Guitarist/vocalist Peter Astor and drummer Dave Morgan formed the jangly Weather Prophets directly after their previous band, the Loft, split in 1985. Astor had been planning his defection from the Loft for some time and was anxious to start anew with more control.

The duo had Alan McGee, a friend and major backer of Astor's and the head of their label, Creation, play bass for the first two songs. After that, Astor made a point to find other members for the band who had no role in the indie scene (the singer often slagged the scene in interviews, claiming it had a false sense of superiority due to lack of success). He called in David Greenwood Goulding to play bass, a friend who was clueless about the Loft, let alone the current music scene. Morgan brought in Oisin Little to play rhythm guitar, rounding out the lineup. McGee ended up managing, and an instant interest in the group was apparent, thanks in no small part that the Loft appeared to be on the brink of greater things when they imploded.

However, the Creation stable began to receive a fair amount of negative criticism around this time for their outward ambitions and a sense of direction (or lack thereof) that aimed toward drugginess and traditional rocker attitudes (and, well, the donning of leather pants). Regardless of its reception, the Weather Prophets' debut single, "Almost Prayed," was an instant classic for the label, a song that married the Velvet Underground with Creedence Clearwater Revival. Going with the American slant, the band had Lenny Kaye produce the follow-up single, "Naked as the Day You Were Born." Most fans of the debut soured on it.

McGee signed a deal with WEA to begin Elevation, a subsidiary for which he would act as the only employee, delivering bands and doing the A&R work. This fit into the plans of McGee and Astor perfectly; the Weather Prophets became one of the Elevation bands, and it would help them attain the stadium gigs and the rapturous sales that were desired. However, Mayflower was released during a period that wasn't advantageous for the group; it didn't help that both band and label boss regarded it as a failure. WEA agreed and dropped the band. McGee shopped them around to several labels and ultimately the band returned to Creation. 1988's Judges, Juries & Horsemen was completed on a tight budget (after the departure of Little), a budget that paled in comparison to the House of Love's debut for the label.

Fed up with being in the wrong musical climate (dance music would soon engulf the U.K.), fed up with the lack of money involved in keeping the band operating, and fed up with not achieving their potential, the Weather Prophets decided to quit after attempting to record a follow-up single to their final LP. The sock drawer Temperance Hotel compilation was released later that year (1989). Astor went the solo route and later formed the Wisdom of Harry. Goulding and Morgan joined the Rockingbirds. — Andy Kellman, AMG

LINKS


CreationRecords.org
Creation-Records.com



The Weather Prophets on TweeNet


The Weather Prophets on Trouser Press


The Rockingbirds on Heavenly Recordings


Morganised -- Dave Morgan's site



Look for Weather Prophets tunes on Indie MP3


More music links