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EAST VILLAGE share “Violin” and “Cubans In The Bluefields”, taken from reissued classic album ‘Hotrod Hotel’, due 24th January via SLUMBERLAND RECORDS

December 3, 2019

EAST VILLAGE

Announce reissued singles collection“Hotrod Hotel”
due 24th January via Slumberland Records

Listen to the singles ‘Violin‘ and ‘Cubans In The Bluefields

Seminal UK indiepop group East Village have shared the singles ‘Violin’ and ‘Cubans In The Bluefields’, taken from their classic singles collection ‘Hotrod Hotel’, which is to be reissued on vinyl for the very first time on 24th January via Slumberland Records.

East Village are one of the great lost bands. A group whose music has grown in stature and gained a cult following since their premature demise in the spring of 1991. Along with other legendary bands like Big Star and The Action who also failed to fully stamp their mark whilst active, East Village made timeless pop music that was somehow out of step with the musical environment around them.

More about East Village:
Originally named Episode Four, the band was formed in the mid-1980s by brothers Martin and Paul Kelly in the sleepy Buckinghamshire market town of Princes Risborough just forty miles to the west of London. Starting off playing their own distinctive take on garage music their style evolved into something quite unique and they quickly built up a following. They were soon joined by Johnny Wood (guitar/vocals) in 1984 and Spencer Smith (drums) in 1985 and by 1986 they had recorded their first release, the “Strike Up Matches” EP. A 500-only pressing on the Lenin and McCarthy imprint, the record has since gone on to become one of the most sought after releases of the C86 era. 

By 1987 they had renamed themselves East Village and relocated to London where they recorded two EPs for Jeff Barrett’s Sub Aqua label. The band gigged extensively through 1988 and 1989 including support tours with The House Of Love and McCarthy.

The collapse of Sub Aqua left the band without a label and they recorded their debut album using money loaned by Bob Stanley, a friend and an admirer of their work. The record was label-less for some time until Jeff Barrett (who was setting up the fledgling Heavenly Recordings) picked up on it and paid for its completion. A series of Heavenly label shows with The Manic Street Preachers, Saint Etienne and Flowered Up ensued, followed by a new single, “Circles”, in 1991. Just as interest in the band was building East Village played a sold out show at the New Cross Venue in South London only to end the set by splitting up on stage.

The album that followed, “Drop Out” (1993), was mixed and released posthumously on Heavenly and has gone on to be hailed as a classic of its genre. The years that followed saw East Village gain a cult status amongst fans of indie music and prices of original pressings rose rapidly as demand outweighed supply.

In 1994 the Summershine label compiled “Hotrod Hotel” a CD only collection of all the band’s early singles and unreleased demos which led to a surprise radio hit on Australian Triple J with “Silver Train”.

In 2006 the Tokyo based Excellent Records released the first comprehensive collection of the band’s recordings and in 2013 Heavenly would re press “Drop Out” on vinyl. The re-issue received a rare 10/10 review in Uncut magazine who described the album as “Pop perfection…Drop Out is a true lost classic of its era”.

Offers to reform and play live dates are regularly refused by John, Paul, Martin and Spence but finally “Hotrod Hotel” sees its first, and long overdue, release on vinyl.

Tracklist:
1. Her Fathers Son
2. Precious Diamond Tears
3. Cubans In The Bluefields
4. Strawberry Window
5. Break Your Neck
6. Kathleen
7. Back Between Places
8. Vibrato
9. Here It Comes (orig version)
10. Freeze Out (orig version)
11. Violin
12. Go And See Him

Pre-Order link:
https://slumberlandrecords.com/catalog/show/338

https://www.slumberlandrecords.com/

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