All About Eve
This London quartet featured the rather lovely - and often
multi-tracked - voice of Coventry-born music journalist Julianne
Regan (an early bassist in Gene
Loves Jezebel) and utilised, of all people, former Yardbirds
bassist Paul Samwell-Smith in the producer's chair.
With dreamy-looking cover art and songs about children, angels
and clouds, one might have expected lots of wispy, ethereal music,
but 1988's self-titled All About Eve album (the
name of the band came from the 1950 Bette Davis film) offered up
mainstream, big-guitar rockers.
 Even the quieter moments, such as Like
Emily and Shelter From The Rain sounded like arena
fare from some U2 support act.
The
haunting acoustic ballad, Martha's Harbour flew into the
Top 10 in 1988, and remained in the charts for over two months.
Samwell-Smith gave Scarlet and Other Stories a much
lighter acoustic sound, better suited to Regan's voice. Guitarist
Tim Bricheno left in 1990 and resurfaced later that year in the Sisters
Of Mercy.
His replacement was Australian guitarist Marty Wilson-Piper
(from The Church) - initially on a
temporary basis and subsequently full-time.
 With the original band disbanding early in 1993, Julianne Regan
went on to form Harmony Ambulance (who released a solitary 45 for
Rough Trade) before working with Bernard Butler (ex-Suede)
and subsequently forming Mice.
All About Eve reformed in
late 1999 to a great reception from press and fans alike.
Their enduring reputation as a band who could really cut it
live ensured them a dedicated fan base as well as winning new
supporters with their highly acclaimed acoustic shows.
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