Dawn Of The Replicants are a Scottish indie rock quintet from Galashiels, described by Allmusic as one of the most inventive groups in the United Kingdom. Impossible to categorize. Four of the 1997 line-up (Pringle, Vickers, Simian and Small) had previously worked together on the short-lived Scottish music magazine, Sun Zoom Spark. Initially a duo (Vickers and Simian), the band released a mail-order EP, entitled So Far So Spitfire in December 1996. The band was expanded to a quintet and a second self-released single followed in the summer of 1997. They signed for East West Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records. Before the close of the year, a few more EPs followed, accolades from the NME, and The Times newspaper declared them the best new band of 1997.
The 1998 single "Candlefire", taken from the debut album reached number 52 in the UK Singles Chart. The follow-up, "Hogwash Farm"(lead track of The Diesel Hands EP), peaked at number 65. That summer the band played both the Glastonbury and Reading Festivals. Their second album sold less well than its predecessor and Warner Bros. dropped the band. In 2000, Vickers and Simian released an album and two singles through Shifty Disco of electronica, under the name Pluto Monkey. After a break the band returned with a third album and a live tour in 2002. In 2005 the band played at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. In recent years they have also recorded sessions for Huw Stephens on BBC Radio 1 and Marc Riley on BBC 6 Music.
BBC Radio 1 DJs John Peel and Mark Radcliffe both gave substantial airplay to debut mail-order EP "So Far So Spitfire", released in December 1996. Before his death, Peel aired five sessions from the group, four as Dawn of the Replicants plus a one-off session original duo Vickers and Simian recorded as side project Pluto Monkey. The single "Science Fiction Freak", taken from the second Replicants' album, made the Festive 50 in 1999. Peel nominated their singles Leaving Town as one of his records of the month for August 2002 (Peel's Record Box) and the Rockefeller Center 1932 EP for November 2002 (Peel's Record Box).
In 2004, the band attended Peel's funeral in Bury St Edmunds at the invitation of the DJ's family.[1]
Joe Meek / A Quiet Life / Rice Cake Rabbit Soul / Ping Pong Sass
Other Shows Played[]
Dawn Of The Replicants
30 November 1996: ‘Lisa Box (7 inch – So Far So Spitfire )’ Dumb / Sulk Trigg-er
14 December 1996: Cocaine On The Catwalk (7" - So Far So Spitfire) dumb/SULK trigg-er
19 June 1997: Hogwash Farm (10") dumb/SULK trigg-er
17 July 1997: Non Capisco (2x7" - Violent Sundays E.P.) EastWest
22 July 1997: Cocaine On The Catwalk (EP - Violent Sundays) EastWest
29 July 1997: Cocaine On The Catwalk (EP - Violent Sundays) EastWest
31 July 1997 (BFBS): 'Cocaine On The Catwalk (2x7"-Violent Sundays E.P.)' (EastWest) (JP: '"Sounds like Status Quo", said Charles {Foster}, the intermittent producer: "nothing wrong with that", I replied.')
