The story of The Dentists was outlined in great detail in an earlier edition of this series (Parts 43-46), but a quick reminder that they were active between 1984 and 1995, during which time they released ten singles/EPs and four albums.
mp3: Peppermint Dreams – The Dentists
Track 9, Disc Two of C86 The Deluxe 3CD Edition
One of five tunes to be found on the 12″ EP Down and Out In Paris and Chatham, released in 1986 on their own Tambourine Records.
The second time that The Dentists have featured and the second time the word ‘Dream’ has featured in the song title.
The Noseflutes, from Birmingham, released three EPs and three albums between 1986 and 1991.
The first two releases were the debut EP, Girth, which came out in 1986 and the album Several Young Men Ignite Hardboard Stump in 1987, both on Reflex Records which was based in Malvern, Worcestershire.
mp3: Perfect Cockney Hard-On – The Noseflutes
Track 12, Disc Three of C86 The Deluxe 3CD Edition
The opening track on the debut album.
A columnist in a Birmingham newspaper once said The Noseflutes were a ‘wonderfully perverse avant weird outfit’. If you want my take, there’s at least one too many words in that description.
The next two EPs would be issued by Ron Johnson Records in 1986 and 1987, while two albums would be issued courtesy of their own label, Rictus Recordings in 1989 and 1991.
The Soup Dragons, from Bellshill (see previous entries in the series) were initially active between 1985 and 1995, and again since 2023. There were sixteen singles and four albums first time around, and there’s been one single since the comeback, albeit there’s been loads of gigs.
An initial flexidisc release brought them to the attention of the Bristol-based The Subway Organisation, and their debut single, Whole Wide World was released in mid-1986, reaching #2 on the indie chart
mp3: Pleasantly Surprised – The Soup Dragons
Track 3 on side 1 of the C86 cassette; Track 3, Disc One of C86 The Deluxe 3CD Edition
Yup, one of the two songs on the b-side of the debut single was already known via its inclusion on the C86 cassette.
This was the only single the band would issue via Subway as they were then snapped up by Big Life Records, a label best known for dance music but whose owners thought The Soup Dragons would be the next big thing in indie music, while Sire Records took care of everything for the band stateside. As it turned out, the band’s indie-style music never took them beyond cult status, but by 1990, having experimented a bit with drum machines and samplers and edged their way into what would be termed indie-dance, they really hit the big time, with hit singles on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Soup Dragons disbanded in 1995, and its members went into do all sorts of things in music via other bands, DJ’ing and mixing.
Spoiler alert…..Whole Wide World will feature later on in this series.
This Poison!, from Perth (Scotland and not Australia!) came together in 1985 and disbanded in 1989, and would release just two singles during that time.
Like many other bands of the era, their initial demo recordings were on cassette, copies of which were sent out to all and sundry in the hope of landing a record deal. The band members also thought that Perth, being a reasonably-sized city, could get a big enough audience to attract indie bands slogging their way around the UK, and so they set themselves up as promoters.
One of the bands who agreed to play in Perth was The Wedding Present, in 1986. David Gedge liked what he heard on the demo tape and invited This Poison! to record and release singles via his band’s newly established Reception Records. The debut, Engine Failure, was released in 1987, the catalogue number shows it was released between You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends and George Best.
Next up was their second and as it turns out, final single
mp3: Paused Over The Pause Button – This Poison!
Track 16, Disc 2 of CD86.
Another of the great lost 45s of the era, if very much of its time. It was released, going by the catalogue number, immediately before Nobody’s Twisting Your Arm. Derek Moir, the guitarist with This Poison! has since said that the inability to fully market the singles proved to be a hindrance, and in due course the collapse of Red Rhino Distribution meant there was no money for a planned third single, and so the band called it a day.
JC
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
Exclamation points aside, This Poison! and Shine! are my two favorite early Weddoes wannabes from this era.
For the short time that I used Twitter I came into direct contact with This Poison!, just before the release of the Peel Session – 2 x 7”. While I can’t claim any knowledge of online activity beforehand the interactions I had, (I’m sorry, the name of the band member won’t come to me and I’m not looking it up) were knowledgeable (of that period of music in general) and humorous.
I was unaware of the band in its hey day. It wasn’t till Poised Over The Pause Button appeared on my radar, via a compilation CD (can’t recall which one), that I really took to the band only to find out that releases were few and far between.
A case of quality, not quantity.
Flimflamfan