DETOX ARTIFACTS UK 4AD was never a label to undertake expansions and subsidaries like some others did. Rather than form a line of sporting goods or start distributing special 4AD chocolate chip cookies (though I would have bought them in bulk if they did), then label chief Ivo Watts-Russell concentrated on the business at hand - running 4AD the record company. In 1992 Ivo started up an off-shoot label called Guernica but even that was designed for a very strict purpose - to release one-off projects like Spoonfed Hybrid and Insides or to give a UK release to international releases he felt deserved wider attention, like Bettie Serveert and Underground Lovers. Guernica did just what he set out to do but sadly only lasted until 1994. By 1995, one of 4AD's UK staff named Tony Morley had founded the Leaf label while still doing his day job of promotions at 4AD. Perhaps inspired by Morley's success, two other 4AD staff decided to do the same. In early 1996 Colin Wallace and Lewis Jamieson formed Detox Artifacts UK. The pair continued their day jobs at 4AD like Morley and also used 4AD's resources to help get product manufactred and distributed. Some Detox releases even sported art and design from v23 contributors Chris Bigg and Timothy O'Donnell (for the Aeroplane cover design). The label released singles and EPs from such artists as Aeroplane, a Ronnie and Clyde collaboration with 4AD's Heidi Berry singing and Thrush Puppies, a three-piece band fronted by Joolz McLarnon that even garnered admiration from BBC's John Peel with Melody Maker commenting "...Thrush Puppies, lewd, crude and probably in the mood, the best new punky - thrashin' - shoutin' band IN THE WORLD!". Other artists to have graced the Detox roster include Suckle, fronted by Frances McKee who prior to Suckle used to be in The Vaselines, a band whom Nirvana has covered several times. After their Detox release, Suckle joined Left Hand Recordings and have recently signed a deal with Chemikal Underground, the label run by Mantra/Beggars Banquet artists The Delgados. Suckle's debut album is called "Against Nurture" and was released on May 29, 2000. The first single, "To Be King" was issued on May 1, 2000. Ajax Disco Spanner was a side project of Dublin, Ireland techno artists Decal (aka Alan O'Boyle & Denis McNulty) who formed in 1994, with Alan having previously been in In Motion who released the excellent LP "The Language Of Everyday Life" on Dead Elvis Records. There sound was described then as "...spiralling melodies which have echoes of bands as diverse as the Cocteau Twins and the Byrds...". Decal are probably one of Dublin's most prolific techno acts and their labels Ultramack and Trama Industries are both highly regarded securing many a foreign DJ to swing by one of their weekly club nights in Dublin. They have also released work on the Sabrettes label and Ajax Disco Spanner have released material on the Law & Auder label. Here is an email sent to us at 4AD: Facing the wrong way from Martin Carroll, the former guitarist of Stellar (added March 1, 2001): Stellar carried on for a while after the CD but stopped gigging in '97. The band eventually folded in June 2000. The general feeling about the CD was that it had been done in a hurry and didn't really capture our 'live' sound which was big and intense. We did some good gigs at places like the Liverpool Lomax, Night and Day (Manchester), The Hacienda and also at Disgracelands in Islington where the Detox launch was held in September '96. I'm not in contact with Graham, Sarah or Shane anymore but Ronan and I are in a three piece called Grand Unified Theory. We're currently writing songs, rehearsing and looking forward to gigging in London around late spring/early summer. The material is quite different to that of Stellar - more hard-edged, much use of alternate tunings and unusual chord progressions. We're very excited about it. I suppose Ronan and I were the founder members of Stellar. We bought a portastudio in late 1991 and started demoing stuff, with me on vocals, overdubbing bass and keyboards, and Ronan writing all the lyrics and playing drums. These included early versions of "Migration" and "Distant Vessels". We advertised for a singer and Sarah joined in '94. A year later, Graham joined and we moved into a rehearsal studio in Liverpool (we were all based there). It was then that the band started to develop its sound and we then met Shane through a friend of Sarah's. Not long after we started playing one or two low key gigs. We did a demo which had "Shoals", "Distant Vessels", "Migration Instinct" and two other songs: "An Inspection" (slightly Cocteaus-influenced, very dreamlike song which used to go down well at gigs) and "Cable" (which had a really great bass riff and a memorable chorus). We decided to send this to 4AD