Beggars Banquet (UK) Biography (10/1986)

Based in London, they are Trevor Tanner (lead vocals, guitar), Nick Chown (bass), Jan Kalicki (drums) and Paul Clark (keyboards). The Bolshoi are quite unique: musically and image-wise they do not belong to any one trend or style. In the past year they have built up a very strong live following and are continually playing around the country and in London, where they are now in the enviable position of being able to headline and fill most of the capital's clubs, most recently two packed nights at the Marquee. Their live shows have a good atmosphere and lead singer Trevor is a charismatic frontman who seems quite at ease manipulating a large audience, as noted by Melody Make, Oct. '85: 'Before this man had a following he must have incited riots'. Or RM, the same month: 'Trevor Tanner, the pivot around which The Bolshoi revolve ... demands that his audience care, too'. Music Week described the audience as 'immediately caught up in their powerful performance .. the singer/guitarist dramatically controlled the show'.

The Bolshoi are, however, not simply just an entertaining live act. They've also shown that their powerful and effective fusion of a rock'n'roll dance beat and guitar, plus catchy songs with memorable choruses, comes across equally well on vinyl. Their first single, 'Sob Story'/Ports of Amsterdam' (the B-side usually being the set opener), came out in Spring '85 on Situation Two and was followed later in the year by 'Happy Boy', a remarkably commercial 45 which gained several Radio One daytime airplays.

'Happy Boy' was taken from their first, mini-L.P. 'Giants', released in September last year, and both single and album were well received by the music press.

The Beat, November '85 said of 'Giants': Strong on broody melodies, driven along by forceful rhythms and crashing splinters of trebly guitar, all showing enough fire and ambition to crash through the dark undergrowth of the post-punk jungle ... admirable stuff'. Praise indeed, and as Melody Maker underlined, 'The Bolshoi have vision and lyrical flair - a refreshing alternative to some of the rancid pap that currently clogs up the charts' (October '85). 'Happy Boy' was variously describer as 'an accessible introduction to their subtle charms' (RM), 'impressive and charismatic' (City Limits), 'fabber than before ... entirety confident' (ZigZag).

'Giants' contained six tracks: 'Fly', 'Sliding Seagulls', 'Hail Mary', 'Giants', 'Happy Boy' and 'By the River'. Produced by the band and Laurence Burridge, 'Happy Boy' was remixed as a single by Simon Boswell and perfectly captures their reckless, headlong spirit. Their third single 'Away' out at the end of last year also captured this feeling, and produced by Mick Glossop, again did well on daytime Radio 1 and received some good press reviews - Sounds: 'an understated mini-epic which easily overruns the chronically abbreviated runway of charts 80's style'.

This year, The Bolshoi signed an American deal with IRS and have already made their first promotional trip. They also played a '86 Reading Festival.

Another excellent single, 'Books on the Bonfire', came out on August 18th and followed by their second album 'Friends' on September 22nd. 'Friends' comprises ten tracks produced by Mick Glossop including 'Away' and 'Books on the Bonfire', and also features many live favourites.

The Bolshoi have just confirmed the support slot on the Peter Murphy UK tour for October and the release of another single, also taken from 'Friends', entitled 'Sunday Morning'. They are to be featured on the soundtrack of a new movie, 'Something Wild', currently being filmed in America, and Trevor may be branching into acting next year with a movie role in another American film project.

October 1986

PAGE ONE
- Click the image on the left for a printable PDF version of page one of the original press kit bio, or CLICK HERE for a .gif image.

PAGE TWO
- Click the image on the left for a printable PDF version of page two of the original press kit bio, or CLICK HERE for a .gif image.

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