The Revolving Paint Dream - The Mystery Lives On
March 13th, 2009
“According to legend, Innes received a late night telephone call and took a cab to the studio. What he found was allegedly a scene of utter desolation, smashed instruments, the walls daubed with pink swastikas and a smell of burning. Outside was a bonfire of clothing, guitars and recording tape and a note which read: “We are invisible … we cannot see you”. Rumours trickled in …” - Partial quote from the back of the CD re-issue “Flowers In The Sky” on Rev-Ola www.cherryred.co.uk
I first heard of the Revolving Paint Dream (The Revolving Paint Dream on the Whaam! Records compilation “All For Art And Art For All” with their very dreamy paisley pop influenced “In The Afternoon”, but very little was known about them although the vocals sounded strangely familiar (like Alan McGee who was in The Laughing Apple at the time). They later released a single on Creation Records “Flowers In The Sky/In The Afternoon” which was incidently the second single on Creation with a new version of “In The Afternoon” and an album a few years later “Off To Heaven”. They very coincidently sounded a lot like Biff Bang Pow which eventually started to make more sense, as there were definitely links to both bands with members being shared and interchanged - Alan McGee, Andrew Innes, Christine Wanless, Dave Musker, Richard Green, Joe Foster, Ken Popple etc.
According to website - www.revolvingpaintdream.com/creation.htm - The Revolving Paint Dream was not only the most mysterious band on Creation Records’ original roster back in 1984, but also one of the most inventive…, after the single … the band disappeared for three years before a strange collection of what seemed like out-takes, OFF TO HEAVEN, reached the shelves in June 1987. ’60s-influenced psych-pop sat alongside weird, distorted soundscapes to create an album that lacked any overall identity but was stacked full with ideas. It transpired that the band comprised Primal Scream’s second guitarist Andrew Innes, Nico-like vocalist Christine Wanless (both present on several Biff Bang Pow! recordings) and Luke Hayes, with some involvement from label organizers Alan McGee and Richard Green , among other members from Creation Records’ bands. (like Dave Musker - keyboard player with The Jasmine Minks & Television Personalities). January 1989’s MOTHER WATCH ME BURN was even more experimental and the listener was hard pushed to believe that it was the same band performing the fragrant pop tune, Sun, Sea, Sand (issued as a single) and the ferocious instrumentals.”
“Mystery still shrouds who did what, though Andrew Innes (of Primal Scream) was heavily involved, until (according to legend or the press release) he withdrew during the latter stages of recording. Innes wrote most of the songs” - www.recordcollectormag.com/reviews/
The re-issue on Rev-Ola Flowers In The Sky: The Enigma Of The Revolving Paint Dream CRREV184 of most of their back catalogue is found here (www.cherryred.co.uk) and this quote is borrowed from that webpage with the info on that release - “The sleevenote on the first album mainly propose them as some species of zookeepers or mental health nurses to be honest. There is an almost total absence of pictures - those that do exist seem to feature early Creation Records scene figures like J. C. Bouchard and Luke Hayes with several shadowy figures, sometimes on the Paris Metro, at unidentified airports, somewhere unspecified but clearly in California, or on what appears to be the West Coast of Scotland on a particularly disappointing day. There are even some of an open air show at some European location - perhaps the greatest mystery of the Indie label era will it be unraveled by this definitive CD release? Who knows? There will be input from all the known players and some with people alleged to be involved in the worst way - and perhaps an inkling of the shocking secret at the very heart of The Revolving Paint Dream”
As a postscript and to pass on very important information to the fans, I must tell you that the UK band The Painted Word has recorded a fabulous version of “Green Sea Blue” which I am told features the fine talents of Dave Morgan (drummer extraordinaire) who also used to play with The Revolving Paint Dream, so the mystery continues to unravel as the fans grow.
Listen and see if you can solve the mystery …
The Revolving Paint Dream - Green Sea Blue
The Revolving Paint Dream - Flowers in the Sky
Tags: [Alan McGee] [biff bang pow] [creation records] [pop] [psychedelic] [1980's] [Paisley pop] [Psych-pop] [Revolving Paint Dream] [Whaam] [Whaam! Records] [Primal Scream] [mp3] [The Laughing Apple][brit pop]
Categories: Feature 45, Great Music | Tags: Alan McGee, Andrew Innes, biff bang pow, Christine Wanless, Creation Records, Dave Morgan, Dave Musker, J. C. Bouchard, Joe Foster, Ken Popple, Luke Hayes, Paisly Pop, Primal Scream, Psych Pop, Rev-Ola, Richard Green, television personalities, The Jasmine Minks, The Laughing Apple, The Painted Word, The Revolving Paint Dream, Whaam! Records
