TURTLEHEAD

BIOGRAPHY:

Turtlehead first came to life in 1994, formed by ex-Indian Angel members Paul Bourne (bass) & Robert Francis (drums), along with a guitarist called Alec. The same year, after the line up was finalized with Gary Cunningham (guitar) replacing Alec (and Graham Rae joining briefly), they recorded their first demo tape "High Flats", which managed to get the band a session on a Scottish radio station. By this time Brian Cooper had joined as vocalist, and the session coupled with an interview for punk magazine "Maximum rock'n'roll" in December 1995 led to a lot of requests for their tape. Shortly after this Bad Taste Records in Sweden got in touch with the band, and a track was lifted from the demo tape a put on a Bad Taste compilation CD, "Quality Punk Rock". This was followed by a single on the label in June 1996, and an album "Back Slapping Praise From Back Stabbing Men" in the autumn. The band then went on to play their first European show; the first Bad Taste Festival in Lund, Sweden.
In May 1997 the band got a call from Bad Taste asking if they could play on the "Flying High Across the Sky" tour, replacing D.F.L, who had pulled out. The twelve date tour of Germany was with such bands as Millencolin, S.N.F.U, Voodoo Glow Skulls, 3 Colours Red and Thumb. This was to be the start of a busy period for Turtlehead as they played at the World B.M.X Championships in Holland as well as other festivals in Europe during the summer months.
In October 1997 Turtlehead embarked on their first major European tour with label mates Pridebowl, taking in eight countries. A few days after the tour ended the band recorded their second album, which was released in April 1998. With their tongues firmly in their cheeks, the album was entitled "I Preferred Their Earlier Stuff". This album picked up from where the first one left off and was heavily promoted with extensive touring, both in UK and mainland Europe. Songs from the album were played on both T.V. and radio, with tracks being used on skate and BMX shows on satellite / network T.V.
In October 1999 the band set off for Europe again as part of the Bad Taste Festival Tour, alongside label mates Trigger Happy and Misconduct. With thirty shows across ten countries, this was their biggest and heaviest schedule to date, and led to guitarist, Gary Cunningham, deciding to call it a day, joining Barefoot afterwards. Dave McIntosh of the band Shatterhand joined, and the new line-up embarked on a tour of Canada, which ended with an appearance at the Revel'n'ment Festival in front of over 5000 people. Bass player Paul Bourne was then replaced by ex-Intake member Richard Bruce.
The band then undertook their biggest tour to date, five weeks across Europe, with Digger from the U.S.A. In June 2003 the third album ‘Bleeding Hearts and Burnouts’ was released to rave reviews, however the band decided to call it a day in March 2004. Bruce & Francis later formed I Stand Alone, whilst McIntosh continues to play with Shatterhand.

RELEASES:

"Go" (CD single, Bad Taste Records, 1996)
"Back Slapping Praise From Back Stabbing Men" (CD album, Bad Taste Records, 1996)
"Bellend Host" (7 inch split single, Speedowax Records, 1997)
"I Preferred Their Earlier Stuff" (CD album, Bad Taste Records, 1998)
"Godsend" (7 inch split single, 1998)
"Bleeding Hearts & Burnouts" (CD album, 2003)

WEBSITE:

http://www.turtlehead.tk