'Hey Lord', by Claytown Troupe

'Hey Lord'

by Claytown Troupe

supported by

TJ Crow This brings back such good memories, especially of some amazing gigs. The expansive and huge depth of sound the Claytown Troupe produced remains a go to when my soul needs an uplift. They never got the mainstream success they deserved, but hopefully this will introduce their magic to a whole new appreciative audience. :-) Favorite track: Real Life.

	/

Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Beautiful screen printed jacket, full colour insert, numbered on Red 12" Vinyl.

Includes unlimited streaming of 'Hey Lord' via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 2 days

edition of 300

£9.99 GBP or more
Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

£4 GBP or more
Full Digital Discography

63

releases

Get all 63 Bristol Archive Records releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Bristol Punk Explosion Vol 2 (1977-1981), A Way With Words (1980 -1983), Skeletons, The Bristol Mod Explosion 1979-1987, Shapes of Things To Come, The Bristol Punk Explosion 1977-1979, Cool Runnings, Crows Nightingales SHOCK (Best of Me 1991-1995), and 55 more. , and , .

Purchasable with gift card

£241.50 GBP or more (50% OFF)

1.	Hey Lord 03:39	buy track
2.	Prayer 03:10	buy track
3.	Real Life 02:56	buy track
4.	Chiricahua Sun 03:15	buy track
5.	Claytown Troupe 'Hey Lord' (Compendulum Megamix) 04:59	buy track

about

CLAYTOWN TROUPE
‘HEY LORD’
Strictly Limited edition (300 copies) Coloured 12" Vinyl EP with Insert, Screen printed jacket and numbered
Released 24th March 2017

Storming out of Bristol in the late 1980s, alternative goth rockers Claytown Troupe snared three major record label deals and built an enviable national following. If the band never quite fulfilled their enormous potential, they have left a remarkable recorded legacy. That's about to be completed by Bristol Archive Records with the first public release of the legendary original 'Dungeon Demos' that got the quintet signed to Island Records back in 1988. Long thought lost, these recordings were recently unearthed by band founder and frontman Christian Riou, who was surprised to find how great they still sound after all this time. A must-have for fans, the four raw and unvarnished tracks include the original versions of Claytown Troupe's first two singles 'Hey Lord' and 'Prayer', alongside 'Real Life' and 'Chiricahua Sun'. Each of these appeared in reworked form on the band's debut album, 'Through the Veil', which was released in 1989.

Christian had formed Claytown Troupe in Weston-super-Mare way back in 1984. His original ambition was no more than to bag local support slots with bands he enjoyed. There was little competition. The likes of The Cult, The Sisters of Mercy and Spear of Destiny were in their heyday, but the only acts from Bristol to make any national impact hailed from the indie scene but by late ’87 the band were treading water, so re-jigged the lineup and Christian and Rick wrote eight new songs in a month which became the 'Through the Veil' tracks.
They recorded a few demos in Bristol studios, but never managed to achieve the sound they craved. A friendship with Oxford band Chatshow led to the recommendation of Ascot's Dungeon Studios. Here at last they found an engineer who understood what they were trying to achieve: music that took as much from Hothouse Flowers as it did from The Cult.

In what was a novel move for the time, the band members also chipped in £400 each to finance their own music video from a Soho production company that had shot promos for Pop Will Eat Itself and Morrissey. It was this full audio-visual package, proving they looked as good as they sounded, that helped them stand out from the pack and led directly to the Island Records deal. Indeed, Claytown Troupe became the fastest signing in the venerable label's history.

Because the demos were so strong, Christian originally proposed releasing them on a fake indie label. But he was overruled by Island, who promptly dispatched the band to the studio to record that debut album. So these fascinating recordings have gathered dust ever since. Finally, a vital piece of Bristol music history can now be heard.

ARTIST: Claytown Troupe
TITLE: “Hey Lord”
RELEASE DATE: 24th March 2017
LABEL: Bristol Archive Records
CAT NO: ARC305V
BARCODE: 5052571069714
TRACKLISTING: Side A : Hey Lord, Prayer Side B: Real Life, Chiricahua Sun
Soundcloud link:
Press: Mike Darby SSR PR – 07885 498 402

credits

released April 7, 2017

45 rpm
(p)&© Bristol Archive Records 2017
All tracks written by Riou, Williams, Bennett, Waterson, Holt
All recordings owned by Claytown Troupe and licenced to Bristol Archive Records
Published by Universal Music
Produced by Claytown Troupe
Recorded at Dungeon Recording Studios, Ascot, 1988

Christian Riou – Vocals
Richard Williams – Keyboards
Paul Waterson – Bass
Adrian ‘Ben’ Bennett – Guitar
Andrew Holt - Drums

license

about

Bristol Archive Records UK

Bristol Archive Records is a record label dealing in reggae, punk, rock, metal, pop and post punk 1977 onwards.

bristolarchiverecords.com

contact / help

Contact Bristol Archive Records

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like 'Hey Lord', you may also like:

Sass [Expanded Edition]
by Salvation

supported by 6 fans who also own “'Hey Lord'”

Saw the band a load on the Sass tour, great to have versions of the b-sides digitally and a version of Why Lie that's not on a flexi warped from being stuck in a kit bag! Gary Lamont
go to album
We Gave You Diamonds... Live at De Casino! [TSCD05]
by Salvation

supported by 5 fans who also own “'Hey Lord'”
go to album
Songs For The Broken Ones
by The Eden House

supported by 5 fans who also own “'Hey Lord'”

feelgood, rond, nondescript, heel goed uitgevoerd. zo'n standaard rockplaat die je nooit ziet. sjerpvanwouden
go to album
Stepping Into A New Age 1980 - 2012
by New Age Steppers

featured on Bandcamp Radio Feb 9, 2021
go to album
Avant Gardening
by New Age Steppers

featured on Bandcamp Radio Jan 12, 2021
go to album
Wisdom
by Stick Figure

Slack falsetto melodies, lush dub arrangements, and feel-good lyrics come together for a memorable pop-reggae getaway. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 14, 2022
go to album
Anthology 1988 - 2012
by Rosetta Stone

supported by 4 fans who also own “'Hey Lord'”

Who mastered this? Every RS track sounds muffled. ML tracks somewhat better. I guess it's why the price is so low? What else. We supported Rosetta in 1989. Karl was so polite! Lvivist
go to album