That Petrol Emotion
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| That Petrol Emotion | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Northern Ireland |
| Years active | 1985-1994 |
| Label(s) | Polydor Virgin Koogat |
| Former members | |
| Steve Mack John O'Neill Raymond Gorman Damian O'Neill Ciaran McLaughlin John Marchini Brendan Kelly |
|
That Petrol Emotion was a Northern Irish, London-based band with an American vocalist called Steve Mack. The band evolved from the Derry Hitmakers and The Undertones. It was formed by guitarist John O'Neill and second guitarist Raymond Gorman who DJd together at the Derry "Left Bank" club. The band was completed by Damian O'Neill (bassist from 1985-1988 then guitarist from 1988-1994) along with drummer Ciaran McLaughlin and bassists John Marchini (1988-1991) and Brendan Kelly (1991-1994). From 1985, the band released a number of singles and full length albums. Even though they charted seven singles in the UK, they never improved on their first chart hit "Big Decision" in 1987 which reached number 42. They did, however, reach the Top 40 of the UK Albums Chart with the album Babble which was also voted one of the albums of the year by Rolling Stone magazine critics[1]. They also reached number 1 in the UK indie charts with their albums Manic Pop Thrill and Fireproof.
The band's sound evolved over the years from John Peel-approved heavy indie rock on Manic Pop Thrill and Babble, to melodic indie pop rock after John O'Neill's departure on the albums Chemicrazy and Fireproof, via dance and sample experimentation on End Of The Millennium Psychosis Blues. Many believe that this diversity alienated people in the contemporary scene and so, That Petrol Emotion are considered very much before their time and pioneers for Britpop and crossover bands such as The Stone Roses, Oasis, Blur and Radiohead[citation needed].
That Petrol Emotion were also renowned for a devastating live performance of tight musicianship and intense playing. They were described by Rolling Stone magazine as "The Clash crossed with Creedence" [2] but their influences range from The Beatles to Television to Wire to Captain Beefheart to Can. The New York Times described them in 1987 as "a youthful Rolling Stones" and a "revved-up Television"[3]. However, despite the great critical acclaim and die hard fan base they garnered, That Petrol Emotion never achieved the commercial success that everyone expected (and is arguable that they deserved) and so they finally decided to call it a day in 1994.
Seán Ó'Néill (a.k.a. John O'Neill) went on to form the band Rare, while The Undertones reformed in the 2000s for an album, without Feargal Sharkey, on Sanctuary Records. Ciaran McLaughlin and Raymond Gorman still sporadically perform new, original material acoustically. A document of That Petrol Emotions two incendiary farewell gigs in London and Dublin was released in 2000 as Final Flame: Fire, Detonation and Sublime Chaos.
On 26th March 2008 singer Steve Mack announced that the band were reforming to play reunion concerts in the summer. In August 2008 they appeared in London's The Boston Arms and Dundalk's Spirit Store for sold out warm up gigs then went on to play at the Electric Picnic festival in Stradbally, Ireland.
Contents |
[edit] Singles
- "Keen" (Pink Records - 1985)
- "V2" (Noise a Noise Records - 1985)
- "It's A Good Thing" (Demon Records - April 1986)
- "Natural Kind Of Joy" (Demon Records - August 1986)
- "Big Decision" (Polydor Records - April 1987) UK # 42
- "Swamp" (Polydor Records - July 1987)
- "Dance" (Polydor Records - July 1987) UK #64
- "Genius Move" (Virgin Records - October 1987) UK # 65
- "Cellophane" (Virgin Records - September 1988)
- "Abandon" (Virgin Records - March 1990) UK # 73
- "Hey Venus" (Virgin Records - September 1990) UK # 49
- "Tingle" (Virgin Records - February 1991) UK # 49
- "Sensitize" (Virgin Records - April 1991} UK # 55
- "Detonate My Dreams" (Koogat Records - 1993)
- "Catch A Fire" (Koogat Records - 1993)
[edit] Albums
- Manic Pop Thrill (Demon Records - May 1986) UK # 84
- Babble (Polydor Records - May 1987) UK # 30
- End Of the Millennium Psychosis Blues (Virgin Records - September 1988) UK # 53
- Chemicrazy (Virgin Records - April 1990) UK # 62
- Fireproof (Koogat Records - 1993)
- Final Flame - Live at the Grand and the Tivoli Ballroom 1994 (Sanctuary Records - 2000)
[edit] References
- Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 13th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-111-X
- The New York Times - November 16th 1987
- Derry Journal - August 8th 2008
