Dawn of The Replicants: Year by YearDawn of The Replicants: Year by Year

1996:

A kitchen table in Galashiels, Scotland is struck by inspiration, for many the Kirkbrae kitchen table rivaled King Arthur's round table. It had seen the birth of cult music magazine "Sun Zoom Spark" and now its wonky young hacks were to have a 2nd child - Dawn of the Replicants. The records were pressed; the radio stations informed and respond they did. John Peel spun their ditty "Lisa Box". Radcliff and Lard flogged the airwaves to death with "Cocaine on the Catwalk". The NME did like! And the phone did ring! White hot with action.

1997:

A man did come, much like the man from Del monte. He said, “Yes”. He was tall and told us to record an album and release singles. He was from East/West records home to The Corrs and Mick Hucknall. Based on our hat trick of wonk rock EPs, the “Times” voted us best new band in Britain and NME made sure we got Single Of The Week honours twice.

1998:

Our maiden voyage LP "One Head, Two Arms, Two Legs" hit the shops in earnest. We supported spiritualised at the Astoria as part of the NME brats nights. Then a spicy dish called "Candlefire" found its way onto daytime Radio One. We toured with Ultrasound and did our own headlining trip around the kingdom, as well as rocking the summer crowds at Glastonbury Reading and Edinburgh festivals. Plus we got on the telly via ITV’s the chart show, Marc Lamar’s ‘Edinburgh nights’ and Trash TV’s show ‘Pop down the pub’.

1999:

Work hard we did on our next LP that we hoped would bring us immortality. Abbey Road flung open its doors and backwards strings we did record. It was the fattest sound in all the land. The press loved it. We loved it. But "Wrong Town, Wrong Planet, Three Hours Late" lived up to its name when East/West wanted no more of the same. "Science Fiction Freak" made John Peels festive 50 ...........if I don’t stop rhyming could someone please hit me.

2000:

Then a busman’s holiday began and the Replicants for a while parted. Founder members Roger and Paul became the electro duo Pluto Monkey. This involved frequent trips to Oxfordshire as this is where their new label Shifty Disco had their seat of power. John Peel dished the Monkey a session and their nutty debut LP "Little Brenda Bluegrass Mission" hit the kingdom’s Indie shops. Melody maker christened them the "Vic and Bob of Indie" but this was to be a brief incarnation and after a drunken gig in their homely shire of Galashiels the Monkey did come to a stop as the Replicants phoenix rose again.

2001:

Inspired by a successful recording session with London based Chanteuse Hypotique it was decided a new Replicants album needed to be recorded. The hunt for a new label, a new sound and a new future began.

2002:

Was Dawn of the Replicants comeback year. Armed with a new album "Touching the Propeller" released through Flying Sparks imprint Hungry Dog, we set to work. A 5th John Peel session was recorded. Our "Rockefeller Center,1932" single was a-listed on 6 Music and the press loved the album saying it was up there with the best of our late 90ties work and that it was great to have us back. We played gigs and people came and clapped.

2003:

Then that tricky fourth album beckoned and into the studio once more we were banished. Forced to dream it all up again, like a mad crazy Borders’ Mr. Ben.

2004:

At last our fourth album "The Extra Room" was released from the traps. The album’s cover jumped from the record racks portraying us all as country gents in a reading room dressed up in junk box finds. Even fashion bible "The Face" printed the image in there ‘desirable vinyl’ selection. Bizarrely the Beta Band seemed to have the same idea getting a family portrait done in the very same room with the very same photographer. "Oi! Get your own naff cover" screamed the headline in the Scottish Sun. Apparently it was a case of great minds think alike. Soon after the Beta Band split, but as ever we soldiered on. Sadly outliving our most famous fan, the father of invention, John Ravencroft. To the funeral we did go and paid our respects to the great listening man.

2005:

This year started with pudding in the oven as “Bun Magic” was realised onto the plates of the media. This mini LP included a barn yard tumbling cover of "Rhinestone Cowboy". "Bun Magic"'s mission was to drum up as much hype as we could about our forthcoming trip to Austin, Texas, as we had been accepted to play at the world famous South by South West festival. Marc Riley had us in for a session to celebrate, as did BBC Scotland’s Tom Morton. As for the NME they proclaimed that "the world would be a much better place if we all took time to remember how utterly fuckerly ace The Replicants are". We went out to Texas with high spirits and played a great showcase and enjoyed some Texan hospitality from our hosts the bonnie house girls. We returned to Scotland and signed to their fifth label in ten years, SL Records, who were clearly undaunted by our reputation as Galashiels most difficult ragtag heroes.

