Shack (Band)
Shack are a band from Liverpool, England, that emerged in the late 1980s and features the songwriting talents of the Head brothers Michael and John. Before emerging as Shack, the brothers were in cult 1980s band The Pale Fountains, and released two albums, Pacific Street in March 1984 and ...From Across The Kitchen Table in March 1985.
However, even though they were critically acclaimed, the albums only reached Numbers 84 and 95 in the UK Albums charts and so the band failed to recoup the £150,000 that the band had signed to Virgin Records for. However the band folded in 1986 when bassist Chris McCaffrey died of a brain tumour.
Two years later, the Head brothers re-emerged as Shack, signing to the Ghetto Recording Company, home of producer Ian Broudie's solo project, The Lightning Seeds and British soul band Distant Cousins.
During their time with the Ghetto Recording Company, Shack recorded the album Zilch and released a number of singles that featured on the indie charts.
In 1991, Shack made the infamous album Waterpistol for the Ghetto Recording Company, however it would not be released for four more year due to a number of mishaps with the master tapes.
Firstly the studio which the album was being recorded in burned down, losing every copy of the album's master apart from one. The only master tape that was not destroyed in the fire, was subsequently lost and was eventually found a few months later in the album producer's rental car in North America.
However, by the time the master tape had been located and was transported back to the United Kingdom, their record company Ghetto had folded. It was not until the German record label Marina took interest, that the album finally was available to the public.
Trivia
- Michael Head released a solo project The Magical World Of The Strands in 1997.
- Shack have accompanied Arthur Lee of Love live on tour.
- Dave "Yorkie" Palmer, formally from the Liverpool band Space, is producing new material for Shack to be released in 2006 on a record label owned by Noel Gallagher from Oasis - Sour Mash Recordings
Band members
The band's line-up for the ...Here's Tom With The Weather album was as follows:
- Michael Head - Vocals, Guitar
- John Head - Vocals, Guitar
- Iain Templeton - Drums
- Guy Rigby - Bass
Singles
Singles - OCC UK Top 75 Singles Chart
| Date | Single Title | Label / Cat No. | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 1988 | Emergency | Ghetto Recording Company / GTG 01 | - |
| June 1988 | High Rise Low Life | Ghetto Recording Company | - |
| July 90 | I Know You Well | Ghetto Recording Company / GTG 11 | - |
| 1991 | Al's Vacation | Ghetto Recording Company / GTG 14 | - |
| June 1999 | Comedy | London Records / LONCD 436 | # 44 |
| Aug 1999 | Natalie's Party | London Records / LONCD 436 | # 63 |
| March 2000 | Oscar | London Records / LONCD 445 | # 67 |
| October 2003 | Byrds Turn To Stone | North Country NCCDA 002 | # 63 |
Albums
Albums - OCC UK Top 75 Albums Chart
| Date | Album | Label / Cat No. | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 1989 | Zilch | Ghetto GHETTC 1 | - |
| Mar 1998 | Waterpistol | Marina MA16 | - |
| Jul 1999 | H.M.S. Fable | London Records 5561132 | #25 |
| Aug 2003 | ...Here's Tom With The Weather | North Country NCCD 002 | #55 |
| 2006 | The Corner of Miles and Gil | Sour Mash Recordings | tbc |
The Corner of Miles and Gil
The Corner of Miles and Gil is the latest album from Shack and is named in honour of Miles Davis and his producer Gil Evans. The album features 12 tracks including a song named after early 1990s Home & Away characters Finlay Roberts, Sophie Simpson, Bobby Simpson And Lance Smart (as played by Tina Thomsen, Rebekah Elmaloglou, Nicolle Dickson and Peter Vroom).
- Tie Me Down
- Butterfly
- Cup Of Tea
- Shelley Brown
- Black And White
- New Day
- Miles Away
- Finn Sophie Bobby And Lance
- Moonshine
- Funny Things
- Find A Place
- Closer