| Author | Message | ||
     Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 943 Registered: 01-2005 |
There are a couple of songs on The Lilac Time's 1990 album And Love For All where you can almost swear it's Grant singing. | ||
| Pat Boland Member Username: Pat_boland Post Number: 39 Registered: 05-2005 |
Yes, it's an uncanny similarity. He's a good songwriter is 'Tintin' but The Lilac Time can be a bit on the twee side at times. I liked his 'I love my friends' album too. Incredible to think he was Duran Duran's lead singer before whatshisface got the job. | ||
| Duncan Hurwood Member Username: Duncan_h Post Number: 93 Registered: 05-2005 |
"I love my friends" is one of my favourite albums, and IMO the best thing Duffy has done. I like all the The Lilac Time/Duffy albums to a certain extent, though I find he overdoes the slow/"I'm Depressed"/folky tunes a bit. But when he does the up-tempo numbers he's one of the best songwriters around. I love "Driving Somewhere" and "Aldermaston" from the new album. | ||
| Alex Bolton Member Username: Alexb Post Number: 35 Registered: 01-2006 |
Duffy has definitely pursued the same vision as the GB's and they have a lot in common. I've been revisiting some of his work with the Lilac Time and it's seriously good; perhaps one one of the most accomplished songwriters of his generation. Personally I love the Nick Drake/folk influence because it gives songs such great texture. A very English aesthetic though pretty close to "Boundary Rider" etc. SD has written and toured with Robbie Williams and the Barenaked Ladies thought don't let that out you off. I would advise any GB fans to investigate Duffy, both his Lilacs stuff and poppier solo material. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 2037 Registered: 05-2005 |
I agre with Alex, Duffy is on the same road as GB's. Duffy is seriously underrated. The first Llac album is th eone for me, however all the albums have great songs on them, only I fell in love with the first one and we all know what an artist's first album can do to us! I saw him live in the most intimate gig in my life, think it was August last year, it was at some school hall in Hereford. There was only about 200 people there. We all sat down on what was like scholl PE benches, whilst he calmly and with great humour ploughed through Lilac old and new and with the original band. He also had one of the best pedal steel players I had ever seen too. A magical night by a magical artist. | ||
| Duncan Hurwood Member Username: Duncan_h Post Number: 95 Registered: 05-2005 |
I was there too, Spence. A great night! | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 978 Registered: 01-2005 |
Spence, The Lilac Time's first album is one my short list of cd's to procure. Thanks for the recommendation. I wish I would have been at the Duffy concert that you and Duncan went! | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 2048 Registered: 05-2005 |
Were you really Duncan, shame I hadn't known. It was a funny old night, really enjoyed it, t was like an old folk gathering with young toddlers and dogs floating around the stage! Michael, I hope you will like the first lilac album. Its 20 years old and at that time, no one was doing stuff like on that album. I thought it was going to pave the future, how wrong i was. The first album holds a special place in my heart for the above reason that its a classic first album, but in time honoured fashion a personal conncetion. An old group I was in recorded some demo's with the producer of this album, Bob lamb, he did UB40's first album etc. As big fans of LT it was a thrill to have him at the helm. Not only was he a great producer, a noice bloke and an exceptional percussionist, he let us use some of the gear used on the first LT album like the shakers, tamborine's bongos and even the acoustic guitar. Moreover the 3 rack demo's got us a deal with lazy Records (My Bloody Valentine, See See Rider, Primitives, Birdland etc. We toured with the Primitives and bands like Midway Still and Chunk, then promptly got dropped and the label folded. But Bob started it. One thing I just remembered was the first day of recording, we're there all early about 8am, Kings heath in Birmingham, and we enter the back door, bob comes down lets us in and says he's just going to get ready and have some breakfast we can hang around in his studio. Then he disappears, and we're skulking around takeing gear in etc, then up from behind a knackered bass drum appears a guy in a stetson and old Levi's, he seems pissed, another guy comes in with a bottle of milk and a paper and greets us, he too is pissed, they look like cowboys. They wer in the group Fashion, we didn't know atthhe time until thay had gone, but they had slept in the studio after passing oout stoned and pissed. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 981 Registered: 01-2005 |
Spence, That's a great story! If only studio walls could talk, I would imagine we would here all sorts of wild tales! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 1964 Registered: 05-2005 |
Great story Spence! | ||
| Duncan Hurwood Member Username: Duncan_h Post Number: 97 Registered: 05-2005 |
I bought the Swordfish version of the first Lilac Time album back in the late 1980s - I guess it was either 1987 or 88 it came out. I certainly played it to death then, and I love it still now. Stephen Duffy remains the only person I've ever asked for an autograph from - when I was a waiter seving him tea in a five-star hotel! | ||
| Guy Ewald Member Username: Guy_ewald Post Number: 206 Registered: 02-2005 |
I've always loved the Lilac Time too. And yes, Go-Betweens fans would likely enjoy Lilac Time recordings, although Duffy & Co. embrace pop history a bit more literally than the Go-Betweens ever did (The G-B's have never done a "sounds like" recording to my ears). The New Lilac Time album is fantastic... it's called The Runnout Groove. I think it's their best since reforming and is equal to my LT faves; Paradise Circus and Astronauts. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 1017 Registered: 01-2005 |
My amazon package should arrive tomorrow with The Lilac Time's first album, Teenage Fancub - Grand Prix and Blur - Modern Life Is Rubbish. What is everyone's think of Modern Life Is Rubbish? I have Leisure and Parklife already. I'll probably get The Great Escape next. |