Day 586

Roller Derby: a few months ago we discovered this pop trio from Hamburg and of course I kept an eye on them. The band has just released a new digital single titled “Something True” that is really nice, with a cool mix of English and French lyrics.

The Royal Landscaping Society: our friends Cris and David from Sevilla have just released a wonderful new song called “Profit and Loss” that will also be in a split 7″ with another friendly band, Fantasy Postards. The song is really good, as it is the norm with them. We need more of their shimmery pop. More often. More and more. This just feels too little!

EEP: now time to head to El Paso, Texas. Why? There’s a cool shoegaze band there called EEP.  Their latest song is titled “Here We Are” and it is a catchy pop tune. The band is formed by Ross Ingram, Rosie Varela, Sebastian Estrada, Serge Carrasco and Lawrence Brown III. Let’s keep an eye on them!

Slack Times: just listened to the song “Can’t Count on Anyone” that is the opening track of the “At the Blue Melon Rendezvous” and thought, this is great. But what about the other 3 songs? Well, can’t listen to them. The band’s EP was released on October 15 and is available in physical format, on CD!

Colatura: and we end this review with a NYC band! Cool. I still wonder when I’ll go to a gig in this city! The latest release by this trio is a song titled “The Met”! Yes, just like the museum! I miss going there too! The song is really really good. You wonder why it is not on a vinyl record, a cd, or even a cassette?

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Time to travel to Ghent, Belgium. That’s where the early 90s quartet The Pink Flowers were based.

It’s been a while since I wrote about a Belgian band. There are many good ones and it is always a good time to discover them.

The Pink Flowers must have started late in the 80s. The first time we hear about them is in 1988 on a compilation LP titled “JP Van Presents The Belgian Garagemania Vol. 4” that was released by Boom! Records (BOOM! 4). ON this compilation the band appears with the song “Long Black Hair”.  The following year their song “Fire to Burn” is included in the next volume of this series, “The Belgian Garagemania 5” (BOOM! 5).

Boom Records would be the band’s place. Their home. In 1990 the label founded in 1987 by Jean-Pol Van Haesendonk (known as JP Van), releases the band’s first album “April Showers” (BOOM! 11). It came out on vinyl and included 12 songs. These were “Big Stone”, “Long Ago”, “As the Night Fades Away”, “Inner Shadow”, “Troubles in Your Hand” and “Death of Greedy Liver” on the A side and “Waiting for a Better Time’, “I Should Have Known”, “I’m a Woman”, “One Thing Missing”, “Your Door” and “Break Away”. These were recorded at TOP Studio in Ghent. The producer was JP Van while the engineer was Fernand Buyls. The songs were recorded during the winter of 1989 and 1990. The art of the record was created by Margot Trofs (logo), Carlo “Rif Raf” Wauters (layout) and Bernaded Dexters (photos).

On the credits we see that Michel Vanneste and Piet de Ceuleneere played guest guitar, Nils de Caster on guest violin, JP Van on guest voacls and bluesharp. Christophe Ysabie played bass and vocals, Piet Vermeulen the drums, Bruno Deneckere on voacls and guitar and Peter Ysabie on guitar.

In 1991 the band contributes the song “South Park Musing” to a CD compilation called “Girls and Guitars Vol. 1” released by Boom! Records (BOOM! 18). That same year the band releases a second album called “Tune In!”. This one came out on CD on Boom! Records (BOOM! 20) and on LP on the German label Smarten-Up! (Big Start 18-1). The CD version had 18 songs while the LP 14. The songs on the CD were “Whales’ Talking Blues”, “Nefertari”, “Falling Angel”, “Lilly”, “Paralysed”, “Don’t Let Me Beg for Another Day”, “So Long (I Knew You Well)”, “11 NY Dancing”, “Here He Comes”, “Wide and Lonely”, “Sing for Me Sandy”, “You Got me Under”, “Swan Song”, “All I Want is You”, “Loose, Losing”, “Tune In” and “Tomorrow”. The LP, with a band photo on the cover, had a totally different tracklist. This time we find “One Thing Missing”, “Paralized”, “Fallen Angel”, “Lilly”, “You’ve Got Me Under”, “Here He Comes” and “Just a Covern” on the A side and “Wide and Lonely”, “Sing for me Sandy”, “11 NY Dancing”, “Cannot Spend my Time”, “Swan Song”, “So Long” and “Nefertari”.

