
The Mighty Lemon Drops were an English indie band active from 1985 to 1992. Originally called the Sherbet Monsters, the quartet first formed in the spring of 1985 in Wolverhampton, in The Black Country. Paul Marsh, Dave Newton and Tony Linehan had played together in a band called Active Restraint in 1982, with Newton later leaving to become a founding member of the Wild Flowers. Dave Newton and Tony Linehan were the principal songwriters for the group. Their sound can best be described as a more psychedelia-influenced post-punk, played with a ringing Rickenbacker guitar as the lead instrument. They drew comparisons to Echo and the Bunnymen, who were also influenced by psychedelia.
Links to Peel[]
Peel played a track from Active Restraint (a pre-Mighty Lemon Drops band) on his show in 1982 and when three of them (Paul Marsh, Dave Newton and Tony Linehan) left to form the Mighty Lemon Drops, he continued his interest in this group by playing their debut single, Like An Angel, in December 1985. The track later entered the 1986 Festive Fifty and a session by the band was broadcast in that year. However, by the end of the 80's, Peel had lost interest in the band and moved on to other artists.
Festive Fifty Entries[]
- 1986 Festive Fifty: Like An Angel #34
Sessions[]
1. Recorded: 1986-08-19. First Broadcast: 27 August 1986. Repeated: 22 September 1986
- Open Mind / Take Me Up / Behind Your Back / Up Tight
Other Shows Played[]
- 30 December 1985 (BBC World Service): Like An Angel (12") Dreamworld
- 1986
- 08 January 1986: Like An Angel (7") Dreamworld
- 17 June 1986: Happy Head (v/a cassette - C86) New Musical Express
- 26 August 1986: The Other Side Of You (7") Blue Guitar
- 15 September 1986: The Other Side Of You (7") Blue Guitar
- 24 September 1986: Happy Head (LP - Happy Head) Chrysalis
- 24 September 1986 (VPRO): Happy Head (LP - Happy Head) Chrysalis (JP: 'Alot of people say they sound like Echo And The Bunnymen, well so what, what's wrong with that, better sounding than bloody A-Ha if you ask me, hands up on that if you agree with me')
- 27 September 1986 (BFBS): Happy Head (LP - Happy Head) Chrysalis
- 30 September 1986: Take Me Up (LP - Happy Head) Chrysalis
- 08 October 1986: The Other Side Of You (LP - Happy Head) Blue Guitar
- 19 October 1986 (BFBS): 'Happy Head (LP-Happy Head)' (Chrysalis)
- 12 November 1986: My Biggest Thrill (7") Blue Guitar
- 23 December 1986: 'Like An Angel (7 inch)' (Dreamworld) FF #34
- 1987
- 16 January 1987 (BFBS): 'Happy Head (LP-Happy Head)' (Chrysalis / Blue Guitar)
- 09 February 1987: Take Me Up (v/a 12" - 5-Track EP) Record Mirror
- 09 March 1987: Hear Me Cool (v/a 7" - Sounds Showcase 2) Sounds
- 01 April 1987: Out Of Hand (7") Blue Guitar
- 22 April 1987: Out Of Hand (7") Blue Guitar
- 29 April 1987: Out Of Hand (7") Blue Guitar
- 24 November 1987: When I Dream (12" - The Janice Long Session) Strange Fruit
- 07 December 1987: Waiting For The Rain (12" - The Janice Long Session) Strange Fruit
- 14 December 1987: The Other Side Of You (12" - The Janice Long Session) Strange Fruit
- 1988
- 29 February 1988: Fall Down (Like The Rain) (LP - World Without End) Chrysalis
- 02 March 1988: One By One (LP - World Without End) Chrysalis
- 11 March 1988 (BFBS): 'Breaking Down (LP-World Without End)' (Chrysalis)