HISTORY

History

Part I - Part II - Part III - Part IIII

" The magazine 'House Of Dolls' saw us one night at the Fulham greyhound supporting 'Salvation', they approached us to put a track on their next issue alongside 'the Wedding Present', it cost £500 & 'Prayer' became our first release, we then decided to produce a video, I approached the company owned by Keith Allen who had shot videos for 'PWEI' & 'All About Eve', it cost £1,500 & combined with the HOD single was a brilliant way of promoting the band outside of a gig.

Read interview from late '88 here - HOD INTERVIEW

" One of our followers, Craig from Manchester, gave me the number of Pete & Nicki McCarthy who were managing 'The Bolshoi', Pete was blown away, he got us a gig at the Marquee & in front of  A & R men from Beggars Banquet & Island records, plus our manager to be, Abbo, this was the big break we'd waited for all these years. "

Suddenly all the major labels had heard of them & started to make a beeline to the gigs, there was EMI, Chrysalis & Island chasing, they liked the Island A & R guy James Dowdall & his boss Ron Fair the best, so the 'Claytown Troupe'  signed to Island Records, it was that simple! 

" With a major record deal but no manager, Island introduced us to big players, but they didn't fit in with our 'one for all' attitude, Abbo, who had offered us an indie deal on his label 'Cat & Mouse' seemed like one of us, Rick & I met him & offered him the job, he took it on the proviso that he could still run his label, as he was about to release a single by a band called 'Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine', that was fine by us, we even lent them some money to make it! "

Abbo successfully went on to become the M.D. of V2 Records, signing 'the Stereophonics', 'White Stripes' & managing EMF.

'Through the Veil' began it's life in November '88, the producer was head of A & R, Ron Fair, it was recorded at Jam Studios in Finsbury Park & mixed at Air Studios in Oxford St. 

Then in March '89 the touring started, that year they supported 'The Wonder Stuff', 'Jesus Jones', 'Soul Asylum', 'Julian Cope', 'The Godfathers' 'The Damned', 'The Mission', as well as packing out their own headlines.

The first single 'Prayer' came out while they were on tour in Germany, it hit the shops & the TV, charting at 76, up against 'Madonna' at her peak so everyone seemed impressed, perhaps a little more exposure would have got them higher, considering the actual sales were good for what was now know as a safe commercial risk, an 'Alternative Rock Band'.

The summer of '89 was unbelievable, 'Hey Lord' reached the charts, the tours were electric, & they geared up for the album release.

By now the international press had started to cover them, comparisons with 'The Cult' were obvious, in the same way as 'The Stone Roses' launched 'The Charlatans' & 'Oasis', but it gained them a wider audience, they had to make a stance, that's when they heard 'The Cult'  were touring.

Read review of Birmingham NEC - THE CULT

They got the 'Sonic Temple' tour & played at some of the biggest venues in the UK in front of sell-out crowds, the 'Cult' audience decided that they were good enough, and the sales of the recently released album shot through the roof, it got to number 74, & sold thousands around the world, perhaps if it had sold in gallup linked shops, it would have gone higher, but our kind of people didn't often buy their records in Woolworth's!

Read 5K Kerrang Interview - THROUGH THE VEIL

The year was amazing, they finished with a gig at the Marquee & invited all of their following in during the day to shoot a video for 'Real Life', but all the touring & the impact from the success had started cracks that would eventually tear them apart, be careful what you wish for.

  Part I - Part II - Part III - Part IIII

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