All About Eve.
In 1988 the British music scene was feeling a bit on the stale side. Everything seemed to be either dance orientated, super-commercial or Acid House driven. So, when All About Eve released their debut album it was a very welcome change for a lot of different people.
The band were marketed as a sort of Goth/Hippy blend; this was because they came from a musical background of The Mission, Gene Loves Jezebel and The Sisters of Mercy. However, unlike their musical ancestors, All About Eve appealed to a far wider audience.
Every track on their self-titled album is an absolute treat. Julianne Regan’s voice sounds angelic and ethereal; the lyrics are already flowery and magical but with her vocals they are given an even greater beauty. On ‘In the Meadow’ (originally the last song) the record closes with an amazing guitar solo that went on to make Tim Bricheno a much respected musician.
There were no faults on the album at all, everything was perfectly in place and, with the great Paul Samwell-Smith at the helm of production, success was guaranteed. He had worked with Cat Stevens on all of his strongest records along with many other artists as well.
All About Eve’s album actually reached number 7 in the UK charts. This was a very big surprise because the band never were a part of the mainstream category. The single, ‘Martha’s Harbour’ got to number 10 and quickly went on to become an underground classic. ‘Every Angel’ and ‘Wild Hearted Woman’ also made it into the top 40.
After the success of their first album, All About Eve went on to record some other very good songs. However, they never managed to attain their previous glory and eventually it all fizzled out. A lot of this was down to them experimenting with various other styles and it just didn’t seem to have the same magic about it anymore…
On a sidenote: I couldn’t sleep a wink last night and decided to go trolling round the world wide web for something to keep me occupied, turns out the House Forum is not only a superior way to waste time but also fairly entertaining!
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