Indie band releases new album as book tells of their 'rise and demise'

An acclaimed indie band with members from Lancaster have hit the charts with their new album as a new book has been released telling their incredible story.

The Milltown Brothers have released 'Boogie Woogie' which charted at number 37 in the Official Vinyl Album Chart. It also made number four in the Independent Album Breakers chart.

Meanwhile, a book endorsed by the band called 'And Jesus Danced (Twice)...The True Story of the Milltown Brothers' has also come out.

"We know some of you have already read it and the response has been fantastic!" said a post by the band on social media.

"(Author) Nigel Wood spent over a year writing it, a real commitment."

The story is described as "the Milltown Brothers' meteoric rise and 'much ignored' demise"...of "a good band that got very lucky and then got very unlucky" and who "were on the cusp of global success...only to gloriously snatch utter anonymity from the jaws of immortality".

The band was discovered by top BBC radio presenter Steve Lamacq playing their fifth gig at the Bull & Gate in London in May 1988.

Signed to A&M in 1990 for a £100,000 advance, they had a publishing deal with EMI and their debut album 'Slinky' was awarded five stars in Q magazine - one of just three Q magazine gave during 1991.

Oasis supported them less than a year before the release of Definitely Maybe.

Two years earlier, when they shared the bill with Nirvana and others in Boston, the day before Nirvana released 'Nevermind' in September 1991, the promoter described their performance as the event highlight.

The 'Jesus' referred to in the book title is William Gellert, known as Jesus, who, from the 1960s to the early 2000s, went to gigs all over London, dancing in a completely unhinged way and often naked.

The Milltown Brothers are famed for early 90s hits including 'Which Way Should I Jump?', which reached the UK Top 40 in 1991, and 'Here I Stand' which was the theme for TV series 'All Quiet on the Preston Front'.

The five-piece formed when drummer Nian Brindle, bassist James Fraser and singer Matt Nelson met at Lancaster Royal Grammar School.

After the second album 'Valve', it was 10 years before the band worked together again and in March 2004, they released their third studio album – 'Rubberband'.

After a further lengthy hiatus, the band returned to the studio in 2014, releasing their self-financed fourth studio album, ‘Long Road’. ‘Stockholm’, a fifth studio album, followed in 2020. They have recently been touring.

The book can be ordered via Amazon and Waterstones.

Read more: INTERVIEW: Lancaster members of the Milltown Brothers share stories of Oasis and Little Richard - Beyond Radio