Raymond Gorman - gtr/keys/vox
Ciaran McLaughlin - dr/vox
Steve Mack - vox/stuff
Damian O'Neill - bass/vox, later switched to gtr
John O'Neill - gtr ('84 - '88); replaced by:
1. John Marchini - bass ('88 - '91), then
2. Brendan Kelly - bass ('91 - '94)
Influences
Captain Beefheart/Pere Ubu/Television/Sonic Youth/Afrika Bambaata/The Rolling Stones/The Clash/Echo and The Bunnymen/The Stooges/The Velvet Underground/The Buzzcocks/Wire
Sounds Like
That Petrol Emotion! Or, as Rolling Stone put it, "The Clash crossed with Creedence".
THIS IS THE OFFICIAL MYSPACE PRESENCE OF THAT PETROL EMOTION
The short story:
After The Undertones broke up, Sean (formerly known as John) O'Neill and fellow Derry D.J. Raymond Gormain formed That Petrol Emotion in 1984, along with local drummer/old friend Ciaran McLaughlin. After a decision to move to London, Sean's brother and Undertones bandmate Damian O'Neill joined on bass after hearing the new songs and getting nowhere in the bands he'd been playing in. Raymond and Damian initially shared lead vocal duties, but Steve Mack, an American newly-ex-college student working in a pizzeria wound up joining the band in time to re-record the lead vocals for the new group's debut single "Keen" (1985).
While they were more politically oriented and noisier than The Undertones, they retained much of that band's energetic, melodic kick. With their first album, Manic Pop Thrill, That Petrol Emotion became critics' favorites, as well as earning a respectable following in the U.K. Their second album (and major label debut), Babble (1987) won universal acclaim, especially as Rolling Stone Magazine's critic's album of the year.
Sean left the band after their third album, End of the Millennium Psychosis Blues. The album showed signs of strain and a suffocated production held back some songs that had more life than the album's sound provided.
A slight shift in musical style to a more streamlined sound gave way to the exuberance of 1990's Chemicrazy, in which drummer Ciaran McLaughlin and guitarist Raymond Gorman became the prime songwriting catalysts; the band showed a previously-unseen lightness that held Chemicrazy together as a welcome return to crisp, stellar pop. A slightly tougher sound without compromising the pop hooks or songwriting structure spearheaded Fireproof (1993), which, in fact became the band's recorded swansong.
After ten years of poor record deals, shifting musical tides and the realization that it was time for a change, That Petrol Emotion split up in 1994; their final shows were issued as Final Flame, a great testimony to the power of That Petrol Emotion.
Raymond Gorman formed Wavewalkers, a loose aggregate of musicians including ex-Petrols Damian O'Neill and Brendan Kelly; Ciaran McLaughlin has been known to perform acoustic sets with an amazing array of original compositions. Damian O'Neill issued a solo album under the banner A Quiet Revolution and with his brother John, reformed The Undertones in 2000.
Great to see you again in the Crawdaddy tent;'twas like you all had never been away.Now where and what date in Nov or Dec will we see you in a Dublin venue??!!??
Superb slice of nostalgia in the Crawdaddy tent on Saturday. My two sons were sold on the music but when Steve jumped into the crowd they applied for a re-mortgage. Only thing missing for me was Cant Stop - but I'm being greedy now. Thanks a million and hope to see a full set if you play Dublin later in the year.
Its great to have the best band in the UK back in action! I mean that sincerely folks. Tufnell Park gig was better than I imagined, hope you are back for good as the music scene has missed you and we all look forward to hearing new material and your amazing back catalogue.
SO Brilliant to see you on Saturday. Definitely, the gig of the Festival and, quite possibly, the year. Hope you enjoyed the rest of the Picnic. All the best! Melissa
From the Camden New Journal and Islington Tribune:
EMOTIONAL RETURN AS PETROL-HEADS GET THEIR FILL
Review: That Petrol Emotion, Dirty Water Club
Forget the Led Zeppelin reunion. Or the My Bloody Valentine comeback shows. There was only one band that the sold-out crowd at the Boston Music Rom want to see, and they'd been waiting a long time to see them.
It's 14 years since That Petrol Emotion played together on stage. In that time the band's fans have got married, had children, and never quite forgotten.
The Northern Irish/London pop-indie five-piece, born out in the 1980s out of the ashes of pop-punk legends the Undertones, somehow didn't ever hit the big time, but were John Peel favourites and still make the eyes mist over for music fans of a certain age.
The band chose Tufnell Park as the venue for their first public performance since 1994. And they didn't disappoint, hitting their stride with second song Gnaw Mark and tearing through songs like Hey Venus to a frantically appreciative crowd.
"Give us a break, we're ****ing old!" quipped singer Steve Mack, before launching into Last of the True Believers. They didn't sound old and got the sort of crowd reaction that much younger bands would sell their souls for.
It was a happy crowd that left. That Petrol Emotion are back. And they're still burning.
I LUDICROUS featuring Martin Brett on bass guitar from VOICE OF THE BEEHIVE play live at THE BULL & GATE - Kentish Town - London on Thursday 26th June - Doors 8. pm
WILL BE IN LAOIS IN AUGUST;YERSELVES,THE PISTOLS,WILCO+TINARIWEN;THATS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME THANX FOR ADDING US AS FRIENDS. MARTY(THE THUNDERBOLT CHORUS)
Great to hear those songs again. Love Keen. Very thrilled to get a copy of the 7" recently. Will have to crank up the rekid player again and spins some TPE wax. Did you ever play in Australia? I got told you did do a few shows. Peace and Love to all.
About ye, posted a comment on the reformation twice due to Luddite tendencies (probably the Bogside influence at work). Slainte/Cheers, be good to hear some songs, old or new.
thanks for the add! it s a good thing is one of the songs included by "default" on my dj set! I also named a serie of dj set I have done "Manic pop thrill" which is a great name that summarize the kind of music I prefer! What a pity to miss your concerts in Italy in the 80's!!! Peace & Love dj Valerio Impulsive
