Close Lobsters

Close Lobsters
Origin	Paisley, Scotland
Genres	Indie pop
Years active	1985–1989
Labels	Fire Records Enigma Records
Website	Official website
Members
Andrew Burnett Graeme Wilmington Tom Donnelly Bob Burnett Stewart McFayden

Close Lobsters are a Scottish indie pop/rock band. They first came to wider prominence with the track "Firestation Towers" on the NME's C86 compilation, they signed to Fire Records and released their debut single "Going To Heaven To See If It Rains" in October 1986. They released a second single "Never Seen Before" in April 1987 which furthered their reputation as one of the leading emerging indie bands.^[1] They went on to release two albums; Foxheads Stalk This Land was released in 1987 and Headache Rhetoric in 1989. Their popularity on United States college radio stations led to an invitation to the New York Music Seminar in 1989, which in turn led to an extensive American tour.^[2] they toured relentlessly in the UK, Germany and the United States of America and Canada. After that things became very hazy indeed.

The band eventually took an extended interlude/break to reflect on a combination of creative crossvergences about critical acclaim in America. Rolling Stone's review of "Foxheads Stalk This Land" called it "first-rate guitar pop from a top-shelf band. Close Lobsters could have been just another jangle group, but they have a lot more going for them than just chiming Rickenbackers."^[3]

This is their story according to the 'Best of' Singles retropsective release, Forever, Until Victory!; The title is a tribute taken from the reputed last sign-off in a letter from Ernesto 'Che' Guevara to Fidel Castro 'Hasta la victoria siempre!' and was released on 5 October 2009 on Fire Records.... There once was a storm of sticks and stones and this barrage was to become a lodestar. If eternity is the sea mingled with the sun as a young French poet once intimated, then unrelenting group disorder defines the everyday and mundane. Close Lobsters shimmer like the sun mingling with the sea, their sound is a storm of stones and sticks and half bricks and the barrage comes in chains of flashing images. Close Lobsters epitomise the very imperfect nature of things - unrelenting group disorder. Close Lobsters\\' sound radiates across star-crossed skies. Close Lobsters are alive. The songs in this collection come in lines and chains of flashing images. The singles were marshalled and brought together, collected if you will, in summer 2008 and now radiate again across star-crossed skies. The collection is entitled \\'FOREVER, UNTIL VICTORY!\\' in honour of not only the songs and the group, but the late Ernesto \\'Che\\' Guevara whose words they are. The tracks were re-assembled and re-engineered by Andrew Burnett and Graeme Wilmington in summer 2008 in the environs of Glasgow and Paisley - at the epicentre of the Close Lobsters universe. Close Lobsters are alive. The leitmotif of this collection is aphoristic - Be Bold and Mighty Forces will Come to your Aid.

The Close Lobsters song "Let's Make Some Plans" was covered by the Wedding Present on the b-side of the "California" single in 1992.

Graeme Wilmington now works as an Audio Technology lecturer at Stow College, Glasgow.

Discography

Chart placings shown are from the UK Indie Chart.^[4]

Singles/EPs

• "Going To Heaven To See If It Rains" (1986, Fire) (#9)
• "Never Seen Before" (1987, Fire) (#11)
• "Let's Make Some Plans" (1987, Fire) (#17)
• "What Is There To Smile About?" (1988, Fire) (#17)
• Evening Show Sessions (1988, Night Tracks)
• "Nature Thing" (1989, Fire)
• "Just Too Bloody Stupid" (1989, Caff)

Albums

• Foxheads Stalk This Land (1987, Fire) (#12)
• Headache Rhetoric (1989, Fire) (#7)
• Forever Until Victory (2009, Fire)

References

1. ^ Strong, Martin C.: "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography, 1999, Canongate, ISBN 0-86241-913-1
2. ^ Larkin, Colin: "The Guinness Who's Who Of Indie And New Wave Music", Guinness Publishing, 1992, ISBN 0-85112-579-4
3. ^ Close Lobsters: Foxheads Stalk This Land : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone
4. ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1999. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.