All About Eve – In concert at Glastonbury 1989 – Recorded June 16, 1989 – BBC Radio 1 –
Starting off the week with a jolt, compliments of All About Eve, recorded during their appearance at the 1989 Glastonbury Festival by the ever-present BBC Radio 1.
All About Eve consisted of Coventry-born Julianne Regan (vocals), Huddersfield-born Tim Bricheno (guitar) and Andy Cousin (bass guitar), with other members changing over the years. Their highest-charting UK single was “Martha’s Harbour” (1988). The band was active from 1984 to 1993, then 1999 to 2004, achieving four UK Top-50 albums. The band had been recognized for their “unique, folk-rock-influenced take” on the gothic rock style, and Regan has been described as “certainly one of the more talented singers” of the scene in the late 1980s.
The band’s name was taken from the 1950 film starring Bette Davis. The original line-up of All About Eve consisted of Regan, Zwingmann, former Aemotti Crii guitarist Bricheno and bassist Gus Ferguson. The band released the independent single “D for Desire” in 1985, prior to Zwingmann and Ferguson leaving, the latter going on to enjoy success with Test Department. Bricheno suggested Cousin as a replacement for Ferguson, and so as a three-piece (plus a drum machine), they released “In the Clouds” (1986) and “Flowers in Our Hair” (1987). Both singles, “D for Desire” and “In the Clouds”, were partially based on an ethereal gothic sound, sometimes compared to the music of the Cocteau Twins and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Their self-titled debut sold well in the U.K. in 1988 and produced the hit “Martha’s Harbour.” Following the release and tour of their difficult second record Scarlet and Other Stories, Bricheno left the group and subsequently joined Sisters of Mercy.
The band regrouped, with the Church mainstay Marty Willson-Piper taking over on guitar. The resulting record, Touched By Jesus, was met with a lukewarm reception, and the band decided on a stylistic change for their next LP. 1994’s Ultraviolet got lost in the shuffle, and problems with how the record company percieved the band added to an already stressful situation. A short time later, All About Eve called it a day, with Julianne Regan going on to form Mice, work with Bernard Butler, start the atmospheric Jules et Jim project, and a regular day job.
As a reminder, here is their 1989 standout performance at Glastonbury.
You get to crank it up and get ready for the rest of the week.
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