| The Golden Virgins are a
musical group whose output so far has been
recorded at home in Sunderland, in the North
East of England. Their highly acclaimed -
and now very rare - debut single 'I've Seen
the Light' was released in September 2002
by Rex Records, and, shortly
after its release, the band signed to Hero
Music Publishing and XL Recordings,
with a view to creating some of the greatest
albums and singles in the history of recorded
music.
The Golden Virgins came into being when the
former members of Sunderland scene godfathers
Brilliantine managed to get
hold of a four-track recording device. Over
two drunken nights they recorded three songs:
'I've Seen the Light', 'Staying Sober' and
'From the Garage to the Country'. After months
of listening to these recordings, the band
became convinced that the songs were better
than anything being played on the radio, and
duly sent off a demo to labels they thought
might be interested. The resultant A&R
scramble has now passed into music business
legend. Rex Records emerged victorious and
released the home-recorded demo as the band's
debut single.
Suave, enigmatic and aloof, The Golden Virgins
have no truck with much of what passes for
modern music; whether it be the dire chart-cover-fodder
peddled by the latest crop of stage-school
non-entities or the idiotic smack-boy posturing
of the so-called 'alternative' rock scene,
The Golden Virgins' response to such a dearth
of individuality is an unequivocal thumbs-down.
The Golden Virgins are four in number:
-
Lucas Renney is the singer/guitarist/songwriter.
He trained to be an English teacher at Sunderland
University, but was saved by the eleventh-hour
intervention of Hero Music and XL Recordings
and is now free to prove that he is, in
his own words, a 'genius-boy-poet-rocker'
He regularly drinks himself into unconsciousness
but can't really explain why.
- Neil Bassett is the drummer
and master of recording ceremonies. Standing
at an impressive 6 feet and 7 inches tall,
he used to work for a famous mobile phone
company and enjoys drinking and socialising.
His height makes him a target for aggressive
drunks, but he disarms would-be assailants
with his easy-going charm.
- David Younger is the band's
synth wizard, and his choirboy-turned-scientist
background allows him to balance the spiritual
and the secular with dazzling results; such
is his aura of Zen-like calm that both men
and women flock to him seeking spiritual
advice and explanations of the mysteries
of the Universe.
- Allan Burnup is the bass
player and designated van driver. The most
recent recruit into The Golden Virgins'
ranks, he is starstruck and easily impressed,
and has greeted the impending success of
The Golden Virgins by threatening to grow
an afro and purchase a white suit. He is
the successor to original bassist Ross
Millard, who has now left The Golden
Virgins to devote more time to his burgeoning
Futureheads career. The
Golden Virgins wish him well.
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