Claytown Troupe
| Claytown Troupe | |
|---|---|
| Origin |
Bristol, Bath, Weston-super-Mare |
| Genres | Gothic rock, Post-punk, Alternative Rock, Hard rock |
| Years active | 1984 – present |
| Labels |
Island Records EMI Records |
| Website | claytowntroupe |
| Members | Christian Riou Richard Williams Tim Stephens Damon Williams Phil Martini |
Claytown Troupe are an alternative rock band from Bristol, England who came to success in 1989.
The Claytown Troupe were formed in 1984 in Bristol by lead singer Christian Riou, who claimed in an NME interview that a local clairvoyant advised him to form a band called "the Clayton Troop" who would have minor success & see America which is exactly what happened to the band.
By late '87, after various line-up changes, Riou & keyboardist Richard Williams spent just a month writing 10 songs influenced by a wide range of bands from The Cult to the Hothouse Flowers, combining the dark edge of goth rock but with a melodic & lyrical style that would not appear until a few years later with grunge.
After recruiting guitarist Adrian Bennett & bassist Paul Waterson in early 1988, the band created an accomplished live show, & having gained notoriety supporting acts that included Fields of the Nephilim, Alien Sex Fiend, Chiefs of Relief, etc.. they built a hardcore fanbase who followed bands such as The Cult, New Model Army & The Mission.
During the summer of 1988 the band were included, along with The Wedding Present, The Trudy & The Hunters Club, on a 4-track EP on the cover of House of Dolls, a popular mainstream alternative music magazine.
Coupled with a self-financed video of this demo version of the song 'Prayer' & directed by Nathan Richards (who later directed the Emmy nominated EMF 'Unbelievable video), the band started to attract major record label interest and bigger audiences.
In September 1988, Riou & Williams spent a month meeting various A & R departments with the novelty of a pro-video rather than the standard demo tape. This generated interest & offers from various labels including Beggars Banquet, EMI, Chrysalis etc... but on meeting A & R man James Dowdall, the band were signed to Island Records (their fastest ever signing) by Ron Fair, who also produced the debut album, Through the Veil with extra mixes by Ralph Jezzard.
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