"The June Brides are true innovators, hailing from the first wave of British indie, with fans that include Manic Street Preachers (who covered their song “The Instrumental” as a tribute), Morrissey and Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch. They have always been regarded as pioneers, and one of the most beloved of the bands that formed the original UK independent music scene, which has since been tagged as C86. Now they‘re back with a new single, and a line-up that consists of most of the original members, including main songwriter, vocalist and guitarist, Phil Wilson.



The June Brides first formed in South East London in 1983 .  After a short phase playing local venues, they soon became favourites at Alan McGee's Living Room Club. They went on to release  five singles/EPs and one LP, There Are Eight Million Stories, which reached Number 1 in the UK Independent Albums Chart for a month, remaining in the charts for a total of 38 weeks.　The band also appeared on the cover of NME, toured with The Smiths and were cited by Morrissey as his favourite group of 1985.　



“The June Brides came from a post punk generation of musicians who were actually more interested in music than appearing in Heat or Hello magazines.　 They were art for arts sake.　 Old-school indie and all the better for it.　 Phil Wilson was a very good songwriter.”- Alan McGee, Creation Records
　
After the June Brides broke up in ’86, the band’s singer and principal songwriter, Phil Wilson cut 2 solo singles for Alan McGee’s Creation Records. Phil’s debut solo outing, Waiting For a Change, showed his love for country music- a bold step at a time when country was largely unappreciated by indie audiences. By taking this risk, Phil paved the way for scores of other independent acts, who would also eventually embrace country.

Phil’s final single of the 80s was the upbeat but mournful Better Days, a collaboration with Primal Scream guitarist Andrew Innes. The single, highly collectable, was released on Caff Records, the label run by soon-to-be Saint Etienne member, Bob Stanley."



They're back again...

The recent revival of The June Brides



This happened gradually and naturally, as Phil  Wilson started to record and play live again in 2008. Fronting a trio under his own name, Phil initially played a handful of gigs up and down the country, backed by Arash Torabi on bass guitar and backing vocals, and Andy Fonda on drums. A one-off June Brides reunion show happened in London, early 2009, after which two more of the band’s original members, Jon Hunter (trumpet) and Frank Sweeney (viola) started to join Phil and his new band, playing more London shows, a live session for Marc Riley on BBC 6 Music and short tours of Germany and California. This five-piece line-up also recorded the well-received album “God Bless Jim Kennedy” in 2010 (as Phil Wilson), on Slumberland Records.  The album resulted in great reviews from many websites and publications worldwide, including Uncut and Mojo magazines, plus airplay on the BBC by Steve Lamacq , Mark Riley and Stuart Baillie.

When original Creation Records artistes, The Loft asked Phil Wilson to play a show with them in London on November 2011, the band’s line-up was extended to include yet another original June Brides member, Simon Beesley (guitar/vocals). This was played as The June Brides, as was the band’s next show, the triumphant gig at Madrid Pop Festival in Spring 2012. As Phil puts it himself:



“Well, we didn’t really plan to reform….it just sort of happened. I formed a band three years ago with Andy Fonda on Drums and Arash Torabi on bass. We played a few gigs as a trio, but then two of the original June Brides, Frank Sweeney and Jon Hunter decided to join us for the odd concert. I continued to call the band after myself, just to make the point that it was a new start, and I didn’t want to cash in on the June Brides name. However, when The Loft contacted us last year to play a one-off concert with them, to recreate Alan McGee’s Living Room club, I asked our old guitarist Simon Beesley to play with us. From there on it, it seemed a bit foolish to resist referring to it as The June Brides any longer.”

Steve Beswick replaced Andy Fonda on drums in 2012, as Andy was no longer in a position to be able to commit to play for the band. We're all grateful for Andy's hard work and input!