Colenso Parade
This interesting pop/rock act was formed in October 1984 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They released two singles, Standing Up and Down By The Border on their own Goliath label before an early appearance at the Futurama Festival saw Stiff Records put them in touch with manager Dave Bedford. Soon after, they moved to London where Bedford had set up Fire Records. From the original line-up Oscar (vocals), Linda Clandinning (keyboards) and Neil Lawson (bass) remained the nucleus of the band. Terry Bickers (later of House Of Love and Levitation) replaced the original guitarist Jackie Forgie after the first single, and was in turn dropped in favour of John Watt (though Bickers was in place for the album sessions, by the time GLENTORRAN appeared he had moved on). Owen Howell (ex-Big Self) would also replace Robert Wakeman as drummer. Following Hallelujah Chorus they scored heavy airplay with Fontana Eyes in 1986, a classic 12-bar blues workout founded on captivating lyrical epigrams, ‘I'm holding my breath, cos there's no-one to hold’. A split came soon after their only album when a deal with a major label fell through. Further demos were recorded but nothing surfaced, although Oscar was asked to join Echo And The Bunnymen as singer following the departure of Ian McCulloch. He declined the invitation, and is now working in video. Lawson is currently an aircraft photographer, while Linda Clandinning has trained as a hairdresser. Only Robert Wakeman has continued in the music industry, with indie hopefuls Salad.