The Connells Biography
by Jason Ankeny
Raleigh, North Carolina-based jangle pop
outfit the Connells formed in the spring of 1984. Fronted by guitarist Mike Connell and his brother, bassist David,
the first incarnation of the group also featured vocalist Doug McMillan
and drummer John Schultz, who was soon replaced by former Johnny Quest percussionist Peele Wimberley.
In late 1984, the quartet recorded a four-song demo. After one of the
tracks, "Darker Days," was selected to appear on the North Carolina
compilation More Mondo, the Connells' ranks expanded with the addition of singer/guitarist George Huntley, who made his debut on a March 1985 session co-produced by Don Dixon.
With the help of the band's friend Ed Morgan,
the resulting demo made its way to the offices of the British label
Demon, which agreed to fund the recording of additional tracks to
complete a full-length LP. Darker Days was released in Europe by Demon in 1985, and when Morgan
returned to the U.S., he formed his own label, Black Park, to issue the
album domestically. After the low-budget videos for the tracks "Seven"
and "Hats Off" garnered MTV airplay, the Connells won a contract with
the TVT label prior to entering producer Mitch Easter's Drive-In Studios to record 1987's brooding, more assured Boylan Heights, which featured the superb single "Scotty's Lament."
The edgier Fun and Games followed in 1989, and a year later the group resurfaced with One Simple Word,
scoring an alternative radio hit with the single "Stone Cold
Yesterday." After a three-year tour that saw the Connells add
keyboardist Steve Potak to their lineup in 1991, they finally returned to the studio to begin work on 1993's Ring,
highlighted by the singles "Slackjawed" and "74-75," a major hit
throughout Europe. After another three-year hiatus, the Connells issued
1996's Weird Food & Devastation, released concurrently with Huntley's solo debut, Brain Junk. The group returned in 1998 with Still Life, and after ending their relationship with the TVT label, self-released Old-School Dropouts
in 2001 on Black Park Records. In 2010, the band's catalog was acquired
by Bicycle Music Company, which issued the albums digitally. Four years
later, the band celebrated its 30th anniversary with a live show in
Raleigh. In 2016, the anthology Stone Cold Yesterday: The Best of the Connells appeared on Bicycle Music Company.
1. Something To Say
2. Fun & Games
3. Sal
4. Upside Down
5. Fine Tuning
6. Motel
7. Hey Wow
8. Ten Pins
9. Inside My Head
10. Uninspired
11.
1. Stone Cold Yesterday
2. Speak To Me
3. All Sinks In
4. Get A Gun
5. What Do You Want?
6. Set The Stage
7. One Simple Word
8.
