Biography
Similar to Del Amitri, Wolverhampton’s Wild Flowers grew weary of an unresponsive British pop environment and turned instead toward America in pursuit of fresh inspiration and recognition. Following the 1984 Reflex issues of the singles ‘Melt Like Ice’ and ‘Things Have Changed’ plus the album The Joy Of It All, the emerging group suffered a setback when founding guitarist Dave Newton departed to launch the Mighty Lemon Drops. Neal Cook on guitar and vocals, Mark Alexander on bass and Dave Fisher on drums eventually recruited Dave Atherton and aligned with the upstart local imprint Chapter 22. After a two-year absence they resurfaced in 1986 via ‘It Ain’t So Easy’, with ‘A Kind Of Kingdom’ arriving later the same year. Those tracks were paired on the mini-album Dust, conceived chiefly to acquaint American listeners with the band’s rock approach shaped by New York influences. Wild Flowers became the first British act signed to Slash in the USA, issuing Sometime Soon in 1988 after ‘Broken Chains’ and ‘Take Me For A Ride’ had appeared in the UK. Tales Like These was captured amid California’s stimulating settings once Simon Atkins had taken over on drums. The album registered scant impact in Britain, where London Records oversaw Slash, prompting the group to concentrate its live efforts on the United States.
Albums
Singles
