Any Trouble

Any Trouble are a British rock band originating from Crewe, England.

History

Founding members were Clive Gregson, Chris Parks and Tom Jackson. Soon after, Mel Harley and Phil Barnes completed the line up. After Tom Jackson left, the band was fronted by Clive Gregson. The remaining four were the first Any Trouble line-up to record.

Signed to Stiff Records

Any Trouble signed to Stiff Records and their first release "Where Are All The Nice Girls" was perhaps their most successful. The album was produced by John Wood (Fairport Convention etc.) and the band gained instant notoriety for gaining a Melody Maker front cover with a gushing article by Allan Jones. In some ways the band's career never recovered from this early rush of success and Gregson's singing was unfairly compared to that of Elvis Costello.

Moved to EMI America

Endless touring and the release of a second fine album "Wheels In Motion" produced by Mike Howlett, nevertheless didn't further their status and by 1984 the band had moved to EMI America after exiting Stiff. By now the line-up consisted of original members Gregson and Barnes with the addition of Andy Ebsworth on drums and Steve Gurl on keyboards. Two albums followed (including the impressive double album "Wrong End Of The Race") but even the might of EMI couldn't give the band the success that many felt they deserved.

After a solo album of his own Clive Gregson joined Richard Thompson's road band for a time before continuing an extended solo career. Andy Ebsworth was one of the members of Ryder, the purpose-made pop group which represented the United Kingdom at the 1986 Eurovision Song Contest.

Re-formation

In 2007, following the re-release of several Any Trouble albums on CD, Clive Gregson and band members from various line-ups re-formed to record a new album which was released on the re-born Stiff Records label on 10 September 2007. The album is titled "Life in Reverse" and feature 13 new Clive Gregson songs.

Band members

* Clive Gregson (Vocals/Guitar)
* Chris Parks (Guitar)
* Tom Jackson
* Mel Harley (Drums)
* Phil Barnes (Bass)
* Martin Hughes (Drums)
* Steve Gurl (Keyboards)
* Andy Ebsworth (drums)

Where are they now

* Clive Gregson is still a full time musician, working in America
* Chris Parks is now working in the UK as a music software developer
* Tom Jackson went into social work. Worked again with Chris in 'The Oatcake Brothers'
* Phil Barnes worked producing music videos for bands such as Oasis, now produces TV adverts
* Mel Harley runs a design & marketing company and property business
* Andy Ebsworth is now a music tech college tutor in Croydon, London.

Discography

* "Where Are All The Nice Girls Pennine" (1979) - handmade
* "Where Are All The Nice Girls" (1980) - reissued 2007
* "Wheels In Motion" (1981)
* "Live At The Venue" (1981)
* "Any Trouble" (1983)
* "Wrong End Of The Race" (1984)
* "Girls Are Always Right - The Stiff Years" (2002)
* "Where Are All The Nice Girls - Deluxe Reissue" (2007)
* "Life In Reverse" (2007)

See also

* New Wave music
* Stiff Records

External links

* [http://www.anytrouble.co.uk// Official Any Trouble website]
* [http://www.stiff-records.com// Official Stiff Records website]
* [http://www.ztt.com/shop/ Official Stiff Records webstore]
*MySpace-music|anytrouble |Any Trouble
*MySpace-music|stiffrecords |Stiff Records