#DOLLY MIXTURE UK

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

FILE UNDER: BASS PLAYERS, INDIE STYLE, MOD STYLE, MOD REVIVAL, INDIE GIRLS, POST-PUNK, VINTAGE STYLE, ETC...

PIC INFO: Spotlight on bassist/vocalist Debsey Wykes of UK indie/twee/post-punk/pop punk band DOLLY MIXTURE, c. late '70s (I think). How 'bout that jacket, though? What a lovely girl.

Source: www.picuki.com/media/3476104409120593108.

[spilladabalia]

The Dolly Mixture in Doncaster, 1981. Photo by & © Rich Gunter.

[bandcampsnoop]

3/9/24.

Sealed Records has been on a winning streak as of late. Their reissues of Dolly Mixture and Andy Stratton have been covered here, and recent releases of the Groucho Marxist label and now Twelve Cubic Feet are truly outstanding.

"Straight Out The Fridge" is a reissue of an early 1980s 10" from this London based group whose members were in many other bands including Solid Space. Really, Twelve Cubic Feet sound like a punkier Marine Girls with some of the swag of early Orange Juice. And the vocals really remind me of the great Vomit Launch and Life Without Buildings.

Finally, some of these songs have an early Flying Nun feel - think Look Blue Go Purple and/or Dead Famous People.

[thelenazavaroniarchive]

11th December 2024.

𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟔. The Leicester Daily Mercury mentioned that Lena had attended a function in aid of the blind.

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟎. Lena had a good review in Smash Hits magazine for her single Will He Kiss Me tonight?

It's a shame that they couldn't get Dolly Mixture's name right.

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟎. The weekly newspapers listed Lena’s appearance on Saturday’s Basil Brush Show.

𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟏. The Lichfield Mercury mentioned that Lena would be in “Babes in the wood” at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham along with the cast of Hi-De-Hi.

𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟏. The Walsall Observer mentioned Babes in the wood, plus The Alexandra Theatre ran a competition to win free tickets.

𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟏. The Whitstable Times mentioned the incestuous nature of TV variety shows, with Lena, Lulu, Des, Bernie Winters, etc taking turns to be in each others shows.

𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟗. John Mc Cready in his blog wrote about Philip Solomon.

The interview with Shel Talmy;

Sunday 27th December he followed it up with part 2.

[pillsquad]

Dolly Mixture, UK punk / post-punk, early 1980s, via @sceneinbetween on Instagram

[daggerzine]

Rachel Love- Lyra  (The Cat Collects)

Yes, this is the same Rachel who used to be in the early 80’s UK group the Dolly Mixture (a favorite around the Dagger HQ). I discovered her solo stuff a few years ago (via 2021 Picture in Mind, though I’m not sure how long she’s been doing solo stuff) and it’s all been a terrific return to form. Very different from the Dolly Mixture as she forges her own path

This record was brought about by sadness with the death of her husband/ musical collaborator/producer Steve Lovell. Two of her kids play on the record as well and one of them, David Lovell, co-produced it with Rachel.

It’s the sound of dreamy electro pop with lovely cooing vocals, splendid guitars, synths and the like. With songs titles like opener “Without You,” “Sad and Lonely,” “I Lost Myself” and “Alone” (to name but a few) you get the idea of most of the subject matter, but as a whole Lyra also feels hopeful and pleasing to the ears. Musicians working through grief can sometimes offer us the biggest surprises.

It’s a beautiful record made during a very difficult time, but I’m so glad that Rachel and her co-musicians made this record. It’s an important one and also one of my favorite records of the year so far.

www.rachellove.bandcamp.com

[indieephemera]

Flyer from UK label Cordelia Records, listing releases for sale from their own label and from others they were distributing, circa 1994.

While I can’t recall how I stumbled across the Cordelia Records label, it must have been through their New Zealand connection in some shape or form. Here they list an entire section of releases for sale on the German Raffmond label, known in the 90s for issuing some of the more experimental Kiwi music of the time—less Flying Nun, more Xpressway. And in among the Terminals and Cakekitchen releases are those from some of the (many) bands of Cordelia main man Alan Jenkins.

But the real prize for me here was that Dolly Mixture 12″ listed for a mere £3. The band’s final release during their initial existence, The Fireside E.P. was a low-key, chamber pop coda. And it was only one of two Dolly Mixture releases—the other being their ultra-rare Demonstration Tapes double LP—that I had yet to acquire.

I most certainly sent my international money order and IRCs to the label without delay in order to grab that Dolly Mixture record... plus a few other Cordelia label releases while I was at it. Because, with a maximum international shipping charge of £6, why the heck not?

