The Very Things – 1. Information
The Very Things – psychedelic sonic sci-fi, surf soul surrealism from DadaCravat Laboratories (DcL) founding fathers (and joint frontmen of The Cravats), RR Dallaway and The Shend.
With teenage drummer Disney Time, The Very Things assimilated myriad influences, including 'The Twilight Zone', Dada, Tamla Motown, Fifties B films and Sixties garage grooves to develop the band’s unique multifarious output.
Robin 'Disney Time' Holland – drums
RR Dallaway – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, ‘found sound’ samples
The Shend – vocals, bass guitar
The Very Things – Mission Report
• Formed in 1983 by Robin Raymond Dallaway and The Shend , The Very Things was conceived as a ‘flexible container’ for art-pop projects.
• The band reflected a variety of influences as it evolved, including Post-punk, Psychedelia, Garage Rock and Art-pop.
• The debut single, ‘The Gong Man’ / ‘The Colours Are Speaking To Me’, inspired by 'psychedelic rock and Victorian music hall songs' was released on Crass' Copus Christi label in 1983.
• The band’s first album ‘The Bushes Scream While My Daddy Prunes’ (1984, Reflex), featuring a ‘mutant garage rock sound’, created a reflection of the world’s ‘fear, neurosis and absurdity’.
“That’s The Very Things, showing how to make a really crushing LP for less than many bands spend putting up their noses in a week.”
John Peel, BBC Radio 1.
• Songs written by Dallaway (with additional material by The Shend) drew on the influence of kitsch 1950s/60s sci-fi films and TV series.
• Along with The Shend (vocals and bass) and Dallaway (guitar, keyboards, samples and backing vocals), the album also featured 15 year-old drummer, Robin ‘Disney Time’ Holland.
• 'The Bushes Scream...' single became one of the band’s best known songs, and enjoyed a long stay on the Indie Charts (propelled by a celebrated short film made with Channel 4’s ‘The Tube’ music show) and remains a favourite on playlists (particularly around Hallowe'en). The popular and much loved homage to old sci-fi films (reputedly the most expensive film ever made for ‘The Tube’) can be watched here.
• With black-humoured lyrics about finding ways of dealing with alcoholism in the family, the ‘companion’ follow-up single, ‘Mummy, You’re a Wreck’, was released in 1985 (Reflex).
• The band’s second album, ‘Motortown’, released in 1986 (One Little Indian), again written by Dallaway (with additional material by The Shend), was produced by Smuff & Shulman (Derek Birkett, Ray Shulman and Brian Pugsley).
• ‘Motortown’ signalled a shift towards a bigger art-pop sound and yielded the successful indie-charting singles ‘This is Motortown’ and ‘Let’s Go Out’.
• The album again featured vocals and bass by The Shend, guitar, keyboards and backing vocals by RR Dallaway and drums by Disney Time.
• The Very Things toured extensively throughout Europe between 1984 and 1987, and made a live appearance on UK TV’s ‘The Tube’.
• The band’s two original albums, ‘The Bushes Scream While My Daddy Prunes’ and ‘Motortown’, were re-released in 1994, along with a ‘missing second album’, ‘It’s A Drug, It’s A Drug, It’s A Ha Ha Ha Coming Out Of The Wall’, featuring ‘Mummy, You’re a Wreck’.
The Very Things – Discography
The Gong Man c/w The Colours Are Speaking To Me 7” vinyl single 1983
The Bushes Scream While May Daddy Prunes 7” vinyl single 1984
The Bushes Scream While May Daddy Prunes vinyl album 1984
Mummy You’re A Wreck 7” vinyl single 1985
Mummy You’re A Wreck 12” vinyl single 1985
This Is Motortown 7” vinyl single 1986
This Is Motortown 12” vinyl single 1986
Let’s Go Out 7” vinyl single 1987
Let’s Go Out 12” vinyl single 1987
Motortown vinyl album 1987
Re-release series
The Bushes Scream While May Daddy Prunes CD + vinyl album 1994
It’s A Drug, It’s A Drug, It’s A Ha Ha Ha Coming Out Of The Wall CD + vinyl album 1994
Motortown CD + vinyl album 1994
40th Anniversary release
The Gong Man EP digital 3-track 2023