Thanks so much to Chris Morgan for the interview. I only knew about The Deddingtons thanks to the Leamington Spa series where their song “The Last Day” was included. Of course, this was one of my favourite songs throughout the 6 volumes that have been released so far, and I was always wondering who The Deddingtons were. They never got any proper releases mind you! But I hope this will change soon! Enjoy!
++ Hi Chris! Thanks so much for the interview! Are you still living in Nottingham?
I am, yes – but via a circuitous route that took me away and, happily brought me back. I live about 12 miles away from where we recorded as The Deddingtons.
++ First thing I wonder about your old band is if there are any more recordings other than “The Last Day”, you know we all have been craving for more! Did you record demo tapes or something? Do you remember the song names?
Well, I’m surprised to find out that people have been craving more stuff; mainly because we didn’t know that The Last Day was even released! I fear the hand of a mercurial ex-manager at work! There’s a reasonable catalogue of tracks that we recorded. In terms of names: She, Solitary Sunday, Happy Agai, Sheelagh and Naively immediately spring to mind.
++ Let’s go back to the late eighties, just before you were part of The Deddingtons. Were you involved with music then? Was the bass your first instrument? Self-taught?
I was playing guitar at the time, but just for myself which I first learned on my Dad’s old Hohner acoustic. He showed me a couple of chords, and I was off… I migrated to the bass a little bit later
++ It’s strange though that on the Leamington Spa liner notes it says you played guitars and Chris King the bass guitar? Mistake I guess?
Maybe, maybe not. Matt, Chris and me all played the guitars on the recordings – so it’s possible that he played the bass on this. Our live line-up was Andy on Drums, Matt on Lead, Chris on vox and Rhythm, me on bass.
++ So alright, let’s go a bit forward in time to the early nineties when The Deddingtons formed. How did that happen? How did you all knew each other?
I met Matt Wright when we were both working part time for a supermarket and, despite the funky brown nylon uniform, we recognised each other as groovy indie types. We got chatting about The Smiths, which was our favourite band Matt told me he was looking for a guitarist. I went round to Matt’s parent’s house with my really cheap guitar and bass and before I knew it I was in a band called The Social Divide. The SD seemed to have an almost revolving door policy on it’s members and eventually fizzled out.
At around the same time Matt and I started to play in a covers band, The Losers, which really helped us to learn our instruments. Chris King of the SD played keyboards. It also gained us an ace drummer, in the form of Andy Luczko. For The Deddingtons, we trialled a couple of singers, who both could hold a tune but didn’t quite “hit it”. We realised quickly that Chris King had the most fabulous voice – we coerced him into becoming our front man.
++ What inspired you all to make music?
We were at an age where, after girls, music was probably the biggest thing we were interested in. The Smiths had just split, The Stone Roses, The La’s and The Sundays had released their first albums and we just kind of thought, y’know, we could do this.
++ And why the name The Deddingtons? Where does it come from?
Rather prosaically it came from the name of the road that Matt’s parents lived on. We had to have a “the”, because all best bands at the time did. Except Teenage Fanclub. Matt’s parents house was also were we converted the loft into a recording studio – we had an old 8-Track reel-to-reel, a proper mixing desk all housed in a sound proofed booth – it looked and worked like the real thing. Can you imagine getting that chance What wonderful parents, eh? Jim Wright sadly passed away recently and we couldn’t have asked for a bigger supporter and fan. A truly lovely man. The Loft got really hot in the summer and, as the water tank was up there we had to stop everytime some one flushed the toilet….halcyon days.
++ So again, it seems to be some sort of mistake on the Leamington Spa liner notes, it says you never played live. But on the Youtube comments to the Last Day track, someone assures that he had been to at least a gig or two. Who is right? And if you did play them, do you remember any about them?
We did play live,but only on a handful of occasions.
++ What about the scene in Nottingham during those years? I can only think of Heaven Records and The Fat Tulips… what were your favourite bands in town and maybe your favourite places to hang out?
There wasn’t a scene as such. Other than The Tindersticks and The Yons, I’m hard pressed to name any bands at the time.
++ On these same liner notes it praises Chris King as a perfectionist in recording layer after layer of guitars. I can see that on “Last Day”! How did the creative process worked for you guys?
Chris King is a genius. We had eight tracks and he produced and engineered all the demos – what he managed by bouncing tracks and such, was incredible. It’s hard to say where the songs came from, we tended to work on feel. A couple of us would work something up and then we’d kick it around until it formed. We had the luxury of time: only Andy held down a full time job – we spent two long, blissful summers doing what we wanted to do. We pretty much kept office hours too, kicking off about 10 in the morning and finishing when Matt’s Mum and Dad announced that they were off to bed!
++ And of course, as it’s the only song we all know, I’m wondering what is this song about, how did you all came with it? Is this your favourite one from the Deddingtons repertoire by the way?
I guess The Last Day is all about the loss of youth, working within the moment and not missing the chances that life could give. The lyrics are Chris’s – he’d be best placed to explain them.
++ So what happened? Why didn’t you get a proper release? It feels a bit unfair!
Well we had a couple of moments where we thought we would get a proper release. We sent demos off around the word and the head of A&R at WEA called Matt up late one evening, saying how much he loved what we were doing and could we send some more tracks. We duly sent off more tracks and never heard from him again…
++ And so what happened after, why did you call it a day? I hear most of the band became The Days, but you didn’t right?
We had enlisted the services of a manager, who I didn’t get along with at all. I dislocated my shoulder, which stopped me playing the bass for a few weeks. The new manager introduced a new guitarist, who was a decent bloke, but without any consultation. I fell out of love with the band and quit – perhaps a bit rash but I was only 20 at the time. I haven’t really spoken with Matt or Andy since, which I regret. After I left, manager-bloke brought his brother into the band and pushed Chris King onto bass.
