Биография

East Village were a short-lived London band who combined the timeless 12-string jangle of the Byrds with the classic songwriting chops of Postcard Records stalwarts Orange Juice into something emotionally resonant and dryly sophisticated. Though they released only two singles during their short career, then a posthumous album, Drop Out, they are one of the most representative U.K. guitar pop bands of the late '80s/early '90s. Before they began playing as East Village, Martin and Paul Kelly tired of being in bands where the members didn't share a simpatico musical outlook so they joined forces as Episode Four. Inspired by psych-pop outfits like the Action and Eyes, the band, with Martin on bass and Paul on guitar, cut their teeth playing alongside groups like Thee Milkshakes and the Prisoners. After a change in membership led to the addition of bassist/songwriter Johnny Wood and drummer Spencer Smith, the band recorded and released an EP, Strike Up Matches, that leaned closer to classic British guitar pop than it did garage rock. The group didn't sell a ton of records, but their impressive live set gained them a fan with a record label willing to sign them to a deal. Jeff Barrett, then working as Creation Records' press officer, was launching his own Sub Aqua imprint and the newly renamed East Village were one of the first acts to join up. The band recorded their first single with onetime Go-Betweens producer Richard Preston; "Cubans in the Bluefields"/"Strawberry Window" was issued in 1988. It was also released as an EP with the addition of two more songs: "Break Your Neck" and "Kathleen." East Village released another single later in the year; the A-side was the recently recorded "Back Between Places," the flip side was made up of two songs, "Her Father's Son" and "Precious Diamond Tears," that had been cut in 1987. The band continued playing shows and working on new songs throughout 1989, though they hit a snag when Barrett shuttered the Sub Aqua label while they were in the process of recording an album. They were bailed out financially by their friends Bob Stanley (soon to launch Saint Etienne) and Jo Foreshaw, and were able to complete the record. Barrett stopped by the studio during a session, loved what he heard, and offered to sign the group to his new label Heavenly. The band leapt at the chance, but before the album, titled Drop Out, saw the light of day, they split while playing a show at London's New Cross Venue. The record was finally released in 1993 by Heavenly and Australian label Summershine -- which had issued the "Vibrato" single in 1991. The latter label also released the singles collection Hotrod Hotel in 1994. After the East Village's breakup, Paul Kelly played in the indie pop band Birdie with Debsy Wykes, formerly of Dolly Mixture, and became a respected filmmaker, while Martin Kelly became Saint Etienne's manager. Despite the lack of new recordings, East Village's legacy of well-crafted sophisticated guitar pop continued to resonate with fans of the style, and the release of a revamped Hotrod Hotel by the Slumberland label in 2020 introduced them to a new generation. ~ Tim Sendra, Rovi