Pleasure Heads

The Pleasure Heads (also known as The Pleasureheads) were an indie rock band from Peterborough consisting of Dean Nicholls, Andrew Donovan, Peter Elderkin, Mark Randall, Kevin Murphy & Peter Herron. The band released four singles between 1986 and 1990, as well as an album, released in 1988 called Hard To Swallow.
==Links to Peel==
On his 01 September 1987 show, Peel mentioned receiving the band's single whilst he was in Cambridge some weeks ago.
In 1989 The Pleasureheads recorded a Peel Session for Radio 1. Singer Dean Nicholls described the experience for Scene And Heard magazine: 
When Pete (Elderkin, The Pleasureheads' other singer) rang to say that John Walters had just contacted him to confirm that we were going to record a session for John Peel in two weeks' time, my mind flashed back five years, to the music room of our old school. The Pleasureheads were then a four piece, augmented at times by a surrealistic mate who would sing vocals with a cardboard box on his head. One bass, one guitar, one drum and a vocalist struggling to hit the notes of "Wild Thing". Outside the window, a gaggle of third year girls were giggling at these prefects making utter prats of themselves in this embryonic pop band.
"They won't be laughing when we get a John Peel session," we would say; a shared fantasy which seemed as likely as Thatcher admitting she was wrong!
All six members of the 'Heads have listened to Peelie with almost religious obsession: our formative years were spent soaking up the kaleidoscope of sound that he powered into the airwaves, and now, here we were, about to appear on the most coveted radio show for any respectable indie band. As I put the phone down, an idiot smile grafted itself onto my face, as the reality of a dream come true began to hit me.
At the band practice that night, the news was broken and the "idiot smile" splattered itself onto the faces of the rest of the group. The strange thing was that we agreed that, to begin with, we would only tell close friends; the fear being that to tell everyone would invite disaster. This pact lasted until the following morning when we proceeded to tell everyone: workmates, relatives, old ladies at bus-stops, dogs' dishtrays - absolutely everyone.
On Sunday 30th April, we set off for the BBC Studios, Maida Vale, London, idiot smiles still intact. The only minor disaster that had occurred was that four days before, I had contracted some sort of rare tropical disease that had caused me to come out in a disgusting red rash - but this was subsiding by now. Arriving at the BBC, we were directed through a labyrinth of drab, narrow corridors (I'm sure scenes from "Blake's Seven" were shot here!), until we arrived at our destination - Studio Four.
Morrissey has been quoted as describing a Peel Session as "very clinical, akin to a visit to the doctor's." This description seemed apt as various BBC personnel stared at us until we were finally let into the studio, and it was a good forty minutes before someone talked to us - a guy sporting an Inspiral Carpets T-shirt, who began setting up microphones. We had assumed he was an engineer, but in fact it turned out to be Dale Griffin, former Mott The Hoople drummer and main producer of the Peel Sessions.
He handed us a scrap of paper on which we were required to write our names and respective band duties, the song titles, and the instrument and vocal track for each song. On the back we noticed that Dinosaur Jr. had done the same thing a few days earlier: it sort of summed up that strange feeling that, on the one hand, you were "up there" with the rest of them, yet to Dale Griffin & co., you were just another band in Doctor Peel's waiting room - "Next please!"
We ran through the four tracks ("She Said", "There's No Change", "Frankly" and "Twirling Tranquiliser Chair") live, overdubbing the vocals and percussion. I think we surprised ourselves by only needing about three takes per song. There is no room for mistakes when recording - all the tracks had to be put down in about five and a half hours, working non-stop from 1.30pm until 7.00pm, stopping for a half-hour break at the local pub, and then mixing from 7.30pm until 10.30pm. It was here that the importance of having a top producer really came to the fore. Dale (as we were allowed to call him by now) mixed each track in about 40 minutes (albeit aided by the sort of equipment most studio owners only see in magazines) and gave the 'Heads a sound we never thought possible.
We did a celebratory dance around the studio once we had completed our quartet of ditties. Dale graciously gave us a cassette copy of the songs. We ruined what cool we had left by insisting on a group photo with the world-famous producer (second from left, above), and sped off to Peterborough, laughing insanely: if only those third year girls could see us now.
The band's music were played by Peel between 1987 and 1989.
==Sessions==
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1. Recorded: 1989-04-30. First Broadcast: 25 May 1989. Repeated: 04 July 1989
*She Said / There's No Changee / Frankly / Twirling Tranquiliser Chair
==Other Shows Played==
;1987
*17 February 1987: Holding On (12") Ediesta
*28 August 1987 (BFBS): 'Something You're Above (12"-Treasure)' (Ediesta)
*01 September 1987: Something You're Above (7" - Treasure) Ediesta
*07 October 1987: Something You're Above (12" - Treasure) Ediesta
*14 October 1987: Something You're Above (12" - Treasure) Ediesta
*19 October 1987: Something You're Above (12" - Treasure) Ediesta
;1988
*19 April 1988: Sold (LP - Hard To Swallow) Ediesta
*11 May 1988: Sold (LP - Hard To Swallow) Ediesta
*01 June 1988 (Rockradio): Whip It Up (LP - Hard To Swallow) Ediesta
*29 June 1988: Sold (LP - Hard To Swallow) Ediesta
==External Links==
*Discogs
Category:Artists