[urbanenemy]

DOLLY MIXTURE - Baby It's You

[rainydawgradioblog]

New Blawgger: What I Listened to in March of 2022

Hello everyone! For my first Blawg, I thought I would share what interesting things I listened to last month, including stuff that I just discovered and stuff that I had entirely forgotten about and had the pleasure of re-listening to. I chose 10 to put here, but I’ve got a complete playlist:

"Raw" – Big Daddy Kane

Big Daddy Kane was one of the MCs to come out of the explosion of hip hop in the late 80s, an era where it felt as if the genre was making decades of progress every few months. Unfortunately, Kane seems to have been forgotten compared to the rappers that came just after him like Nas or Kool G Rap, but his best material holds up today. “Raw” is a cut of classic boom-bap with killer lyricism and wordplay for days.

"Yereyira" – Papito & Iba One

If you recognize this at all, it’s because it was sampled by Death Grips on “Get Got”, but you’d be surprised to find out that it originates from Northwest Africa. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, music was spread throughout the Sahara in a file-sharing network on Nokia cellphones, the most popular of which was compiled on the Music from Saharan Cellphones releases. This track is a Southern US-inspired rap song with possibly one of the most maddeningly catchy choruses I’ve ever heard (in a good way). I can’t speak for what the lyrics are about as I can’t find any translations, but the flows are fantastic, and the performances are filled with undeniable confidence and swagger. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this song is how it demonstrates the reincorporation of newer African-descended musical forms into older ones: hip hop is descended from the musical forms of West Africa, and when returned there, it feels completely transformed and revitalized.

"Left Hand Path" – Entombed

And here we get into my new love: Swedish death metal! If your only familiarity with the genre is Cannibal Corpse, then you’re in for a treat: riffs that manage to be melodic, but still sinister with a guitar tone that buzzes like a feral beast. The vocals from a then-17 LG Petrov (RIP) complement the atmosphere perfectly, but the real treat is just how well-structured this track is, every change-up adding some kind of intensity and tension and feeling fresh the whole way through. If you’ve never gotten into extreme music before, this probably isn’t the place to start, but if you want the cream of the crop, here it is.

"Trapped in a Corner" – Death

I hope that y’all have been patient with my metal indulgence in this article, so here’s the last of it. The late great Death have probably one of the most consistently amazing catalogues in all of music, with the album this song is on fitting squarely in the middle of their transition from old-school death metal to a more philosophical, progressive sound. This track has some surprisingly melodic riffs and guitar solos that I would even describe as beautiful (not a word that usually characterizes extreme metal).

"How Come You’re Such a Hit with the Boys, Jane?" – Dolly Mixture

Definitely whiplash from the previous entry, but much more accessible. Dolly Mixture are a deep-cut indie pop group from the first wave of the genre in the early-mid 80s. They never got as much attention as their contemporaries like They Might Be Giants, the Smiths, or even Felt, but they deserve it just as much. This song is a great little cheeky 60s girl group throwback that will win you over with its charm and funny lyricism. The spoken-word segment is the cherry on top – a moment of equal parts satire and snide venom.

"La Vida Mejor" – La Vida Boheme

Something that you’ve seen and will continue to see from me is that I’m a huge fan of non-Western rock – while I feel that the American and UK scenes are somewhat stagnant, there’s far more interesting material coming out of South America, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia. This band is from Venezuela, and this song is their hit from the Latin Grammy-nominated album Será, an ambitious politically charged modern indie classic which unfortunately has gotten almost no traction stateside. “La Vida Mejor” is an energetic dance-rock song full of distinctly Latin touches, especially in the energetic horns.

"Kodak Moment" – dltzk

They’ve already gotten a lot of attention in the online electronic underground, but if you haven’t checked them out already, dltzk (pronounced “deletezeek”) is worth doing so. Their songwriting combines a wide variety of very modern influences from emo to hyperpop. This song is a perfect encapsulation of their oeuvre, featuring catchy melodies with warped vocals and glistening keys getting split apart by extreme electronic glitch-noise (and, funnily enough, a sample of the Nintendo 3DS startup sound). The combination of levity and gravity in the lyrics, where a serious discussion of lost time runs into an oddly poignant Sharkboy and Lavagirl quote, perfectly captures the contradictions at the heart of Generation Z: doped up on cheap media, we attempt to find the beating heart at its core, recontextualizing the profane into the sacred and the meaningless into the center of our identity.

