Biography
UK band Botany 500 originated when vocalist Gordon Kerr, born in Sterling, Scotland and previously frontman for the Juggernauts whose lone single was titled ‘Throw Yourself Under The Monstrous Wheels Of The Rock ‘n’ Roll Industry As It Approaches Destruction’, teamed with David Galbraith. Their initial recordings blended ambient layers with funk and jazz passages in a manner both convincing and agreeable. The group’s first release on Supreme, ‘Bully Beef’, incorporated live strings. In 1989 Kerr parted ways with Galbraith after claiming victory in the Tennent’s Live! contest staged by Glasgow’s Ca Va studio. He then joined Virgin, bringing in guitarist Jason Robertson and keyboardist Stevie Christie to complete the lineup. Legal pressure from the U.S. firm Botany 500, which supplied clothing for shows such as Kojak, prompted the abbreviation to Botany 5. Ahead of the debut album came the single ‘Love Bomb’; the record itself anticipated the chilled house textures later explored by the Orb and Aphex Twin. Conceived explicitly to counter the Summer Of Love’s overindulgences, the album carried the declaration: ‘Our album’s for when kids come home from raves. No crazy, out of hand stuff. More artistic; slow, mellow, subdued... quiet’. Live performances expanded the trio with former Orange Juice drummer Zeke Manyika and Paul Weller associate Carmel, supplying richer acoustic support.