Meet The Teardrops....The Story of The Teardrops..Show # 316

The Teardrops were a very short lived New Wave band that formed in Manchester, England in 1978. The band was assembled by Steve Garvey, who was at the time playing bass in another Manchester based band Buzzcocks. The band initially consisted of Steve Garvey (bass/vocals), Trevor Wain (guitar/vocals), John Key (guitar/vocals), Dave Brisbane (guitar), and John Donelly on drums. With this line up, a four song EP was recorded and released in 1978 by Bent Records entitled In and Out of Fashion. Shortly after the release of this EP, the line up of the band changed to include Tony Friel and Karl Burns, both were previously in the band The Fall. Another EP was released in the same year titled Leave Me No Choice that had the exact same tracklisting as the In and Out of Fashion EP. It seems that the EP was re-recorded with the new band members.

In 1979, a single was released titled Seeing Double. This 7 inch single may or may not have Steve Garvey on it. According to the Buzzcocks discography he does play on it, but it is believed that he did not participate on this single. By 1980, the band had almost run its course. With a few new members (Helen Barbrook, Trev Wain, and Dave Price) the band recorded and released its only full length album that was titled Final Vinyl. Released in January of 1980, the album featured some re-recordings of previous Teardrops songs "Teardrops and Heartaches", was now known as "Everything's O.K" it was originally a B-side on the Seeing Double single. "Teenage Vice" was also on this album, it was previously on the In and Out of Fashion EP and the Leave No Choice EP. The music on this album is for the most part experimental. There are elements of 70s Punk and New Wave on Final Vinyl, at times sounding like a mix between Buzzcocks and The Fall. The band essentially dissolved by 1981. In 1980 a compilation featuring Manchester bands called Identity Parade was released, it featured a song by The Teardrops called "Colours". A very short lived band emerged following The Teardrops called Bok Bok. They released one single in 1980 called Come Back To Me.

While information on this band is scarce, they have released several recordings, that are by now impossible to find (White Dopes on Punk, a compilation released by Castle in 2005 featured two songs by The Teardrops). In 2010, a collection of tapes from sessions that the band did at Graveyard Studios in Prestwich, where the band recorded their final album were found and restored by Blind Eye Records. A series of 7 inch vinyls are set to be released in early 2011.


The Play List:

1. The Libertines - I Get Along
2. The Demics - The Grey and The Black
4. Livid Scaries - Oh Well
5. Pink Cadilac Scat Cats - New York City (Acoustic)
6. Shaky Jack Whiteside - I Won't See You No More
7. Seven Story Redhead - Don't Wanna Know
8. West Coast Pop Experiment Band - If You Want This Love
9. The Music Machine - The People In Me
10. Hollywood Brats - Sick On You
11. The Count Bishops - Teenage Letter
12. White Stripes - Jolene (Live)
13. Fitz & The Tantrums - Breakin' The Chains of Love
14. David Bowie - Move
15. Sheep Look Up - Jumper
16. The Teardrops - Leave Me No Choice
17. The Teardrops - Everythings O.K.
18. The Teardrops - Meet the Teardrops
19. Undertones - Girls That Don't Talk (Demo)
20. Magic Hall of Mirrors - Rosewater Harpsichord
21. Young Rival - Search & Destroy (Live @ Phog Phest 2010)
22. The Pagans - Not Now, No Way
23. Pearl Jam - I Got Shit (Live JonesBeach, New York, August 24, 2000)
24. Radio 4 - Enemies Like This
25. The Hives - Fall is Just Something Grown Ups Invented

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