Outlook M I L L T O W N M A E S T R O E S
SURREAL moments in rock and roll history
year’s Reading Festival. The lead singer of the Mill- town Brothers is telling me over a lager or two about his influences and how lie was a fan of the Rolling Stones. Suddenly a man with a
(part 123). Picture the scene at this
MURRAY WALKER writes about a local band who are making a big name lor themselves in the national music scene.
crinkle-cut face and a pretty leggy blonde on his arm stroll's in front of us. It was only later we discovered, much to our surprise, that it was Mick Jagger and Jerry
and roll history (part 390): Two brothers called Nelson, hailing from Colne, and forming a band called the Milltown Brothers. I t ’s about as likely as
Mall. Surreal moments in rock
spending last summer re- roofing a 1-ligham mill, then finding yourself signed to a major label and being locked in a London studio with the man that engineered one of the biggest selling albums of
all time. For the five-piece Mill-
town Brothers have just finished recording their debut LP with Dave Mec- gan, the man who engin eered U2’s “The Joshua Tree” and who has also worked with 1) e p e c h c
Mode. At Reading, the Milltown
Brothers were at th e ir sparkling best and turned in a performance that had the backstage area buzzing for the rest of the weekend. Matt Nelson was brim
ing like a younger Johnny Marr, and' Nian Brindle (drums) is the powerhouse behind the songs, but it is Simon Nelson’s guitar that gives the Milltown Brothers their own distinct sound.
If we were a lazy national
ming with self-confidence, a central figure demanding attention, while Barney Williams’ organ gives the whole sound an uplifting feel, ’l'he two nearly collide at regular intervals as Bar ney aimlessly crosses the stage when not required on his stool. The rhythm section of James Fraser (bass), look
A mansion in miniature
A MINI-MANSION, produced and furnished specially to show the skills of British craftsmen, has arrived in East
raising funds for the Alrican Medical and Research Foundation. A house in miniature, the attention to
Lancashire. liritanniu Mouse* has travelled the globe
detail is so exquisite that the carpets are hand woven in silk and the silverware made of solid silver. It is claimed that not since Queen Mary’s time has a house ol this scale and splendour
been created. The eight rooms have each been decorated by an individual designer to cre
ate a unique masterpiece of lesign and craftsmanship, in itself a showpiece for
made from genuine materials: tea sets are made of porcelain, minute pencils are con st ructed from wood and graphite and actually write: working lamps and street
British talent. Knelt liny object is an authentic replica
i k e . a d v e n t u r e s o j~
lights are connected to the house's electric ity supply; exquisitely made curtains draw
on tiny tracks. Given all this, it is probably not surpris
tour, which included America, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland. Throughout this month and next, it will
ing that the purchase price would be the same as for a real-life counterpart. Britannia House has been on a world
be joining Fast Lancashire’s largest collec tion of dolls’ houses at the Ribchester Museum of Childhood. It will be the second time the Britannia
publication, we could write of a rags to riches story, where an exciting new band threw off the shackles of its grey northern existence and found fame and fortune elsewhere. We could, but we won’t.
For the North, in the words of hopelessly out of date record company executives, is “where it’s a t” at the moment. However, the Milltown
Brothers’ strength has been that they have stayed on the periphery of all the hype rather than wholeheartedly joining in. “It was easy for people to
with two major record com panies, but we decided to bide our time and wait for the r ight offer to come along,” said Matt. The caution was justified,
band's live concerts were
getting. After signing to A & M
include us in the ‘Manches ter scene’, because we were at the city’s polytechnic when we started and, in common with other local bands, we were using an organ,” said Matt in the early hours of Monday morning at the Reading F es tival, with the su r rounding area resembling a bomb site and our heads in a similar state. The backlash against
for record companies can be unpredictable bedfellows, promising you the earth one minute, then turfing you out on to the streets the next. The right offer finally
there was still time for them to release the rollercoaster ride of "Seems to me" as a farewell to the indie world. “We have always wanted
came from the massive A & M, who were impressed after watching the band at Oxford.
House has been to the nibble Valley. In 1988 the museum was chosen as one of only two locations outside London to exhibit the incredible dolls’ house — billowing a request from HUH Prince Charles, a patron of AMR13F, who expressed a wish that iL should be displayed in the north.
Colour pictures of the miniature house Back page .
joined this merry-go-round, but they have maintained their own identity and have gone from s tre n g th to strength. “We could have signed
Happy Mondays, the Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets and their kid brothers like The High, Northside and The Charlatans, will soon move into overdrive. It would have been easy for the Mill- town Brothers to have
have had to grow up in pub lic. Their first tentative steps were taken in front of an audience of about seven in a London pub. However, one of these turned out to be “NME” journalist Steve Lamacq, who thrust the band into the national spot light with a favourable review. Two singles, the slightly
To some extent the band
to become a well-known band — appear on Top ol the Pops’ and that sort of thing — from the day we started,” said Matt. “Sign ing with a major label was an obvious step for us."
record company has big plans for the band. The first fruits of their work with Meegan is th e s in g le "Applcgreen” , which has become one of the highlights of their live set. It has picked up the all-important daytime Radio One airplay and may be followed by the re-release of "Which way should I jump".
I t would a p p e a r the
naive “ Roses” and the splendid “Which way should I jump” and its excellent fl i p- s i d e “ S i 1 v e r t o w n ” , attracted more attention, as did the rave notices the
“1 think they are eyeing
up the American market as well," said Matt. "As our singles seem to have gone down well on college radio over there.” □
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