because we all loved the label and thought "how great it would be if they liked our stuff" and also we knew 4AD gave its artists a lot of creative control. Not long after, Colin rang up and said how much he liked the demo and that he wanted to know when we were next gigging so he could send Lewis to see us. About two weeks later in March '96, Lewis came to see us play at the Lomax in Liverpool and we spent the whole night talking to him. He said that people at the label really loved the demo and that he and Colin really wanted to sign us - perhaps to a 5 album deal! I don't think I can ever remember feeling so euphoric! Sadly, though, it wasn't to be... Ivo didn't agree. When Colin came to Liverpool with Lewis a fortnight later he had to break this news to us, although he also told us of the plans he and Lewis had for Detox which we were very excited about. We were all up until the early hours talking - that was a great night! We signed the deal for an EP which we recorded in July 1996 and it was released that October. We did the Detox launch just prior to this with Thrush Puppies, Toucan and Slab. And then... not a lot happened. I think the reason why was probably because there wasn't an obvious single on the CD, although there was a fair amount of interest from other labels. We had two pieces of bad luck too - a writer on Music Week who'd done a short feature on us was going to come and see us play in early '97 and perhaps do a gig review which would have got us a lot of exposure. Unfortunately, he died of a drugs overdose not long before. And at the Detox launch, a guy from London Records had expressed a lot of interest in us and he was due to come and see us at the Hacienda in early 97 but couldn't make it. That was one of our best gigs ever... Unfortunately, we were fairly burnt out by this time and we didn't gig for a while afterwards so the momentum was lost. And... we never really regained it. Eventually we all (apart from Shane) decided to move to London to have one last attempt at getting somewhere but it didn't work out. I think 1996 was really our best year. We didn't gig at all after '97 and finally last year we called it quits. I'd kept writing stuff on the guitar and Ronan had continued to write lyrics and we started working on songs. The material has just poured out and we feel great about it. And that's where the Grand Unified Theory story begins... Grand Unified Theory are still putting the finishing touches to songs at present - once we've done that, we'll record a demo and then start gigging in the early summer. PS: There aren't any other unreleased Detox Stellar tracks - all you hear on the CD is all we recorded for Detox and we didn't record for any other labels. We do have recordings of several other songs, though, which were never released by anyone... Two other bands were signed to Detox but nothing was ever released by them. What would have been a full album by Bathers and an EP by Slab were hinted at on the Detox logo promo postcard but remain mysteriously unreleased. If you have any information on Detox Artifacts UK, especially info on bands like Bathers, Slab and Toucan, please email Facing the wrong way. Detox releases from Aeroplane, Stellar, Suckle and Thrush Puppies are still available from 4AD. TOUCAN Shine 1996 DTX 9601 CD (4-track CD single) Tracks: Shine; Hungry Ghost; If It Makes Any Difference; Never Ask Nothing. STELLAR From Distant Vessels OCTOBER 28, 1996 DTX 9602 CD (4-track CD single) Tracks: From Distant Vessels; Migration Instinct; Shoals; PCB. AEROPLANE Signs Of Life NOVEMBER 11, 1996 DTX 9603 (3-track 12" single) DTX 9603 CD (4-track CD single) Remarks: Promo copies of DTX 9603 have stickered white labels. Tracks 12": Signs Of Life [Aerodrome mix]; Signs Of Life [Original]; Signs Of Life [Tokyosexwhale mix]. Tracks CD: Signs Of Life [Original]; Signs Of Life [Aerodrome mix]; Signs Of Life [Mellotronia mix]; Signs Of Life [Beatless mix]. THRUSH PUPPIES Let It Lie FEBRUARY 3, 1997 7DTX 9701 (2-track 7" single) Tracks: Let It Lie; Look At Me When I'm Talking To You. THRUSH PUPPIES Lullabies From Levenshulme FEBRUARY 3, 1997 DTX 9701 CD (4-track CD single) Tracks: Let It Lie; Look At Me When I'm Talking To You; Pathological Liar; Dressed Like A Girl. AJAX DISCO SPANNER It's Over 1997 DTX 9702 (4-track 12" single) Remarks: Promo copies of DTX 9702 have white labels with the band's name printed in black. Tracks: It's Over; Eye Ray Nah; Vegas, Janet Jack. SUCKLE Symposium 1997 7DTX 9703 (2-track 7" single) Tracks: Symposium; Boyfriend. SUCKLE Harmonal Secretions 1997 DTX 9703 CD (4-track CD single) Tracks: Symposium; When I Was Dead; Boyfriend; Circle DREAMON The Beat 1997 DTX 9704 (1-track 12" single) Remarks: Unreleased, though test pressings exist. Tracks: The Beat [Dreamon's Downboydown Dub].