Representative Albums: "Rollercoaster: The Best of Mighty Lemon Drops," "World Without End," "Happy Head/Out of Hand"
Representative Songs: "My Biggest Thrill," "Hypnotised," "Like an Angel"
Biography
Formed in Wolverhampton, England in 1985, the Mighty Lemon Drops' psychedelic post-punk pop earned the group frequent comparisons to Echo & the Bunnymen. The quartet, which consisted of vocalist Paul Marsh, guitarist David Newton, bassist Tony Linehan and drummer Keith Rowley, debuted in 1986 with Happy Head, followed a year later by Out of Hand. After 1988's World Without End, the Mighty Lemon Drops set about recording 1989's Laughter; during sessions for the LP, Linehan quit the band, and was replaced by bassist Marcus Williams, who remained with the group throughout their final two studio efforts, 1991's Sound and 1992's Ricochet. All the Way, an album of demos and live recordings from a show in Cincinnati, was released in 1993, following the group's dissolution; Newton went on to form a new group, Revolux, in Los Angeles. ~ Richard Skelly, All Music Guide
Originally called the Sherbet Monsters[1], the quartet first formed in the spring of 1985 in Wolverhampton, in the The Black Country.[2] Paul Marsh, Dave Newton and Tony Linehan had played together in a band called Active Restraint in 1982, with Newton later leaving to become a founding member of The Wild Flowers. Dave Newton and Tony Linehan were the principal songwriters for the group. Their sound can best be described as neo-psychedelia in the vein of Echo & The Bunnymen, played with a ringing Rickenbacker guitar as the lead instrument.[1]
In December 1985 the quartet, now officially The Mighty Lemon Drops, released their first independent single, "Like An Angel," which went to the top of the UK Indie Chart. They also recorded a session for John Peel around the same time. Becoming part of the C86 movement, which was championed by the New Musical Express, they were soon snapped up by Blue Guitar, a subsidiary of Chrysalis Records. They later signed with Sire Records for the United States and Canada. Derek Jarmanproduced the video for the "Out of Hand" single in 1987 which was followed by their hit "Inside Out" in 1988. They were eventually dropped by Chrysalis after three albums (Happy Head, World Without End and Laughter) after failing to repeat their initial independent success, but remained signed with Sire. During the sessions for Laughter, Linehan left the band and was replaced by Marcus Williams.[2]
The band released two more albums, Sound...Say Goodbye To Your Standards and Ricochet before finally breaking up in 1992. Three more albums followed (live albumsAll The Way and Young, Gifted, & Black Country, and the greatest-hits package Rollercoaster) and at the end of 2000 the band played a one-off comeback gig in Wolverhampton. In 2007 the band were reported to of been offered the chance to reform at the Coachella festival.[citation needed]
Linehan now works as a project manager and emigrated to New Zealand in April 2007.