2006:

This our tenth anniversary. The celebrations started with the release of our 5th studio album the mighty “FANGS”, arguably our best batch of songs yet. Mojo gave the spike toothed opus four stars, Q called it “a lovely album” and NME went loopy saying “they don’t so much plough their own furrow as invent an entirely new farm in which all the livestock speak Spanish and wear funny hats”. We toured the isle packing them out in Glasgow, Brighton, London and Edinburgh, entertaining converts new and old. MTV spun our pop videos for “Oh, Bumblebee” and “Fix The Air”. We rattled off sessions of wonky audio gems for Huw Stephens on BBC Radio One, Vic Galloway on BBC Scotland and Jim Gellatly on Xfm plus finding time to pop down to abbey road to record our live set for us based u-pop radio.

It seems the perfect way to wrap the year up is to pop out our singles compendium “Bust The Trunk” and its accompanying DVD of Replicants vision brandy “Bust Your Peepers”.

May melodies and lunacy reign supreme....

Last updated in September 2006

The Replicants are unique and enthralling Mojo

A most unlikely, yet brilliantly exhilarating rock band The Independent

Fast becoming indispensable British eccentrics NME

The temptation is to go "Yeehaw!" John Peel

Free of mainstream influence they’re able to sway, skip and swing their own rhythm, creating beautiful widescreen masterpieces from the darker side of acid-abused pop. Way-out, man. Time Out

In a modern world gone mad, these bastard children of Frank Zappa-esque grandiose are it’s sure-fire remedy. Record Collector

D.O.T.R don’t so much plough their own furrow as invent an entirely new kind of farm in which all the livestock speak Spanish and wear funny hats. NME

Like Colombo, their shambolic and unfashionable exteriors disguise a keen instinct for murderous riffs and lethal choruses The Skinny

• 

  Dawn of the Replicants

  Chaos In An Inkwell (So Far So Spitfire Explained)

  Album

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  Always confusing, frequently brilliant, and at their most appealing when they're most confused. Melody Maker

  Tracklisting:

  1. 1 - Cocaine On The Catwalk (So Far So Spitfire EP, 1996)
  2. 2 - Chaos In An Inkwell
  3. 3 - Showgirls In The Mist
  4. 4 - Diggin Bear (So Far So Spitfire EP, 1996)
  5. 5 - Big Hefty Hounds (Soundstation demo, 1998)
  6. 6 - Mary Louise (4-track demo, 1995)
  7. 7 - Rope Tricks (Crunchy Joseph, 1995)
  8. 8 - Lisa Box (So Far So Spitfire EP, 1996)
  9. 9 - Recovery Position
  10. 10 - Joe Meek
  11. 11 - Float On A Raft (Crunchy Joseph, 1995)
  12. 12 - Bizarre Concoction (So Far So Spitfire EP, 1996)
  13. 13 - Method Acting
• 

  Dawn of the Replicants

  Bust The Trunk

  Album

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  Debut single "Cocaine on the Catwalk" still sounds as unusually brilliant as it did first time around, the sinister stomp of "Rule the Roost" remains a minor late-90s gem, and the more recent "Oh, Bumblebee" is oddball pop personified. Paul Vickers unique vocal whine hovers delightfully through it all, occupying a self-effacing space somewhere between the sound of Nick Cave and Billy Corgan Record Collector

  Tracklisting:

  1. 1 - Cocaine On The Catwalk
  2. 2 - Lisa Box
  3. 3 - Skullcrusher (David Holmes/Tim Goldsworth Remix)
  4. 4 - Radars
  5. 5 - Candlefire
  6. 6 - Hogwash Farm: Rebuilt
  7. 7 - Mary Louise
  8. 8 - Born in Baskets
  9. 9 - Rule The Roost
  10. 10 - Science Fiction Freak
  11. 11 - Love Is A Curse
  12. 12 - Leaving Town
  13. 13 - Smoke Without Fire
  14. 14 - Rockerfeller Centre 1932>
  15. 15 - Everyone In Heaven Is Afraid Of Heights
  16. 16 - Won't Harm A Fly
  17. 17 - Ricecake Rabbit Soul
  18. 18 - Essence Of Maureen
  19. 19 - Little Driver
  20. 20 - Oh, Bumblebee
  21. 21 - Fix The Air
  22. 22 - Cocaine On The Catwalk (1996)
• 

  Dawn of the Replicants

  Fangs

  Album

  Download Now Buy CD Listen more info

  D.O.T.R don’t so much plough their own furrow as invent an entirely new kind of farm in which all the livestock speak Spanish and wear funny hats. They are as the hip-hoppers say, on some other shit, and never more so then here...dipsomaniac rumba (liqueur lagoon) lo-fi waltz (pterodactyl) and at least one vitriolic pop classic in Little Driver N.M.E.

  Tracklisting:

  1. 1 - Essence of Maureen
  2. 2 - Oh, Bumble Bee
  3. 3 - Blue Bugle
  4. 4 - Liqueur Lagoon
  5. 5 - Wrap Flows
  6. 6 - Fix The Air
  7. 7 - Good Morning, It's Midnight
  8. 8 - Little Driver
  9. 9 - French Toast
  10. 10 - Fangs
  11. 11 - Power Fitz
  12. 12 - Pterodactyl
  13. 13 - Spear That Tear
  14. 14 - Night Flight and Devilry