Magazine


Their torch is still flaming

Conrad Astley
21/ 4/2006

OKLAHOMA'S Flaming Lips are proof that, in an era obsessed with overnight success, it's sometimes better to let things mature in the barrel for a few years.

The band, with their lush psychedelic sounds and strange song titles, have seemingly come from nowhere to become one of the decade's defining acts.

Lead singer Wayne Coyne, instantly recognisable for his linen suits and silver-flecked mane, may look more like a trendy lecturer than anything approaching a rock god, but their flamboyant live shows - featuring dancers in animal suits, video projections and light shows which Pink Floyd would have been proud of - have become the stuff of legend.

Over the years, the band members have become known as much for their groundbreaking ideas and gimmicks as for their music.

They once released an album containing four CDs which had to be played simultaneously, and came up with the idea of the "headphone concert" - in which they would broadcast their concerts live to small headphone sets given out to audience members, supposedly giving fans a clearer sound while they still felt the power from the PA system.

A few years ago, Q magazine even named the Midwesterners as one of the 50 Bands To See Before You Die - an honour which seemed to place them in the same category as the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall Of China.

But although they are known for having many fans as long in the tooth as they are, there are still plenty of hip young things to be found at their gigs who would not even have been born when the band was formed in 1983.

They spent much of the 80s as bit part players in the American punk scene, releasing albums and EPs through the tiny indie label Restless Records.

A glimpse of the impressive live shows that would follow came as the band slowly built up an underground following on the gig circuit, often incorporating hand puppets, confetti, bubble machines and strings of Christmas lights into their early shows.

Jonathan Donohue, later of fellow psyche-rockers Mercury Rev, temporarily joined the band for 1989's In A Priest Driven Ambulance - starting a long association between the two bands - and they were signed to Warner Bros the following year.

But despite many false dawns throughout the 90s, they seemed destined to remain known as novelty one-hit wonders.

That one hit was the MTV-friendly She Don't Use Jelly, which saw the band rise from obscurity but risked them being forever labelled as embarrassing college rock goons.

But while success seemed tantalisingly close, the band almost fell apart due to those rock staples - internal squabbles and drug abuse.

Multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd's arm almost had to be amputated due to what he claimed was a bite from a poisonous spider.

Although the band later retold the story in The Spiderbite Song, it turned out his arm had grown a huge abscess due to his heroin use.

Another member, Ronald Jones, walked out due to fears about Drozd's drug use.

The band almost left rock music behind for good when they went off in a completely different direction - one which has never been copied by anyone before or since - with the experimental Zaireeka. The album consisted of four CDs, which were to be played simultaneously on four separate CD players - creating a different sound with every listen.

While the album earned them several yards worth of column inches, it was never likely to become a massive hit.

The real breakthrough came with 1999's The Soft Bulletin, an orchestral blend of lush strings, catchy melodies and strange, philosophical lyrics which earned them comparisons with the Beach Boys.

The follow-up, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, was even more upbeat - even though they claimed it was a concept album about death.

And despite the album becoming their first big commercial hit, the band members had to hand over royalties to Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam, who claimed the single Fight Test had copied the tune to his 70s classic, Father And Son.

Their 11th album, At War With The Mystics was released last week, but the hyperactive band members still show no sign of slowing down.

Fans can look forward to their first film, the long-awaited Christmas On Mars, which is due out in the summer.

The Flaming Lips play The Apollo on Tuesday


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