Here are 6 tracks from a little known band from Southampton called Big Bear Little Bear.
Yeah, just like the well known children book by David Bedford. The curious thing is that the book was published in 2001. The band recorded in the 80s. But maybe it has to do with Big Bear, Little Bear, a spy thriller published in 1981 by David Brierley? I guess that is a question that won’t be easy to answer today/
These 6 tracks are on Soundcloud, Rick Aplin, the vocalist and keyboardist, uploaded them 2 years ago.
The songs are an interesting mix of new wave with the indie pop sounds of the time. You’ll find the tracks “Where is the Dance”, “Mayday”, “Television”, “You Had Me”, “Moonwalking” and “Where is the Dance”. Fun to listen to them.
We also get the names of the other band members. So we know Rick Aplin was the vocalist and keyboardist, then there is Andy Keen on guitar and vocals, John Russell-Sanders on bass and vocals and Paul Bringloe on drums.
On Rick’s Soundcloud you will find more songs, by other projects of his.
But then there is another great find. I find video footage of the band playing “Where is the Dance?” at The Crystal Rooms in Portsmouth in 1984. The quality is not great, but check it out.
So the questions arise. The band didn’t release any records. So the songs must have come from a demo tape. One? Two? And then what happened to them? Did the members continue making music? Who would know?
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
