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BIOGRAPHY
photo:Alison Wonderland
The History of it all
by
Calvin Johnson
Marine Research descended from Talulah Gosh, which begat Heavenly. It's simple: Amelia Fletcher and her brother Matthew formed Talulah Gosh in 1986. Centered in their home town of Oxford, England, Talulah Gosh included Peter Momtchiloff, grand guitar controller and the delightful Liz Price, vocal princess; Chris Scott was selected for bass duties. It was love at first sight. Each girl, after all, was wearing the universal token of indie citizenship, a Pastels badge. A sign from God!
They would form the coolest band in the universe. A '60s girl group with punk rock tunes - Talulah Gosh. Combining the Chiffons and Shangri-Las with Dolly Mixture and Girls At Our Best!, Talulah Gosh were a crashpop sensation. They released a scad of confectionary singles on Scotland's 53rd and 3rd label (founded by Stephen Pastel and David of the Shop Assistants, also home to the Vaselines, Beat Happening and BMX Bandits) before packing it in two years later.
The basic core of Amelia, Matthew and Peter regrouped as Heavenly in 1990, adding Rob Pursey on bass (he played with Talulah Gosh for their first few shows) and Cathy Rogers on keyboards. Supreme love tones from the celestial body of Oxford pop blessed. The world fell in love with these kids. The music of Heavenly is divine, sending colossal shivers down the spine. After a hundred perfectly formed songs, several albums, tours of the U.S. and Japan, it all came to an abrupt end with the tragic death of Matthew Fletcher in 1996.
There didn't seem to be a way to carry on. But one man believed with all his heart that the power of live is triumphant. His name is DJ Downfall. He rallied the remains of Heavenly, gallantly assuming the drumming chores himself. Cathy and Rob prodded and persuaded, Amelia and Peter responded with love in kind, and thus Marine Research was launched and it's been a non-stop crash dive ever since.
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