kevin archer (vocals and guitar)
yasmin saleh (vocals)
steve shaw (violin)
steve wynne (bass)
ian pettitt (drums)
pete wain (keyboards)
nick smith (saxophone)
geoff blythe (saxophone)
james paterson (trombone)
additional players:
dave bishop (saxophone)
vince sullivan (trombone)
mark feltham (harmonica)
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Influences
Kevin Archer 'I liked T-Rex but was also listening to a lot of Western Swing, North American black music, spiritual and uplifting.'
Tuesday 28 July 2009, Yasmin Saleh featured on the Joanne Malin Show on BBC Radio WM. Kevin and Yasmin have also done interviews for the local press, more news to follow!!!
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When Kevin Archer left Dexys Midnight Runners in 1981 after a number one single with 'Geno' and top ten hit with 'There There My Dear' one would be forgiven for thinking that was the end of the Kevin Archer story. But Kevin left for a reason and that reason became The Blue Ox Babes, 'I wanted to work with people with no experience of the music industry, to guide them, I had a vision of what I wanted and went ahead and did it'.
Demo's were produced with new band members Nick Bache on guitar, Yasmin Saleh on vocals, Ian Pettitt on drums, former Dexys keyboard player Andy Leek and a talented violinist called Helen Bevington who would later find fame as Helen O'Hara with the Babes inspired sound that became the new look Dexys and 'Come on Eileen'.
Former Dexys bass player Pete Williams was in the line-up when the band played there one and only gig of 1982 at The Arts Lab in Birmingham and with Stiff Records interested in signing the band the future looked a bright shade of Blue. But Archer decided to turn down the deal, 'Dexys were releasing 'Eileen' and I was worried that people would think we were copying them so I turned down the deal and the band disbanded'
Fast forward four years and Archer met up with Saleh, Pettitt and more former members of Dexys namely Steve Wynne and Steve Shaw and decided to reform The Blue Ox Babes. With management duo Geoff Pearce and Pete Rowland on board they were signed in 1987 by Go! Records and had three singles released within two months at the start of 1988. The first was the fantastic 'Theres No Deceiving You/The Last Detail' followed by 'Apples And Oranges/Pray Lucky' and finally 'Walking On The Line/Four Golden Tongues Talk'. A video was shot for 'Theres No Deceiving You' with Archer recalling 'we were recording in a studio at Chipping Norton, the same one where Dexys had recorded 'Searching For The Young Soul Rebels' ironically and we got a call out of the blue and were taken to a warehouse that the record company had hired and we did the video in one day.' A support slot on The Proclaimers tour in 1988 and headline slots of their own saw the band play over 100 gigs within the year with the live band varying from the one that recorded in the studio. 'We only had a seven piece on stage with one sax but in the studio people like Geoff Blythe and Jimmy Paterson recorded with us so we had a three piece brass section for the tracks which were to feature on the album'. The album 'Apples And Oranges' was completed but, sadly, never released although bargain hunters can find a release on cassette if they look hard enough. With the album moth-balled The Blue Ox Babes were dropped by the record company and the band disbanded with Archer working on more songs which have yet to see the light of day.
UPDATE NOVEMBER 2008!!!
CD release:
Kevin Archer has confirmed that a deal has been struck with Cherry Red Records for the long awaited official release of Blue Ox Babes material.
Keep checking bulletins and this page for news, CD release dates and for previously unreleased tracks on the music player.
'From the heart I wholly applaud you....'
UPDATE MARCH 2009!!!
CD release date 18 May 2009 on Cherry Red Records!!!!
Kevin Archer has been interviewed for an article in West Midlands newspaper 'Express and Star' and will feature in a forthcoming edition of 'Record Collector'.
Kevin is also a guest of Joanne Malin on BBC Radio WM on Wednesday 1 April 2009 at 11am, tune in and listen!!!
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Please support our Indie Pop "EP CLUB" presented by Series Two Records and Eggnog Records. It is a collaboration between an Indie Pop label in Nebraska and one in New Zealand. The indie pop EP CLUB's include artists from around the world.
Hello music lovers Napoleon's UK debut single, I Love My Baby (But If Anyone Touches Her I'll Kill Them), will be released Feb 16th. The song is already regularly played on BBC Radio 2 and has been chosen as this week's Record of the Week on BBC6 Music. http://www. bbc. co. uk/6music/shows/shaun_keaveny/rotw. shtml
Watch our beloved singer Johan Barrett get his ass kicked by some mean dogs in this new video!
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