The Wedding Present
Forthright and briefly fashionable indie band formed in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, in 1985 from the ashes of the Lost Pandas by David Gedge (b. 23 April 1960, Leeds, Yorkshire, England; guitar/vocals) with Keith Gregory (b. 2 January 1963, Co. Durham, England; bass), Peter Salowka (b. Middleton, Gt. Manchester, England; guitar) and Shaun Charman (b. Brighton, East Sussex, England; drums). The Wedding Present embodied the independent spirit of the mid-'80s with a passion that few contemporaries could match. Furthermore, they staked their musical claim with a ferocious blend of implausibly fast guitars and lovelorn lyrics over a series of much-lauded singles on their own Reception Records label. As some cynics criticized the band's lack of imagination, GEORGE BEST shared the merits of the flamboyant but flawed football star and reached number 47 in the UK chart. Similarly, as those same critics suggested the band were 'one-trick phonies', Pete Salowka's East European upbringing was brought to bear on the Wedding Present sound, resulting in the frenzied Ukrainian folk songs on UKRAINSKI VISTUPI V JOHNA PEEL, so called because it was a compilation of tracks from sessions they had made for John Peel's influential BBC Radio 1 show. Shaun Charman left the band as their debut was released, to join the Pop Guns, and was replaced by Simon Smith (b. 3 May 1965, Lincolnshire, England). Capitalizing on a still-burgeoning following, Kennedy saw the band break into the Top 40 of the UK singles chart for the first time and revealed that, far from compromising on a major label, the Wedding Present were actually becoming more extreme. By their third album, SEAMONSTERS, the band had forged a bizarre relationship with hardcore exponent Steve Albini (former member of the influential US outfit Big Black), whose harsh economic production technique encouraged the Wedding Present to juggle with broody lyrical mumblings and extraordinary slabs of guitar, killing the ghost of their 'jangly' beginnings. Before SEAMONSTERS was released in 1991, Pete Salowka made way for Paul Dorrington, although he remained in the set-up on the business side of the band and formed the Ukrainians. In 1992 the Wedding Present undertook the ambitious project of releasing one single, every month, throughout the year. Each single charted in the UK Top 40 (admittedly in a depressed market), making the tactic a success, though the ever candid Gedge revealed that it had been done against a backdrop of record company opposition. Their relationship with RCA Records ended following the accompanying HIT PARADE compilations, though Island Records were quick to pick up the out of contract band. Keith Gregory also left the fold before WATUSI restored the band to their previous status (reviled by certain sections of the UK media, venerated by hardcore supporters).