Soho Roses - Whatever Happened To ....

As a rural teenager, my eyes were very much focused on London and its seemingly burgeoning glam scene. At the time Kerrang! was a fine source of information (largely via the Shrapnel page that accepted contributions from anyone and everyone) and bands that probably only ever played about three gigs seemed like the next generation of rock stars.

The next level up (but one down from the Dogs D'Amour and the Quireboys) were bands such as Soho Roses. Regulars at the Marquee, they even managed to get the occasional live review and feature in Kerrang! and Metal Hammer. On tracking down their debut EP in Shades (those people of a certain age will know the shop in question), we thought it ever so impressive that the record was mastered at Abbey Road studios. Abbey Road! Okay, so it was on the band's own label but surely someone significant must have been bankrolling them to get into such a famous studio!*

However, the first Soho Roses record I got hold off was actually their second single, So Alone, as fine example of trashy glam punk you're ever likely to hear. My band at the time was desperate to sound like Soho Roses, and kind-of succeeded in that we were compared to the Buzzcocks (a cover of What Do I Get turned up on the Third & Final Insult, the album Soho Roses recorded to clear their debts once they'd decided to call it a day).

Almost twenty years on their complete recordings (which in their vinyl forms had been going for large sums on Ebay) have been committed to CD: Whatever Happened To... The Complete Works. And do they stand the test of time? OK, so Ric Browde and Mike Clink might have something to say about the production but there are enough great songs to here to overlook that: Why D'ya Break My Heart, 'Cos of You, Just A Girl, Crazy 'Bout Me and the afore-mentioned So Alone (in particular the original single version) prove that Soho Roses had more to offer than most, but this was London and not LA and it wasn't just a simple case of showing up at a record company with backcombed hair to be instantly signed as the next G'n'R.





*Many years later when releasing a self-financed record of my own we too found ourselves in the mastering room at Abbey Road. It clearly wasn't such a big deal after all ......