band played further dates in Spain, France and the US.<ref name="reunion">Template:Cite web</ref> The band also premiered new songs on those tour dates as well.
Discography
[edit]Studio albums
[edit]- Heavenly vs. Satan (Sarah 603, 1991)
- Le Jardin de Heavenly (Sarah 610, 1992)
- The Decline and Fall of Heavenly (Sarah 623, 1994)
- Operation Heavenly (WIJ 1053 / KLP 59, 1996)
Compilation albums
[edit]- This Is Heavenly (ER 1010, 1995)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- A Bout De Heavenly: The Singles (Damgood 537, 2020)<ref name="A Bout Pitchfork"/>
EPs
[edit]- P.U.N.K. Girl (KLP 25, 1995)
Singles
[edit]- "I Fell In Love Last Night" b/w "Over And Over" (7", Sarah 30, 1990)
- "Our Love Is Heavenly" b/w "Wrap My Arms Around Him" (7", Sarah 41, 1990)
- "So Little Deserve" b/w "I'm Not Scared Of You" (7", Sarah 51, 1991)
- "She Says" b/w "Escort Crash On Marston Street" (7", IPU 25, 1991)
- "P.U.N.K. Girl" b/w "Hearts And Crosses" (7", Sarah 81, 1993)
- "Atta Girl" b/w "Dig Your Own Grave", "So?" (7", Sarah 82, 1993)
- "Keroleen / Trophy Girlfriend" (split with Bis) (7", IPU 66, 1996)<ref name="A Bout Pitchfork"/>
- "Space Manatee" b/w "You Tore Me Down", "Art School" (7", IPU 73 / WIJ 58, 1996)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>