Wikipedia: Ammonites are an extinct group of marine animals of the subclass Ammonoidea in the class Cephalopoda, phylum Mollusca. They are excellent index fossils, and it is often possible to link the rock layer in which they are found to specific geological time periods.
Our own indiepop history: The Ammonites are also an extinct group of guitar pop enthusiasts. They were Rich (guitars/vocals), Robbe (bass), Shane (guitar) and Robyn (drums). Robyn had changed his name from “Robin” in honour of his hero, Robyn Hitchcock. It was a band that only had one proper release and by google indexing standards they are only linked to… well, nothing aside one blog entry by my good friend Alex from Spain. Their time period is easy task. They were around the late eighties early nineties, like most of the bands I like. What else? Rock layers? not quite, this is pretty much P!O!P! with a youthful punk-ish attitude that bursts joy. Class? guitar driven pop. Phylum? They were part of the Rutland family. Does that cover it all? Not really. Indiepop is much more than encyclopeadiac terms.
I’ve been glued to Youtube watching their video for You, Me and the Sun. How old were they? They seem as if they were 16 when they recorded this funny backyard video. I wonder about this track. Maybe it was released on any of those cassette demos? Maybe on The Ammonites tape? Or in the Doncaster EP? Perhaps on the FunLovePopFish one? Could be on the In Their Element? Or on that compilation tape? I can’t tell. I’ve never seen one of these cassettes. Maybe somebody out there knows?
All of these tapes were released by Rutland Records, home of PO!, The Originals, The Waiting List, and more; in summary, many of the best bands from Leicestershire. So it was no surprise that the wonder kids of Leicester released here their Head Full of Strange 7″. A rush of guitar juvenilia expressed in three songs: A side “Coming Down” and B sides “Stupid” and “Teenage Pop-Kid Dreamin’”. A brilliant debut especially thanks to the nervy Teenage Pop-Kid Dreamin’, with it’s witty tongue-in-cheek lyrics and Ramones’ guitar blazes. This is the last notice there was from the band. It was 1991.
They did contribute to a couple of compilations and split flexis:
// All We Had – on the Mind the Gap compilation. This tape was released by Peter Twee.net, when he used to run this German mailorder. “All We Had” is actually really good, this time The Ammonites go berserk with fuzzy guitars!
// Stupid – same track from the 7″ on a tape compilation that came with the third issue of the Big Muff fanzine. The compilation is not that great and it’s quite long. There are some hits, like The Emotionals or The Love Buttons, and misses, like Sofahead or Scott Bond. There’s a live Amelia Fletcher song though, always interesting for all her fans.
// Missing You – on the first Waterbomb fanzine flexi. A lovely Brigitte Bardot on the picture sleeve maybe missing us? On the credits Robin is still Robin with an I. They share the flexi with Paintbox.
// Jennifer – a lovely track, one of The Ammonite’s best. I do hope my friend Jennifer knows about. I think I forgot to show it to her! It was released on 1990 on The Boshi Label which later became Sugarfrost Records. This was Akiko’s original Japanese label. She used to write the 5000 Miles From George Square fanzine. I really enjoy that her catalog numbering nods to Roddy Frame. This is a split flexi shared with The Philips. This is RODDY 007.
// Stupid – again the 7″ track, this time on another compilation called “And they Call it Pop” on Fragrant Records. I don’t know much about this one.
// It Hurts Inside – maybe my least favourite song by them. Perhaps because it’s the least pop of them all? It appeared on the Everlasting Happiness tape, which is really good overall. This tape was made by another good friend, Andreas Hering from Germany, who now is half of Adventure Playground, bringing some great bands to Hamburg!
// Stupid – again and again! this time on the Just Another… Compilation cassette. The label is Flippin Ace Recording Co. No idea about this compilation. Nada.
They wanted to release an album. I wonder what happened. They totally disappeared. Robyn went to join Ruth’s Refrigerator, The Calender Dream, a mod band called Immediate and Ambrose Tompkins. But that’s all I can tell. Maybe somebody there knows a bit more? Maybe it’s time to unearth these gems and release that long overdue album? I think it is!
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