"Cellphone Machine" – Yun Head

If you’ve heard the name Yun Head, it’s probably from some…let’s just say less-than-stellar meme rap, but Austin Santiago has recently started to take music much more seriously, first with the Oat album last year, and now with the even-better Forever’s Forecast Demo single. The B-Side is the real draw here, a hyper-dense glitch pop love ballad (?) full of jazz-electronica touches and some hazy-yet-powerful bedroom production. Even though the lyrics are buried underneath layers of fuzz, the musical swells perfectly capture some kind of all-consuming warmth: the only line I can understand is "I can't help myself; he's the most beautiful person" - whether romantic or otherwise, it's a sentiment that the song conveys perfectly. At only 17, Yun has proven himself to be a fantastic producer with potential that I only think he's begun to reach. I'd stay tuned for what he has in store next.

"Congratulations" – The J. Arthur Keenes Band

If there’s a deep, obscure online underground, then the J. Arthur Keenes Band are underrated even there. A one-man Canadian indie project by Dan McLay that’s been putting out albums for over 10 years now, the J. Arthur Keenes Band features some of the best melodies and ingenious chord progressions I’ve heard anywhere, and their Beach Boys-meets chiptune sound is unique. Don’t let the cheerful sound fool you—McLay’s lyrics are dark and introspective (and unfortunately much too relatable). I'm not sure whether the searing sarcasm that runs through this song is directed towards someone else or McLay himself, but the weariness and fear of inadequacy at its core manages to be as terrifying as the music seems uplifting on its surface. Only the indie-pop noise which smothers the track hints at the venom underneath. Compared with the aforementioned "Cellphone Machine", it demonstrates just how versatile of a format lo-fi can be.

"Ceaseless Inexhaustible Child" – Ambrose Akinmusire

It seems as if contemporary jazz is unfairly locked away from the musical mainstream, only discussed by jazz musicians themselves or whenever a jazz musician features on a higher-profile album in a different genre. As such, Ambrose Akinmusire’s 2014 album The Imagined Savior is Far Easier to Paint deserves to be brought out of the shadows and come into the running of not only one of the best jazz albums of the year, but of all time. This song, dedicated to Cyntoia Brown, is tender, passionate, and beautiful beyond words. It’s a meditation on youth and its disappearance, the way that oppression affects marginalized children, and yet how they manage to stay strong in the face of seemingly insurmountable societal devastation. The vocal performance from Ladan Hussein is reminiscent of Nina Simone’s “Little Girl Blue”: melancholic, compassionate, and yet full of hope. Combined with the deeply expressive cries of Akinmusire’s trumpet, and you have an emotional tour-de-force which can wring tears out of even the most hardened hearts.

I’ll be writing about some of my other discoveries in another column called “Rock of Elsewhere” which will focus more on international artists. Stay tuned.

Stefan

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

THE INDIE GIRLS OF YESTERYEAR -- THEY DON'T MAKE 'EM LIKE THIS ANYMORE, DO THEY?

PIC(S) INFO: "The toppermost of the poppermost" -- Mega spotlight on recently published shots of UK twee/pop punk/post-punk band DOLLY MIXTURE, c. 1980. 📸: @paulkellyfilm.

PIC #5: Gig/show flyer with THE USERS, THE SINIX, THE TRANSMITTERS, and THE FALL, performing live in Cambridge, UK, on May 26, 1979.

Source: www.picuki.com/media/3475736067237520561.

[still-single]

radio last for 2019

https://www.mixcloud.com/mosurock/heathen-disco-with-doug-mosurock-show-195-30-december-2019/

tracklist below. thanks to Mary Nisi for getting sick so I could do this.

Possible Humans - Born Stoned

Jeff Parker - Max Brown pt. 1

Grapefruit - Elevator

Pugh - Love, Love, Love

The Reds, Pinks and Purples - Bike Race

KVL - Bladewalker

Susan Cadogan - Do It, Baby

Sault - Pink Sands / Let Me Go

The Charlatans UK - Flower

Dadamah - Limbo Swing

Wayne Rogers - Waterside

The Prefects - Barbarellas

Hiro Kone - Fabrication of Silence

Lyn Todd - Devil Woman

Junior - Mama Used to Say

Quando Quango - Triangle

Automatic - Electrocution

Ruth - Polaroïd/Roman/Photo

Kuzu - Carried Away

The Society - You Girl

Davie Allan and the Arrows - Mind Transferral

Meat Beat Manifesto - Hello Teenage America

Ashwin Batish - Raga Rock

The Carrie Nations - Sweet Talkin' Candy Man

Dolly Mixture - Femme Fatale

Fred Anderson Quartet - Analog Breakdown

P.P. Rebel - Caretta Caretta

Shinehead - Rough & Rugged

Foster Sylvers - Misdemeanor

Blues Lawyer - For Keeps

Mary Lattimore + Mac McCaughan - II

Woolen Men - Ecstasy of an Ant

Sally Haze - Tell Me Everything

Zatua - Nun Vuelvas Mas

Linda Di Franco - T.V. Scene (Sensurround Mix)

