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Den: That's a good name for a band...
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9th Earl of Scandal By Andrew Burns Origin: This came from mishearing a Radio 4 discussion (very Rock and Roll!) about one of the Earls of Sandwich (it may or may not have been the 9th). 9th Earl of Scandal seemed to me to be a great name for a band… 9th Earl of Scandal are a Glaswegian all-girl punk band. Formed in 2001 by Fiona McPherson and her University friends Naomi Mills and Maggie Rush, united by their love of Scottish Punk and New Wave. Originally they called themselves Carmen Miranda’s Hat, a fruity nod to two of their influences, Orange Juice and Strawberry Switchblade, but became 9th Earl of Scandal when Jolene “Dolly” Neil joined them, taking over lead guitar duties and completing the lineup. McPherson, Mills and Rush had all studied at The Glasgow School of Art and the visual impact of the band was always important to them. The influence of Strawberry Switchblade coupled with their love of the gothic left them looking like the bridal party for a marriage to Horny Viper’s Max Dwyer (more of whom here).
Their raucous, anarchic, punk-flavoured style belied catchy dance-pop hooks and often painfully melancholic lyrics. Their first single, “Reason To Go On” with McPherson’s surprisingly sensitive vocal performance (surprising based on her on-stage antics) in counterpoint to Dolly’s crunching, stomping guitars was an enormous hit, championed by the NMM’s Kevin Crown in particular. The second single “Tomorrow Comes” and the subsequent album, “Orange Chewitt”, all sold very well across Europe and in Japan in particular. 9th Earl of Scandal have never really replicated that early success. They continue to record together, though all four have been involved in other projects (most notably McPherson’s guest vocal on the Naked But For Glasses hit “Crazy Confectious”). If you have not heard them for a while their newest album “Beach Baby Seal” is well worth tracking down. You can read more about Horny Viper and Max Dwyer here. You can learn more about Fiona McPherson’s collaboration with Naked But For Glasses here.
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AuthorAndrew Burns really should know better and has so many more important things to be doing than writing this drivel. Please offer him no encouragement either via social media or through the contact page Archives
September 2017
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