A STORY OF KNACKERED ROCK AND ROLL IN THE DINGIEST CLUBS OF NORTH LONDON…….
Listen to the whole sad and sorry saga on BANDCAMP or below
https://thehighpriests.bandcamp.com/
Formed in 1990 and hitting the shambling but right track soon after ‘The High Priests’ took their name from a Alex Chilton record. Looking for the missing link between Garage Punk, Power Pop and Sun-era Rock n, Roll they avoided rehearsing and playing live until 1993 when two sessions of live first-take recordings were laid down at London’s infamous Toerag Studios under the genius care of one Liam Watson (more famous recently for his work with The White Stripes amongst others).
Thinking they’d made the greatest wigout garage classic ever the bass-less trio span wildly out of control at a succession of dingy North London pub venues before exploding in a bewildering cacophany of feedback mid song at a Piao Festival in Hammersmith London where the head honcho of Rough Trade was seen to physically grimace and walk away in despair…
All in all a thoroughly glorious failure as befits a drunken blues bunch…
A 7″ was released through Southern Distribution in 1993 featuring ‘Ice Cream Town’ b/w ‘Black Swans Sink’.
It was a bloody racket according to noted noise merchant Billy Childish and graced a sleeve by the designer of Stereolab Sleeves.
As only 1000 were pressed and most disappeared along with guitarist Tim Featherstone who went AWOL for 15 years but recently turned up in Cumbria again!
It could be a collector’s item or it could be crap…who knows…. the band members are still searching for that rare single and the master tape of the High Priests session recorded at Toe-Rag Studios London with Liam… a mix of punk and blues with heavy Moe Tucker like drumming and no bass player….hmmm…a full ten years before the White Stripes and the Black Keys…maybe if we’d had a colour in our name ……
‘AUTO GRAVEYARD’ The High Priests ‘complete’ works is to be released on Tstar Records sometime soon……you have been warned…
Band Members
Shaun Belcher – wailing and stroking that Harmony H-60
Tim Featherstone – drinking and moaning and telecaster mayhemm…
Mike Arnold – sticks and tub thumper, once got a xmas-card from Moe Tucker…
where are they now???…
Shaun Belcher died and came back as Trailer Star and is now himself…
Mike Arnold got smart and did a M.A. in Creative Writing at Bath University.
Tim Featherstone disappeared for a while and now living happily ever after back in Cumbria with family..
Influences
sonic youth, velvet underground, stooges, nirvana, nick cave, pre-war blues and english folk…….and johnny cash
Sounds Like white stripes, johnny cash, nirvana, velvet underground, sonic youth, buffalo tom, nick cave, beck and richard thompson…
