Formed in Bristol in 1983 and active for the next ten years, The Brilliant Corners were destined to become one of those bands whose commercial success never came close to matching their critical acclaim. They were sort of like a south west version of The Smiths, really, only without the record sales, the highly eccentric lead singer or the huge cult following. The songs were often every bit as good, though.
As you might expect for a band with such a long lifespan, the Corners went through quite a few different changes of musical style, but for me their jangly guitar phase, circa 1987, was by far the most memorable.
Which brings us on to today's choice of mp3s. I'd go as far as to say that
Delilah Sands is as joyously melodic a slice of eighties indie pop as you're ever likely to hear, chock full of endearingly wonky (and occasionally indecipherable) lyrics, along with an irresistibly uptempo musical accompaniment. A genuinely great pop song, in short.
Ba-ba-da-da-ba-ba-ba-bah!The Brilliant Corners - Delilah Sands mp3And, from the same year, their inspired tribute to the king of farce, Brian Rix.
The Brilliant Corners - Brian Rix mp3Incidentally, it turns out the Brilliant Corners' name doesn't come from a particularly well-executed football set-piece, as I used to blithely assume, but from a Thelonius Monk jazz passage. Mmm! Nice!
Buy the Brilliant Corners BBC Sessions here.
Visit The Experimental Pop Band (what the Brilliant Corners did next) on MySpace
