I not only had never heard Nottingham, England's FAT TULIPS (1987-1994) until this year, I'd never even heard of 'em. Those aforementioned years were likely my most musical-obsessed, and I vainly & snobbily prided myself during this time for knowing everything about everything. But not this excellent pop band, who were a mix of stumbling, fey twee-garage and overamped feedback & whine. It was like they turned on one persona or the other from record to record, depending on moods, or new equipment, rain or shine, or whatever. It's not like they were ever a particularly "challenging" band in any way - though you may find the rush of "Deadhead Baby" a bit of an ear-bleeder at first - but they were certainly an act I should've known something about. Tim Hinely should have told me, and he didn't.I've been making my way through all of their material now that I found out about them, and I have to say that most of it's great, with a few plodding exceptions (the final LP/CD "Starfish" is the latter; most of their ten 45s, the ones I've heard, are the former). The Fat Tulips released an EP in 1992 called "Nostalgia" that's my favorite by far, and no, not just because it's the loudest one (I'd next recommend the "Where's Clare Grogan Now?" 45 from 1989). All 5 songs are aces, with highest marks to the sucrose rush of "Last To Know" and the whooshing "Deadhead Baby". If you can't dig these, dad, then you've got no soul. No soul at all. I've decided to present the whole thing to you here, since I'm pretty sure it's gonna make your week. Meet the FAT TULIPS, folks. British pop from the 90s. You know you love it.
Play "Deadhead Baby":
"Nostalgia" EP
Download FAT TULIPS - "Nostalgia"
Download FAT TULIPS - "Deadhead Baby"
Download FAT TULIPS - "Last To Know"
Download FAT TULIPS - "Into Space"
Download FAT TULIPS - "Copper"
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4 comments:
Nice call! Their first single 'Where's Clare Grogan Now' (Clare Grogan being singer of Altered Images) is classic wow-wow slush pop. Artwork was an impressive assemblage of wafer thin plastic, recently dried paint and too cute twee scribblings. BTW a small nitpick: they were not Scottish but English (from oop North). As if stating D.O.A. were an American band.
Whoa - sorry about that. Somehow I just assumed they were Scottish, like Clare Grogan herself. My bad, and it's been corrected.
i tried jay.....honestly i did but you JUST WOULDN'T LISTEN! all you wanted to listen to was england dan and john ford coley.
Sheggi was Scottish, just not the rest of them.
Hardly anyone who wasn't in England at the time has heard of this band, because they let all their stuff go and remain out of print.
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