Dolly Mixture
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dolly Mixture | ||
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 The cover of the Dolly Mixture's 1995 re-release of Demonstration Tapes double album
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| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Cambridge, England |
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| Genre(s) | Alternative, New Wave, Indie pop |
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| Years active | 1978 - 1984 | |
| Label(s) | Chrysalis, Respond, Dead Good Dollys Platters, Cordelia, Royal Mint |
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| Associated acts |
Captain Sensible Coming Up Roses Saint Etienne Birdie |
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| Former members | ||
| Debsey Wykes Rachel Bor Hester Smith |
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Dolly Mixture was a British new wave band formed in 1978 by bassist and vocalist Debsey Wykes, guitarist Rachel Bor, and drummer Hester Smith. They started out as complete amateurs (rumour has it that they first got involved into the music business as the then girlfriends of The Damned members). However, they soon proved to be one of the most talented new-wave pop acts. Although they had their taste of Top 40 success as the backing vocals for the Captain Sensible's hit "Wot", as a band they remained neglected by the media and the general public alike.
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[edit] Early Years
A new wave pop UK-based female trio formed in 1978 which comprised Debsey Wykes (b. 21 December 1960, Hammersmith, London, England; bass/piano/vocals), Rachel Bor (b. 16 May 1963, Wales; guitar/cello/vocals) and Hester Smith (b. 28 October 1960, West Africa; drums). The group was formed by the three school-friends in Cambridge who all shared a fondness for the Shangri-Las and the 1970s post punk group, and John Peel favourites, The Undertones. It was the Undertones who gave Dolly Mixture one of their first breaks by letting the Dollys support them on one their first tours of the UK.
Relocating to London, to gig extensively on the busy post punk gig circuit, they were adopted by DJ John Peel as one of his favourites and he gave them exposure on his radio show and with mentions (and photographs) in his weekly column in the UK pop paper, Sounds. Signed to Chrysalis, the group released a cover of the Shirelles hit, "Baby It’s You" (1980). However, the cover-version was disowned by the group, which protested at the label’s attempted manipulation to sell them as a teen-girl group. They released the first single on Paul Weller’s Respond label, "Been Teen" (1981) and later "Everything And More" (1982) both of which were produced by Captain Sensible and Paul Gray of the Damned. They became friends with Sensible (him and Rachel later had three kids, but have never officially married) and recorded backing vocals on his singles and album releases. After Sensible had a hit with "Happy Talk" in 1982, and various appearances on the television show Top of the Pops, Dolly Mixture (as a separate entity from Captain Sensible) performed extensively and there was talk of a signing to RCA/BMG, but those talks broke down (not very happy talks, apparently).
Preconceived notions about Dolly Mixture dogged their progression through the music business and the association with Sensible also became a hindrance as many believed, wrongly, they were simply Captain Sensible's backing group. They proved their worth, however, in their exhilarating live performances.
[edit] Dolly's "White Album"
In 1983 the band released double album called "The Demonstration Tapes" on their own Dead Good Dollys Platters label. The album sported a plain white cover (a nod to the Beatles' "White Album") and each copy was numbered and authentically autographed by the group members. It featured 27 demo tracks which covered large part of the band's repertoire. However, the album did not contain any of the Dolly's previous singles. Left out from the album were also live cover favourites such as: Dead Rainbow (a tribute to Gary Glitter, no less), Mott The Hoople's "Foxy Foxy", the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale", Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion", and Love Affair’s "My Rainbow Valley". Three other regular (self-penned) numbers "Night After Night", "Down The Line" and "Divided By A Wall" suffered the same fate. Unfortunately, although it contained excellent pop songs and garnered favourable reviews, the album failed to attract the wider audience.
Sticking to their own Dead Good Dollys Platters label, the band released "Remember This" single in 1983. The A-side was a popular choice, pretty much in the same vein as "Everything And More", but the B-side was a somewhat bizarre piece entitled Listening Pleasure/Borinda’s Lament, which involved dialogue (à la Home Service British Force's Radio DJ), a half-finished song and an instrumental chamber piece with Debsey on piano and Rachel on cello.
[edit] Fireside EP and the end of Dolly Mixture
The latter piece would resurface as the basis for the Dolly’s final record. The "Fireside EP" was released in 1984 on the 12-inch vinyl format on Alan ‘Deep Freeze Mice’ Jenkins' Cordelia label. The six-track EP, represented band's new artistic direction and contained (mostly) instrumental pieces. Interesting (and amusingly) the band actually performs "Dolly Medley" which is a Stars-On-45-style attempt at running through the high-spots of the Dolly’s repertoire. ("Dead Rainbow" was finally committed to vinyl, albeit not in an immediately recognisable form.) Constant touring and lack of commercial success, eventually wore the group down and the trio dissolved as a working band in 1984.
[edit] The Aftermath
In 1986, Debsey and Hester resurfaced with the group, Coming Up Roses which featured more melodic pop dance style songs. With Debs and Hester, the early line-up comprised Patricia O'Flynn (saxophone - ex-Shillelagh Sisters), Leigh Luscious (guitar) and Claire Kenny (bass, ex-Amazulu). The line-up saw the latter three members replaced by Jane Keay, Tony Watts and Midus (respectively). In 1989, they released a 6-track mini-album release on Utility Records, entitled "I Said Ballroom". All tracks were credited to Wykes-Smith. The first Coming Up Roses gig was at The White Swan in Brixton (29 November 1986 – a Send a Volunteer to Nicaragua benefit) and the last was performed Up the Creek in Deptford (22 March 1991).
Meanwhile, Debsey Wykes started collaborating with Saint Etienne as one of the band's regular backing singers. Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley became the new Dolly Mixture champion, re-releasing their untitled 1982 double album (this time titled "Demonstration Tapes"), as a CD-only on the Royal Mint label, in 1995. Together with Saint Etienne's Paul Kelly, Debsey went on to form indie-chamber-pop band Birdie, releasing albums Some Dusty (1999), Triple Echo (2001) and Reverb Deluxe (2003).
[edit] Discography
Singles
(1980) Baby It's You [Chrysalis]
(1981) Been Teen [Respond]
(1982) Everything And More [Respond]
(1983) Remember This [Dead Good Dollys Platters]
EPs
(1984) Fireside [Cordelia Records]
Albums
(1983) Demonstration Tapes [Dead Good Dollys Platters, reissued in 1995 on Royal Mint Records]
