Whatever happened to The Primitives? Watch out, you’re gonna crash!
Coventry band The Primitives formed in 1984 and attained chart success in 1988 and 1989, but since their time in the limelight, the band have undergone numerous line up changes and a hiatus lasting seventeen years. They are still playing live and occasionally record new material for their ever devoted legion of followers. Guitarist Paul Court and singer Tracy Cattell formed the band in 1984 and recruited various others to play with them as they toured the UK promoting themselves as an act worth signing. In 1987, drummer Tig Williams became the third central figure in the band as they released their debut single, “Thru The Flowers”, in 1986.
The Primitives’ first three singles were released as standalones and without much commercial success. However, the band pressed on with recording their debut album, “Lovely”, throughout 1987 and released the single “Ocean Blue” and a new recording of “Thru The Flowers” at the end of the year. It was the third single from the album, “Crash”, that finally found ears everywhere and with support from BBC Radio 1, the song went into the UK top 5. Flushed with this new success, the band spent 1988 touring the UK and promoting the album, which would eventually rest at No.6 on the album chart. A further top 40 hit followed with “Out Of Reach”.
By late 1988, the band were already recording their second album and before the year was done, “Way Behind Me”, was released (UK No.36). Prior to the next album (“Pure”), the band released “Sick of It” in the Summer of 1989, which gave them a third top 30 hit when it hit number 24 in July. “Pure” would not enjoy the same level of success as “Lovely” did and only made it to No.36 while the third and final single, “Secrets”, missed the top 40 completely. 1990 saw The Primitives support Icelandic band The Sugarcubes (Bjork) on their tour of Japan before returning to the UK to write and record their third album.
The band made their return in 1991 with the single “You Are The Way”, although this and the album, “Galore”, failed to make any impression on past glories. Following the release of “Lead Me Astray”, The Primitives disbanded and settled into ‘retirement’. That lasted until 2009 when Court, Cattell and Williams reformed and began playing live once more to the delight of many. Following live sessions in the UK and New York, The core trio of the band released the “Never Kill A Secret” EP in 2011, twenty years since the release of “Galore”. The tracks from the EP developed into a new studio album, “Echoes And Rhymes”, released the following year.
Since then, The Primitives have recorded and released the album “Spin-O-Rama” in 2014 and their most recent compilation, the “New Thrills” EP, in 2017. The band have and continue to play across the UK and toured LA, San Diego and Japan in 2019, before returning home to the UK. And as soon as we can all go out to see live music once more, you can be assured that The Primitives will ‘crash’ at a venue near you very soon!
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