Po!

Po! was an indie band formed in Leicester, England in 1987, with releases dating up to 1997 on Rutland Records.

History

Po! was originally formed by Ruth Miller (vocals and guitar), with Julian Glover (bass) and Mark Fuccio (drums). Usually subsumed under the C86 or twee pop headings - which is not essentially to misrepresent them - they possessed considerable originality. In particular, the themes of misogyny, disappointment, and nostalgia act as a counterpoint to the vocals, melodies, and jangly guitars so characteristic of the genre.

Very much part of the fanzine scene, Po!'s first release was the flexidisc "Hopscotch in the Snow", which a Leicestershire fanzine "Samantha" produced from locally recorded demos in 1987. This was picked up by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, and provoked some interest. There followed an LP, released on the band's own Rutland Records label, entitled "Little Stones", 1000 copies of which were pressed. It cost just £20 to record; Ruth folded and glued all of the sleeves by hand. Bob Dylan, an obvious influence, is represented in the form of a cover version of "All I Really Wanna Do".

Ruth spent two years playing with Ruth's Refrigerator, before reconstituting Po! with Terri Lowe (guitar), Paul Knight (drums), and Gary Gilchrist (bass), in which configuration they produced album "Ducks and Drakes", and several EPs.

In 1994 the band recorded a John Peel session, and two years later there followed an LP "Not Marked on the Ordnance Map", by which time Gilchrist had left and Lowe taken on bass and guitar duties. In 1997 "The Alphabet EP" was released, which the NME journalist Steven Wells made Single of the Week.

Miller, who played the character of Bridget in the comedy soap opera "Chez Lester", broadcast on the Cable 7 community TV channel, and Lowe are now married with two children. Ruth works as a deputy headmistress.

Discography

Albums

*"Little Stones" (1989, LP)
*"Bedroom Tapes Vol.1" (1989, cassette)
*"Bedroom Tapes Vol.2" (1990, cassette)
*"Bedroom Tapes Vol.3" (19??, cassette)
*"Fragile Debris" (compilation) (19??, cassette)
*"Live In Leicester" (19??, cassette)
*"Ducks And Drakes" (1993, cd/lp)
*"Not Marked On The Ordnance Map" (1996, cd/lp)
*"Bedroom Tapes Vol.4" (19??, cassette)
*"Past Perfect Tense" (compilation) (1997, cd)
*"Horse Blanket Weather" (1998, cd)

ingles

*"Hopscotch In The Snow EP" (flexi-disc) (1988)
*"Glass King"/"Japan" by The Originals (flexi-disc) (1989)
*"Grains Of Sand" (1991)
*"Things That Might / When" (1992)
*"Fay" (1992)
*"Northern Wonder" (1994)
*"A Page A Day" (1996)

EPs

*"Treasure" (1992)
*"The Alphabet" (1997)

External links

* [http://www.twee.net/bands/po.html PO! on TweeNet]
*MusicBrainz artist|id=e7ba0425-b238-475d-9754-838474cc1600|name=Po!
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/artists/p/po/ Po! Peel Sessions details on the BBC's 'Keeping It Peel' site]