++ Could you say The Deddingtons and The Days were kind of the same band? Or were there too many differences?
In my limited view, very different. The Deddingtons were original and ahead of their time, eschewing the zeitgeist.
++ Have you been involved with music after those years? Are you still listening to guitar pop?
I joined a Derby band called Saltbox in 1994 and we enjoyed moderate success on the local indie-scene and played in London a few times. We had record company interest and got played on the radio – BBC Radio Derby’s Mark Sheldon (now working at 6 music) was a big champion of ours and even suggest in print that people should “ignore oasis and dry out with Saltbox”. How’s that for a press-clipping? I’m currently recording some solo stuff, mainly as a hobby, under the guise of Reporters. My wonderful kids and wife , as well as work commitments are the main focus now I’m old and boring!
++ Well, let’s wrap it here! Anything else you’d like to add?
I’d just like to say thanks for getting in touch – it’s great to know that some people liked what we tried to do and we’ll release more tracks onto YouTube soon.
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8 Responses to “:: The Deddingtons”
what a classic song, easily my fave from the leamington spa comps. looking forward to a ‘proper’ Deddingtons release on Cloudberry.
Thanks Hugh – really nice of you to say that. As soon as we get the tapes sorted we’ll get some tunes out on Cloudberry!
another godsmackingly brilliant re-discovery release !!
WOW
Hi It’s Chris King the singer with The Deddingtons. Just to set the record straight, The Days is not a band I would put my name to, and I very much regret having had anything to do with them. They were a classic example of what happens when a bad manager gets hold of a perfectly decent band.
The Deddingtons however is a band I am very much proud of being involved in. Although our playing and my singing was ropey, we had a great professionalism and were a fantastic little songwriting unit with all members contributing to the process. I have tried very hard since The Deddingtons to find musicians I truly gel with in the same way, but have never managed to find anything that could touch what we had. A real shame…. anyway It’s great to hear these ‘lost’ tapes again……
Hi – Andy Luczko, drummer with The Deddingtons here. We are about to see the release of some of our much treasured recordings on Cloudberry. The many hours spent perfecting each track are hopefully reflected in the quality and depth of each composition. We did many takes of each song, not because they had mistakes but because we tried to aim higher each time and ensure we had given our all every time.
To have caught the eye of Warner Records was a massive achievement and could have been a real rags to riches story, worthy of any Hollywood script. So, alas, it wasn’t to be. Had Youtube and iTunes been around then we would perhaps have had other opportunities.
We now have achieved a high quality release thanks to Roque’s efforts and in a way it reminds me of our own meticulous approach to what we did, in terms of quality and attention to detail. You will not have seen the many artwork drafts and sound mixes Cloudberry have achieved and the professionalism Roque has demonstrated is in keeping with the spirit of our original recording efforts.
Thank you Roque and thank you Chris, Matt and Chris. We got there eventually. I hope our efforts bring smiles and inspiration to many others.
Chris Morgan here- bassist/guitarist with The Deddingtons here. Roque, you’ve done us proud! For the many mixes and to-ing and fro-ing I Thank you. I hope fans of Cloudberry enjoy the tracks as much as I have enjoyed rediscovering these tracks and all of the perfect imperfections. It’s also been great to pick up with Matt, Chris and Andy again. The years have just melted away. What a journey.
Seamus Allison here, the guitarist bloke who joined when Chris M was recovering from his injury. I can shed a little light on the Leamington Spa connection.
The mark of a good band is that they have at least one great song. For my previous band, Me and Dean Martin it was probably Surfing Days, for the Deddingtons is was The Last Day. The Leamington chaps posted a message somewhere (too long ago to remember) asking for ex MADM to contact them; they were looking for unreleased material for their compilations. They were bringing together great British jangle pop from the 80s and 90s to preserve it and share it. I sent them some MADM stuff but also though that The Last Day was a great track and that no compilation would be complete without it. So I took a flyer; I didn’t have anyone’s contact details so I seized the moment. It sits really well on the CD and is one of the best tracks. Any errors regarding the band’s history are mine as I didn’t know that much about what went before.
For another Leamington Spa album I also sent Audrey’s Curtains by the Days – again another Chris King song and probably the best of the Days songs; far too good not to be amongst other material from that time. It sits as one of the best on that album. In my biog for each track I described Chris K as being of Brian Wilson standard, so we agree on that one Chris M.
There was no money involved, no promotion, no open doors to record labels, producers etc. my motive was purely to make sure a really great jangle pop song was preserved forever. So I hope you chaps aren’t offended and it sounds like it may have lead to good things.
For the record, I had no idea that I was introduced to the band without consultation and I only ever thought of myself as the bloke who was helping out.
I had no idea you felt that way about the Days Chris K. I would much have preferred the Days to follow the Audrey’s Curtains route rather than the Oasis type stuff we ended up playing. However, you can’t deny we had some great times and did some things that the great majority of amateur bands never get to do – remember the UK tour and that night in Glasgow! We have Steve to thank for all of that.
I hope the release goes well. Keeping writing, singing and jangling.
Thanks very much for your comment Seamus. Surfing Days is a great song and is the only song of ‘The Days’ I liked… probably because it wasn’t a ‘The Days’ song. You wrote a corker there.
Audrey’s curtains is not a ‘The Days’ song, as it was written solely by Matt and myself. It’s a Deddingtons song which the Days did a godawful cover of.
For me The Days was a very painful experience, watching Steve butcher something I loved. I went along with it because I was young and insecure and Steve seemed to be making things happen, but fundamentally he was trying to sell something he’d destroyed on day one.
The Deddingtons is a typical example of why you should never let a music manager have anything to do with your music…….