đŹđ§ The Vow â Julia
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Genesis
The Vow was formed in September 1989 around singer / songwriter Graham Trust. Previously members of Liverpool post punk 3 piece No Exit, Trust and lead guitarist Martyn Gilbert were joined on drums by Tony Potter, on bass guitar by Paul OâBrien and on vocals by Jacqui Lancaster. The Vow gave themselves 2 years to secure a record deal. By autumn 1990, it was decided a change of direction was required and a more raunchy, rockier style was adopted. Lancaster and OâBrien left the group and Nick Reynolds was drafted in on bass guitar. By Autumn 1991, having received only luke warm record company interest, The Vow had run its intended 2 year course and duly disbanded.
Rebirth
Motivated by the death of his organist / choirmaster father, Eric , and after a 13 year hiatus, Graham began writing once more in 2006. From this point onwards, his lyrics focused on themes of infinity, the transcendental and the fey. By the Summer of 2008, heâd written enough songs to fill an album, which had been intended to be a solo acoustic effort. However, when recording commenced in August 2008 at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool, he had been joined once again on lead guitar by Martyn Gilbert. Tony Potter flew in from his home in the United Arab Emirates to lay down drums on 12 tracks in a 2 day session in March 2009. Guy Davies played keyboards and co-produced, with Andy Strange, the bandâs first commercial release in 2011 â the classic Spacedust EP. Thereafter, the 3 founding members continued with the album project. Mike Smith was drafted in on keyboards, and The Vowâs first album âFor a Dreamerâ, was finally released in March 2012. Itâs opening track âA Walk in the Sunshineâ was selected as the single.
New Material
2013âs âBluer Than Youâ consisted of several tracks not considered appropriate for their occasionally melancholic debut album. Here, there are re-workings of old Vow rockers like âFree the Worldâ and bright, catchy ditties like âSomeone to Talk Toâ. Amongst the new songs was the single âFalling Starsâ.
âYou Are?â, released in 2014, consists of newly re-recorded old Vow songs (Iâm Over You, Flunky and Coal Fire) and new material, including the title track â âYou Areâ.
Their 2015 album âGhost Writerâ consists mainly of old Vow and old solo Graham Trust recordings from the â80s and â90s, all greatly enhanced for the 21st century. The only brand new song, âGhost Writerâ (about a romantic liaison with a dead Victorian authoress) was chosen as the single.
2017 saw the release of a new single âI am immortalâ / âJe suis immortelâ which is a tribute to the deceased French racing driver Jules Bianchi. The Grammy award winning producer Ken Lewis was involved with this one. The track appears on the compilation album âFree the Worldâ.
During 2018 two more new songs were released:
âAll the other boysâ which concerns the so called Universal Laws which feature in the book and film of The Secret. The track appears on the eponymous compilation album âAll the other boysâ.
âThatâll be the dayâ is as sweet a ballad as The Vow have ever produced. It concerns an elusive love affair which can never be. Graham explained that âitâs more than just a song â itâs real. There are only 3 other songs Iâve ever written while fighting back the tears â âSpacedust (outro)â, âHeaven wonât hold meâ and âTo the End of The Worldâ. âThatâll be the Dayâ opens the bandâs âLoveâ compilation album followed by a reworking of âCarolineâ accompanied by Simon Dennyâs string arrangement.
The Future
Three more new songs are expected in the summer of 2019. âMadridâ is the most up tempo song The Vow have recorded so far (164 bpm for the aficionados). Its fundamental message is that it doesnât matter to which beautiful place you travel, you canât run away from yourself. âVenus Girlâ, which is also up tempo was initially inspired by the title of a book âMen are from MarsâŠWomen are from Venusâ. Itâs essentially a love song with a semi science fiction / fact theme plus a few Shakespearean allusions â ââŠmy mindâs eyeâ and ââŠthe stuff that our dreams are all made of.â Finally, there will be âJulia 1984â which explores the feelings Winston Smith had for Julia in George Orwellâs classic novel âNineteen Eighty Fourâ. Watch this space for the eventual EP. The Vow hope also to release a âBest ofâ compilation some time in 2019 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the bandâs formation.
2019 Euro Indie Music Chart
Rank | Stage | Coeff. | Points |
---|---|---|---|
8 | đȘđș EURO INDIE MUSIC CHART â WEEK 51.19 | 2439,48 | 4 |
10 | đȘđș EURO INDIE MUSIC CHART â WEEK 46.19 | 794.2 | 1 |
6 | đȘđș EURO INDIE MUSIC CHART â WEEK 47.19 | 911.6 | 8 |
9 | đȘđș EURO INDIE MUSIC CHART â WEEK 49.19 | 2285,66 | 2 |