Flesh for Lulu

When punk met goth

This week I have been listening a great deal to Long live the new flesh (great title!) by Flesh for Lulu. They were among the first of the 1980's goth bands and, until recently, the only track I could name of theirs was their epic 12" EP Roman Candle.

I've made a long search for this as an MP3 file to replace the worn out party mix cassette but I've drawn a big blank. I have, however, found this album, which dates from 1987. This was when things were really taking off for the band with a world tour and a conspicuous presence on MTV. But their fans viewed all this activity as selling out.

It was about this time that I saw them in Brixton as they supported The Ramones and - dare I say it - I enjoyed Flesh for Lulu more on that night. I seem to recall that they were having a great time on stage.

But somehow their records have eluded me. So I bought this album just before Christmas and the more I listen to it the more I like it.

Personal favourites are Postcards from Paradise, Hammer of Love, Siamese Twist (the babies singing is really funny), I'm not like everybody else and Dumbest thing (live in your living room)

There is a little bit where Nick Marsh's singing is incredibly reminiscent of Roman Candle. The EP (whisper it) went on a bit but too much of a good thing is just divine (Oscar Wilde).