Eddie Mooney and The Grave
The band of the week on Tameside Radio's Local Music Spotlight feature is Eddie Mooney and The Grave. The band was formed in 1978, with Eddie Mooney on bass and lead vocals, Mike Rowbottom on guitar and vocals and Chris Fisher on drums, and appeared at punk and new wave venues, such as the Russel Club (later the Factory) in Manchester, and Manchester University and Polytechnic.
The band signed to established Manchester indie label TJM Records, who had released singles by Slaughter and the Dogs, V2 and Mick Hucknall's Frantic Elevators among others. In late 1978 the band went to Smile Studios in Manchester and recorded “I Bought Three Eggs” and “Zombie” and both tracks appeared on the now legendary “Identity Parade” compilation album in early 1979.
Almost straight away “I Bought Three Eggs” was picked up by BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, getting extensive airplay. At this stage the band did gigs at the Factory and other venues, along with bands such as the Cure, Damned and Joy Division. Due to public demand, “I Bought Three Eggs” and “Zombie” were scheduled for release as a single, but the label went out of business just as it was released and very few copies were pressed. It became an instant rarity.
The band recorded a further three studio tracks in late 1979, but with American drummer Sebastian Kossak, as Chris Fisher was suffering with health problems. Eddie Mooney and The Grave persevered up to 1980 before splitting up and Chris Fisher passed away some years later. In 1999 a reformed band performed at the Holidays In The Sun punk festival (now Rebellion) and in 2005 “I Bought Three Eggs” surfaced on the “White Dopes On Punk” CD compilation, along with tracks by the Buzzcocks and the Damned and finally, in 2009 it was released again as a vinyl single, with “Zombie” on the German based Still Unbeatable record label.
After a hiatus of almost forty years, Eddie Mooney and The Grave reformed in 2019 with original guitarist Mike Rowbottom, Coventry drummer Rick Medlock and Munich-based guitarist and German record label owner Malte Buhr. The band released a series of digital and vinyl singles, "Dennis Votes" (2019 and 2021), "Down The Drain" (2020 and 2021), "Lockdown Baby" (2020), "Telephones" (2021), "(How Does It Feel to Be) Great!!!" (2021), "Vinyl Freak" (2021),"Bone Idol" (2022) and “Plastic Smile” (2022).
Several of these singles charted on various digital and streaming charts. Some of these releases were on 7” vinyl labels in Germany and Spain as well as the UK. More recently, “I Bought Three Eggs” was remixed, remastered and reissued on “Keeping Control – Independent Music From Manchester 1977-1981, a 3CD Box Set' on Cherry Red Records in May 2023, along with Joy Division, the Buzzcocks, New Order and many others. In 2022 and 2033 Eddie Mooney and The Grave appeared as a duo with the Vapors, Slaughter and the Dogs, Fast Cars and the Cathodes.
This month the band are appearing with John Otway, and plans are in the pipeline for tour support gigs. Eddie Mooney and The Grave and their music can be found on all social media and streaming platforms, and their music will be played on every weekday show on Tameside Radio between 6am and 7pm all of next week.
The band also joined the team on The Dave Sweetmore Show last Monday night, you can listen again via the OnDemand section of the website. For more information on EddieMooney and The Grave, the Local Music Spotlight feature, and a link to the official Spotify account which features all bands and artists who have been included so far, visit www.tamesideradio.com
Tameside Radio Local Music Spotlight
