Sun Carriage
| Sun Carriage | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Camden, London |
| Genres | British Rock |
| Labels | Wiiija |
| Past members | Michael Ryan - Drums, Sarah Wills - Bass, Mathew Watts - Guitar & Vocals |
Sun Carriage existed from around 1988 - 1992. They were founded by Ron Price and Mathew Watts in Plymouth during the late 1980s. Relocating to Camden and joined by fellow Plymouth exile Chris Leech on second guitar they recorded the "Sun Carriage/Determined" (written by Ron Price) demo 7" (very rare, only about ten were pressed) for the fledgling Head Records run by Jeff Barrett (later the founder of Heavenly). With principal songwriter Watts, the original line up also included Bex who had originally drummed in Loop and Sarah Wills on bass. Sun Carriage toured with Loop throughout the UK and supported various bands of the time such as House Of Love, Spacemen 3, Lush and even Happy Mondays. Bex was later replaced by Michael Ryan on drums, and soon after Chris Leech left, leaving the band as a trio of Watts, Ryan and Wills for the rest of its life.
Their music combined the artful influences of David Bowie with a bit of the pre-grunge and rock 'n roll/garage of Iggy Pop and the Stooges, some of the heaviness of Led Zeppelin, plus Neil Young and early Roxy Music, to name a but a few.
Recordings
Sun Carriage released two 12" EPs on the Wiiija catalogue, these being:
Other releases
- Now That's Disgusting Music - Live At The Sausage Machine { various } Too Pure 1, 1990
Broadcasts
John Peel BBC Radio 1 Session - 09/06/1991
- Sick Dog Crawling
- BABE
- Kiss To Tell
- Written By
Produced by Dale Griffin at BBC Maida Vale 3
Sun Carriage enjoyed other radio play and notably supported Therapy? on their mini tour of Ireland, North and South in February 1992, after previously (dis)gracing the emerald isle in 1991 with Dinosaur Jr. They also enjoyed sharing the stage with labelmates Silverfish and Jeff Barrett's [HEAD] Records signings Loop and being acquainted with Gallon Drunk. The band split in 1995, with Mathew Watts going on to form Codiak.
Mathew returned to Cornwall in the late 1990s where he teamed up with his old "Saltash Monster" mates, including his old bandmates Elephant Talk. From Feb 2008 to May 2009 Mathew Watts was guitarist with The Nameless Ones, a Saltash band, alongside Andy Copelin (drums), Adam Speare (Bass) and Stephen Beer (vocals); please see links
Mathew died from cancer at the St. Lukes Hospice, Plymouth, on 13 May 2009.
References
- ↑ "Sun Carriage". Retrieved 4 June 2013.