The Electric Soft Parade – Live at Glastonbury 2002 – Recorded on June 29, 2002 – BBC Radio 1 –
Since Glastonbury is a fond memory this year and much of what would be the week of endless surprises is relegated to occupying most of the programming over at BBC 6 Music, I thought I would do a little digging on my own and see what came up from the Past Daily vault.
I haven’t played this in about 8 years so it seemed like a good idea to add this one to the Glasto Mix. Just because . . .
FYI: The Electric Soft Parade are an English psychedelic pop band from Brighton, comprising brothers Alex and Thomas White, the creative core of the band, as well as a number of other musicians with whom they record and perform live, most recently including Andrew Mitchell (of Dundee-based group The Hazey Janes) and Damo Waters, as well as long-standing bass/keyboard player, Matthew Twaites. Alex and Thomas originally formed Fixed Ascent (later The Feltro Media) with schoolfriends Alistair Gavan and Russell Gleason in around 1997. While ostensibly a formulaic indie outfit, there were flashes of the more complex symphonic arrangements and varied production values that would characterise later Electric Soft Parade releases, and over three self-released albums the band cultivated a (relatively) original sound, not unlike that of Holes in the Wall. Following interest in their 1999 LP, The Wonderful World of the Feltro Media, the band were offered a deal with DB Records (a subsidiary of BMG). The band officially signed to DB Records (as a two-piece) in January 2001, with their debut single following that April. Their original choice for a name was “The Soft Parade” but were made to change it after legal action by an American The Doors cover band (The Soft Parade being the title of a Doors album).
The Brothers’ debut, Holes in the Wall was released in February 2002 to wide critical acclaim. With A&R and production from Chris Hughes, the album spawned two UK top-forty hits and led to performances on Top of the Pops, Later With Jools Holland and a world-tour covering Europe, Japan and Australasia. They were also nominated for the 2002 Mercury Music Prize, where they lost out to Ms. Dynamite. They later won the Q Award for Best New Act.
Here is their 2002 Glastonbury show, coinciding with promoting their debut album. So the energy is high and the crowd is roaring.
Hit the Play button if you’re already familiar or go exploring if you aren’t.
