Exactly 20 years ago today, the hotly-tipped and widely-hyped Gay Dad released their excellent debut single 'To Earth With Love' on 18 January 1999.
Gay Dad were formed in 1994 by former music journalist Cliff Jones
and art magazine publisher Nick Crowe. After recording a demo tape in 1996, the band were the subject of record label interest from Island, Chrysalis, Mercury, EMI and others. They eventually signed to London Records. After touring in 1998, the band began recording with legendary producer Tony Visconti, who co-produced 'To Earth With Love' before the band decided to work with others. The song picked up airplay on Radio 1, and soon Gay Dad became the first act ever to play Top of the Pops without having a record out. Their attention-catching name helped gain the spotlight, as well as the basic, eye-catching blue and white "Walking Man" logo, which was designed by graphic artist Peter Saville. Soon, the band were being hailed as the "saviours of British rock" by the music magazines.
The exciting, invigorating 'To Earth With Love' reached number 10 in the UK singles charts. So how come this excellent band never managed to hit the predicted heights? The debut album 'Leisure Noise' was released in June 1999. It fell way short of expectations, only managing No. 14 in the UK album charts. Disappointing reviews
for some of their live shows started a media backlash. After a few line-up changes, the band also parted with London Records, before signing with the emerging independent record label B-Unique. The more electronic second album 'Transmission' arrived in 2001, but was met with mixed reviews, received no support from the industry, and didn't make the albums charts. Lead single 'Now, Always and Forever' only just failed to make the UK Top 40, and the other songs from the LP also sank. Their final performances were at the Reading and Leeds festivals, with the Leeds set being cut short due to technical issues, resulting in Jones leading the crowd into an acapella version of 'Joy'.
Gay Dad broke up in 2002, with Jones
citing the pressures of excessive hype, as well as negative reactions to the band’s
name. "We got shot out of the cannon, then
things started to get out of control, and as rapidly as we went up, we
came down again... Someone in radio
promotion said he'd resign if he had to work a band called Gay Dad."
While other members of the group went onto make music with other projects, Cliff Jones worked as a songwriter with artists such as Sia, The Electric Soft Parade, and Mark Owen. Nowadays, he has returned to work as a music journalist, also tutoring at the Bristol Institute of Modern Music. Apparently he is also a member of the improvisational band MARCY, which also includes Dan Johnson and Annie Gardiner, who fronts the Bath-based duo The Hysterical Injury .
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