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1986
opened with LiL releasing "First
Avalanche", in March 1986. This was an unapproved
compilation of the the "LA Rain" and "Goddess"
singles packaged together with two extra tracks: "American Girls"
(from "Parkside Shivers"), and the
previously unreleased "Stick In The Works", which according to
Phil was only at a demo stage. This unauthorised releasing and re-packaging of
material was to dog the band throughout their careers.
The band recorded their second Radio 1 session for Janice Long on 5th March 1986.
After
the success of 1985, a number of record companies were
circling around the band. The band decided to sign to the "Twist And
Shout" publishing company, later to become part of Fire Records. Without
knowing it the band had just effectively signed away all artistic control and
any chance of seeing much of a financial return from their endeavours...
Paul
described the situation in an interview with this website in 1997: "(it
was like) The first time we�d ever been to London , it�s like one of these
clich�s, and we got ripped off. Alan, me and Phil went down to their office.
The only reason I remember is because I nicked this book out of the office
(laughs) and I was really proud!....When it came to signing the contract I was
in Paris, so Sid the guy that helped us out a lot, signed it for me. We never got anything off them, I think we got a �300 advance, that was
it. We were just young and stupid, we didn�t have a manager. I remember us all
sitting in a studio, again clich�, trying to work out all this legal jargon,
passing it around"
The
bands first release on Fire was "Too Many Castles
In The Sky" in April 1986. This again delivered chart success,
going Top 5 in the UK Indie Charts and selling consistently enough to stay in
the chart for some considerable time. At this stage the band had still only
clocked up around 30 gigs and received limited press exposure.
The
first of two personal changes happened in early '86. The band ditched the ridged
constraints of the drum machine in favour of a "real" drummer, and
Mark Thompson joined the ranks of the band around Spring 1986.
The Rose of Avalanche Line Up #3
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Phil Morris: Vocals
Paul James Berry: Guitars Alan Davis: Bass Glenn Shultz: Guitars Mark Thompson: Drums |
Around
early summer of 1986, founder member Alan Davis decided to leave the band. We
don't (currently!) have Alan's side of the story to tell, but Paul and Glenn
both offered some insight into the decision to quit. Paul insinuated that Alan
was never completely comfortable with the change in direction of the band once
Glenn had joined. Alan apparently also had growing career prospects outside of
the band, and there is a suggestion he followed his head over his heart, and
rather than pursue to dream of being a rock star, he choose a more stable path
to try and make some money!
Alan's
replacement was Nicol McKay who had played with Mark Thompson in a previous
band. Alan�s departure was not detectable on record until 1987, as the bands
fourth single was recorded with him still in the fold. Velveteen was released in
September 1986 to coincide with The Rose of Avalanche supporting The
Mission on their mammoth "World Crusade Tour"
in the UK and Europe which would run from October '86
through to March 1987.
The Rose of Avalanche Line Up #4
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Phil Morris: Vocals Paul James Berry: Guitars Nicol McKay: Bass Glenn Shultz: Guitars Mark Thompson: Drums
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The
decision to take The Mission support slot caused a degree of controversy within
the band. On the plus side it would undoubtedly gain them exposure to bigger
crowds and develop them in terms of touring extensively, but they would be
forever linked to the Leeds Goth scene and the baggage that came with it:
Paul:
"We had a manager that got us involved with a company that had the
Mission, and because they were bigger then us, we were always looked down
on...The tour came up, and we had to pay for that , and it was �8,000 which was
a lot at that time. Glenn nearly left after the England dates because he
couldn�t hack it. It was just too much we were getting out of our skulls every
night, it was total madness. But we thought this was normal. The things that
piss me off now were the people around the Mission, they used to treat us like
shit. You know it was "Who the fuck are you?" You know we didn�t
know anything different, and to be on a tour with these guys who�d done it all
with the Sisters, they were totally fucking professional. We were just slobs! It
really spoilt it, because of the atmosphere. On the German leg of the tour we
travelled in a converted horse box!!"
The
first recorded output of the 4th incarnation of the band was the "Always
There" single released in March 1987. This was the final
"approved" released by the band on Fire, and signalled the start of a
very long and bitter legal dispute between the band and their label.
Frustrated
by the lack of creative control and money, the band sought to leave the label.
Fire were obviously keen to hold on to them due to their growing commercial
success. Unfortunately it seems a compromise could not be reached and the whole
thing ended up in court. While in dispute it was impossible for the band to
release anything, and with no product to promote no promoters were that
interested in booking the band to play live.
Thus,
right at the point when the band was primed to take off, the wheels came off and
the band was effectively put on ice for the best part of 18 months...
Phil:
"It was hell. A lot of us went through sleepless nights for weeks on
end, not knowing what to do. We nearly split up twice. It's very hard to go
through something like that; just see you life disappear down the tubes...They were ripping us off - hadn't paid us a penny in three and a half
years, and released sub standard material. There was an LP that came out called
'In Rock', which wasn't even finished. It started off
as a 4 track 12" single, and they turned it into an LP by taking the vocals
off 2 tracks so they got 6 tracks, and they added the B side of an earlier
single."
Biography: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