1992 sees the band release two 7″ singles, I suppose to promote the album. The one thing that is interesting is that these come out in a Greek label called Who Stole the Summer? Records. This label was originally from Kavala and later moved to Thessaloniki. The first single was “So Long” (WSTS 7001) with two B sides, “Tomorrow” and “The One I Need”. The second single was “Nefertari” (WSTS 7005) with “All I Want is You” and “Where You Are” on the B side. The illustration of this last single’s artwork is credited to Marx while the layout to Herman & Isabelle.

1993 is another good year for the band. They include their song “Blind Man’s Son” to “Rifraf Volume Two”, a CD comp released by Liquid (2100486). This was a Belgian label of course.  Their last album, “Blind Man’s Son” comes out this year on CD (BOOM! 5). 11 songs are in this album, “Long-Haired Friend of Mine”, “Killing a Crook”, “Three Reasons for Loving”, “Mary Magdalene”, “Blind Man’s Son”, “Shouldn’t She Get a Lotta Love”, “Bad Years Gone”, “Annie”, “Weather”, “Beautiful Morning” and “Another Song”. On the credits we only see one familiar name, Bruno Daneckere on vocals, guitar and harmonica. The other band members had already changed. Jo Liégois on bass and backing vocals, Ivo Tops was on drums, Marc Vranken on guitar, Patrick Riguelle on lapsteel guitar, mandolin and backing vocals, Guy Van Nueten on piano and Nils de Caster on violin and backing vocals. Patrick Riguelle was also the producer. The artwork layout is credited to Herman Verbelen.

1994 is a year where the band appears on three CD compilations and it is always the same song, “Weather”. It appears on “Basta” released by Humo, “Faces Vol. 3” releasd by Face Records (FACE 007) and Elephant Candy? (CANDY? 038) and on “Die Nieuwstraat Van Studio Brussel – Vol. 3” released on Play That Beat! (AMC 54 006). All of these were Belgian compilations but the Face Records one that was from Italy.

In 1996 the band’s song “I Confess” appears on the CD compilation “Kort Gerockt” released by Backline and De Gentenaar. This was a Belgian release of course. Then in 2006 the song “Blind Man’s Son” appears on “Bel 90 – Het Beste Uit de Belpop Van 1993” released by EMI and also on another EMI release, the 10CD boxset “Bel 90 – Het Beste Uit De Belpop Van 1990-1999”. I suppose the first CD was part of the boxset.

The last time we hear from them is in 2013 when their song “You Got Me Under” is included in “Best of Belgian Garage Mania! Volume One” released by Starman Records (SMR006).

There is on Discogs another compilation called “Wild Folk for Hobo Sailors and Pink Ladies” that Boom Records released (Mood 125). There is no date for this release but we see some Pink Flowers songs on it, “Loose, Losing”, “Yune in”, “Hard to Tell”, “Three Reasons for Loving”, “Weather”, “Blind Man’s Song”, “So Long”, “Tomorrow”, “I Confess” and “The Facts”. This compilation is on Bandcamp actually.

On this same Bandcamp by Boom! Records you can find “Tune In” and “Blind Man’s Son” as well. Just missing the first album.

Then my next step is to look at what other bands the members may have been involved with. Ivo Tops had been in a band called Hombres Amplificados. Patrick Riguelle on K 13, Riguelle & Hautekiet, The Groove Quartet, Well Well and Zakformaat XL. Guy Van Nueten was on Chitlin’ Fooks, Mitsoobishy Jacson, Sukilove, The Sands and Zon & Xero. Nils de Caster on Guy Verlinde Trio, Het Gespuis, The Broken Circle Breakdown Bluegrass Band.

Then Christophe Ysabie was in Radio Bangkok who I wrote about, and this was the way I discovered The Pink Flowers. Bruno Deneckere was on Het Gespuis and has had a good solo career as well as releasing an album alongside Nils De Caster.

There is too a website for Bruno Deneckere but there’s not much info about The Pink Flowers.

Not much more info about The Pink Flowers. At least I can’t find more details. There is a bit more about Bruno as a solo artist but not much more. I did find that The Pink Flowers started in 1986 and one wonders of the band did recordings during those early years.

Anyhow, that was cool, getting to know a Belgian band, right? Are there any other Belgian guitar pop bands you like? I admit I don’t know that many. Any recommendations or any information about The Pink Flowers will be appreciated!

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Listen
The Pink Flowers – Big Stone