The Flowerpot Men (Part 2 of 2)

For their third release, 1986's Alligator Bait EP, The Flowerpot Men expanded to a four-piece.... maybe. Drummer Mark Irving is undoubtedly a real person, but the "Mr. Delmardes" credited with keyboards and programming has never shown up anywhere else. The "foursome" are joined by singers Sam Brown and Margo Buchanan on backing vocals. The two songs on side one, "Alligator Bait" and "Django", fall into the Flowerpots' established formula, but they widen their horizons on the B-side. "Watching the Pharoahs" (sic) has light, boppy verses divided by a rocking chorus, and "Sharpen My Heart" is a slow, creepy ballad. Also recorded in 1986 was The Janice Long Session, a four-song live performance for Radio One. On this record (recorded March 9, 1986, broadcast April 24, 1986, and produced by Barry Andrews) the band consists of the core duo of Ben Watkins and Adam Peters plus the two backup singers from Alligator Bait. What's notable is how close the performances sound to the studio recordings (most of it is programmed), but also how distinctive Peters' electric cello sounds. So that's what those deep whooshing sounds are. The session also introduced a new Flowerpot Men song, the bouncy "Beat City." That song would appear on the Ferris Bueller's Day Off soundtrack, but no soundtrack album was ever released. Does anyone know if that was a studio version, or this live-in-the-studio session? The Janice Long Session was their last record before they signed to Polydor and became Sunsonic, so this concludes my Flowerpot Men posts. Get both 4-song EPs here or here.

The Flowerpot Men (Part 1 of 2)

Ben Watkins and Adam Peters first recorded together on the sessions for Watkins' first album with Martin "Youth" Glover, The Empty Quarter, in 1983. Thereafter they began recording together as The Flowerpot Men, releasing their first single (on 12" only), "Jo's So Mean (to Josephine)", in 1984 on their own Compost Records label. It's an odd song, carrying over the sequencer from The Empty Quarter, adding lyrics and a drum machine with an undanceable beat and a general goth feel. The B-side contains two songs, "Rapids," which mostly duplicates the A-side's formula but with a slightly more conventional beat, and the odd atmospheric instrumental "UG", which is built around a repeating guttural growl. For their follow-up single in 1985 they recorded an epic cover of Dr. John's "Walk On Gilded Splinters," with a guest vocal from Dr. John himself! The Flowerpot Men's high-octane synth-based version is a far cry from Dr. John's spooky original (check it out here), but its energy is irresistible and there are some striking beat changes sprinkled throughout. The B-side, "Melting Down On Motor Angel" (later to be the title of their Polydor album as Sunsonic, although not actually on the album) returns to the style of their first record, which now that I think about it is pretty close to early Nitzer Ebb, but more arty than aggressive. Get both records here or here.

Sunsonic - Melting Down On Motor Angel

As The Flowerpot Men, Ben Watkins and Adam Peters brought a dark edge to 80s synthpop. Upon signing to Polydor they changed their name to Sunsonic (presumably because there had already been a band called the Flowerpot Men in the 60s) and released a single album, Melting Down On Motor Angel (a Flowerpot Men track that did not appear on the album, oddly enough) in 1990, before they split up and Ben Watkins went on to become Juno Reactor. Melting Down marks the middle ground between the rock-influenced synthpop of the 80s and the full-fledged techno of the 90s. Here is that album, the first of several projected Ben Watkins Before Juno Reactor posts. (Or here.)