Music: House of love

Jeff Hemmings talks to guitarist Terry Bickers

Formed in 1986, House Of Love became a leading indie rock band in the late ’80s; ‘Shine On’, ‘Christine’ and ‘Destroy The Heart’ remain seminal songs from that period, and their eponymous debut made number one in the Independent Charts. They were cover stars and hotly tipped as being the next British stadium rock band, before a downward spiral of drugs, ego clashes and sheer exhaustion saw their fortunes decline until disbanding in 1993. They reformed in 2003, released a new album in 2005 and have been semi-active ever since, juggling day jobs and other musical projects with the band. They have a new album, She Paints Words In Red, released in time for this UK tour.

At its beating heart are singer and songwriter Guy Chadwick and guitarist Terry Bickers, who initially left the band in 1989 following a well publicised breakdown in the band’s relation. “Then I was very young when we had our success,” says Terry, who is Brighton based. “I was only 20-22 years old when it was building up rapidly. I didn’t have much experience of what we were going through, being in the limelight. This time around, I’m happy to be still doing it, it’s like being given a second chance.”

The legendary Alan McGee, who set up Creation Records and both Oasis as well as House Of Love, has only fond memories: “I loved them, they could have taken on anybody live. Terry was a true genius, Guy a master songwriter, the recipe for big time success still to this day. Maybe only I know how f***ing crazy that band truly were.”

“We really needed guidance at that crucial point,” Guy has said. “Most groups just go nuts. It’s like this huge trolley full of booze being placed in front of you. With a whiff of success, people change towards you. We were taking too many drugs, I was drinking ridiculously…”

Bickers’ psychedelic stylings have won many admirers over the years; after the band split he formed the psychedelically-minded Levitation and as well as House Of Love, he has an ongoing musical project with Pete Fijalkowski, of whom there should be more later in the year.

Chadwick and Bickers though managed to join forces again for a reunion in 2003. “We did a session for Tom Robinson recently; he was describing how we got chewed up by the music industry and buckled under the strain, but now we’ve managed to work it out, and it’s good to be working with the guys because it’s like a family band; we know each other very well, and we have an instinctive feel for each others playing.”

And now they are about to release the new album and head out on a very rare UK tour. “We worked with Pat Collier, who helped produce some of the early stuff like ‘Destroy The Heart’. I’m really pleased with the material, the songs are strong and I think it’ll grow live.”
House Of Love, The Haunt, Wednesday 10 April, 7pm, £17.50