| Love and Money | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Genres | Pop rock |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Members | |
| James Grant Paul McGeechan Bobby Paterson Douglas MacIntyre Gordon Wilson Stuart Kerr |
|
Love and Money is a rock/soul/funk band formed in 1985 in Glasgow, Scotland. The band was formed by three former members of Friends Again (singer-songwriter and guitarist James Grant, drummer Stuart Kerr and keyboardist Paul McGeechan) along with bassist Bobby Paterson, who replaced Friends Again's Neil Cunningham and who had been a member of Set The Tone, a band previously signed to Island Records in 1983.[1]
In their initial nine years together they recorded four moderately successful albums, three of which were released in the United States, and had six chart hits in the United Kingdom.[2]
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Signing to Phonogram's Mercury Records in the United Kingdom, they recorded "Candybar Express" with production from Duran Duran's Andy Taylor, and this recording became their first hit receiving considerable airplay in the U.S. and reaching number 56 in the UK Singles Chart in the spring of 1986.[2] Shortly afterwards they released their debut album, All You Need is Love and Money produced by Tom Dowd but this failed to chart. Follow up singles Dear John and River Of People were released to modest success. In September 1986, the group played an Artists Against Apartheid concert at Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, alongside acts such as The Big Dish and Lloyd Cole. The band also had a high profile support slot with U2 at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh.
The 1988 follow-up album Strange Kind of Love (which featured Toto's Jeff Porcaro on drums following the departure of Kerr) was overseen by Steely Dan producer Gary Katz and featured the minor hit Halleluiah Man which helped to establish a sizeable following for the band. The more restrained production and the band's refined and tight funk sound made the album almost unrecognisable from their earliest work. Further singles Strange Kind of Love and Jocelyn Square charted, although they did not break into the Top 40.
The band toured extensively to promote Strange Kind Of Love, including the United States and Japan and garnered support slots with Tina Turner, Simply Red and BB King. Part of the band's performance at the Eden Court Theatre in Inverness was filmed for BBC Scotland's Sounds of Eden programme. A half hour set from the band also featured on the Night Network television show and they performed the Strange Kind Of Love single on Wogan.
Strange Kind of Love was re-released in April 2010 with added demos and new sleeve notes from James Grant, Paul McGeechan and Gary Katz.
The band, now supplemented by permanent drummer Gordon Wilson and rhythm guitarist Douglas MacIntyre, returned to the studio to record the follow-up, to be entitled The Mother's Boy, but the songs met disapproval from Phonogram. The release was scrapped and the band returned to the studio. Several of the tracks including proposed album opener Hubcap to Blue Town, Blue Eyed World (played on the Strange Kind of Love tour), and True Believer would reappear as b-sides to the singles from the eventual follow-up Dogs in the Traffic. Pappa Death would appear on Dogs In The Traffic and No Chicane on Grant's solo debut Sawdust In My Veins. At least one track, Amaranth, has yet to see the light of day.
Dogs in the Traffic is considered by many to be Love and Money's greatest achievement and was included in the All Time Top 100 Scottish Pop and Rock albums in The Scotsman newspaper (at number 30). The album reflected Grant's growing maturity as a writer and the stripped-down arrangements allowed greater emphasis on his lyrics and melodies. The band gave a pre-release playthrough of the album at City Halls in Candleriggs, Glasgow which included an encore featuring Tom Waits' Clap Hands and Bob Dylan's You Ain't Goin' Nowhere. Three further singles were released, My Love Lives In A Dead House, the Wishing Waters EP on which live favourite Looking For Angeline was lead track, and Winter.
Love and Money's fourth and final album, Littledeath (1993) was released independently on Iona Gold records and featured what would be the band's last single, Last Ship on the River. Due primarily to lack of promotion, Littledeath sold 25,000, around one tenth of the sales for Strange Kind of Love and the group were subsequently released from Mercury. Bassist Bobby Paterson had split from the band to form a career in bar management and did not feature on this album, Grant himself taking on bass duties. The remainder of the band went their separate ways in 1994, although they did regroup for one final gig at Glasgow Barrowland on 23 December 1994 entitled "Love and Money: RIP" where older hits were dusted off, alongside newer material and a cover of Bowie's Ziggy.
Robert Armstrong Paterson was born in 1956 in Carntyne, Glasgow. In the 1970s he recorded with Sandy McClelland and the Backline; in the 1980s with Set The Tone, who released a number of singles and an album on Island Records. The singles Rap Your Love and Dance Sucker were club hits at the time, with the latter remixed by Francois Kevorkian.
Following involvement in the original incarnation of Primal Scream, he became a member of Love and Money, where he remained for nine years.
Leaving Love and Money before their last album littledeath was released, he moved into bar and club management in Glasgow, overlooking Big Beat owned clubs such as Expo and The Tunnel Club before setting up and running the innovative boutique hotel, Saint Jude's.
More recently he formed a new band with Adrian Barry and Bobby Bluebell from 1980s hitmakers The Bluebells, called the Poems. Their CD is entitled Young America.
He died in Glasgow on the 23 July 2006.
James Grant released his first solo album Sawdust in My Veins in 1998 and has released four further albums, My Thrawn Glory, I Shot The Albatross (a collection of poetry set to music), Holy Love, and Strange Flowers. The latter was released in February 2009 and Grant premiered the tracks at the Glasgow ABC venue as part of the 2009 Celtic Connections festival.
Grant also scored the film, The Near Room and has collaborated with Capercaillie's Karen Matheson, performing live and writing songs for her solo records.
[Review of James Grant's solo album Strange Flowers http://www.dailymusicguide.com/Reviews/james-grant-strange-flowers-album-review-06062009-1539.aspx
Love & Money reformed 'for one night only' for a successful sell out show at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall as part of Celtic Connections 2011. They played the albums Strange Kind of Love and Dogs in the Traffic in their entirety and, on an emotional night, dedicated the song Walk The Last Mile to bassist Bobby Paterson who passed away in 2006. It was announced in March 2011 that the band would continue their reunion with a show at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow on 4 December 2011. The band's fifth studio album 'The Devil's Debt' is scheduled for release in 2012.
''Strange Kind of Love'' (2010 Remaster) The album is reissued by Cherry Red Records on 19 April. It has been remastered by Paul McGeechan from the original master tapes and includes 6 unreleased demos and forewords from James, Paul and producer Gary Katz.
Bonus Tracks