Cocteau Twins - Lorelei

Burial - Loner

FACS - In Time

Visage - Fade to Grey

Tindersticks - Take Care in Your Dreams

My Bloody Valentine( - Please) Lose Yourself in Me

Pink Turns Blue - Walking on Both Sides

Blitz - Skin

The Springfields - Clown

Andy Stott - It Should Be Us

Chubby Checker - Stoned in the Bathroom

Willie Colon - Junio '73

[bandcampsnoop]

10/13/23.

What a nice surprise. The Cat Collects is a UK label run by Jodie Lowther. This is a 4-way CD containing three songs each from Rachel Love (Dolly Mixture), 3am Again, The Cleaners From Venus and Jodie Lowther herself. Lowther does the artwork for the CD and has done covers for each artist on other releases (3 am Again have a CD on Subjangle).

Each artist has one track available here. And each artist represents a season - Rachel Love (spring), 3am Again (summer), Cleaners From Venus (fall) and Jodie Lowther (winter). Despite the fact that there are 4 different artists, there really is a common, relaxing sound to all the songs.

[thelenazavaroniarchive]

29th November 2024.

𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟕. Lena was at the London Hilton for the launch of the new Name Dropper game in the Sun.

𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟎. Music Week gave “Will He Kiss Me tonight” a fairly poor review. They were probably right, the backing was a bit overpowering. If Lena had sung it with Dolly Mixture backing her it would probably been a better record - both for her and for Dolly mixture.

The record is valued at £100 largely for it's rarity, once someone pointed out Lena's tenuous connection to the Sex Pistols (Via Dave Goodman), it was deemed not in keeping with her wholesome image and all support withdrawn. Maybe the connection would have done her good.

The article mentioned by formalcontentsonly;

Lena's version:

Dolly Mixture's version:

Poor Dolly mixture suffered much the same fate as Lena in that they are largely forgotten today. They liked to perform their own material such as Been Teen;

But with stronger management they could have been more successful than Bananarama.

Rachel Bor was dancing the horizontal tango with Captain Sensible so they became his unofficial backing group/singers.

𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟐. The Evening Times reported that Lena’s dad was angry with the press for twisting his words.

𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟐. The Daily Record published an article using the photograph taken the previous day by Charles Ley.

𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟔. Most newspapers mentioned the return of Opportunity Knocks with Bob Monkhouse as the presenter.

𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟖. In an article about sisters, The Scotsman mentioned that Carla tried to protect Lena from unwanted press attention regarding her Anorexia.

𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟏. In the East Kilbride News, Lena was the subject of a quiz question.

𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟑. The Daily Express reported that Elaine Dalziel had changed her name to Zavaroni.

𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟖. Wales on Sunday reported that Charlotte Church had become the youngest person since Lena to be in the album chart top ten.

Twenty four years since Lena's debut, she was still the gold standard which all new acts were compared to.

𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟖. In the Sunday Express Magazine, Charlotte Church's mother said that Charlotte led a normal life and shouldn't be compared to Lena.

𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟐. The West Lancashire Gazette reported that Arthur Dakin had died. He was Lena's music director whenever she appeared at The Blackpool Opera House.

[faerystepsblog]

Shop Update. Tonight at 8 o'clock uk time. Minnie purses with gussets for filling up to the brim with coins or dolly mixtures. faerysteps.com #faerysteps #nevergrowup #fairytale #lovemyjob #happy #wonderland #maker #leather #workshop #smallbusiness #fairyshoes #fairy #leathergoods #artisan #woodland #ren #leather #purse #handmade #homilybag #alder #theborrowers #smile https://www.instagram.com/p/CNpkREpJFz1/?igshid=jam3yazx1ogi

[urbanenemy]

DOLLY MIXTURE - New Look Baby

[oneweekoneband]

Due to their successful TV appearances, Dolly Mixture enjoyed a boost in their local popularity and gigged extensively to support their second 7″, “Everything and More,” also produced by Paul Gray and Captain Sensible. It is around this time that they began touring the UK as headliners in their own right rather than as featured support for a more well-known band as they had done for the Undertones in 1979 or for ska group Bad Manners in 1981. (Bad Manners fans apparently held onto the peculiar English custom of “gobbing” or spitting on bands they enjoyed for rather longer than the rest of the general public, and it must have been a relief for Dolly Mixture to tour on their own or with support from other girl groups like the Gymslips as a respite from all the saliva).