The Servants
| The Servants | |
|---|---|
London, 2014
|
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Genres |
Indie Art rock |
| Years active | 1985–1991 |
| Labels |
Cherry Red Captured Tracks |
| Website | www.lostsheep.com/davidwestlake |
| Past members |
David Westlake Luke Haines |
The Servants were an indie band formed in 1985 in Hayes, Middlesex, England by singer-songwriter David Westlake. The band was the original home of Luke Haines.
The band's Small Time album was well received on its 2012 release, more than twenty years after its 1991-recording. The belated release followed the inclusion of 1990's Disinterest in Mojo magazine's 2011 list of the greatest British indie records of all time.
Singer-songwriter David Westlake started the band in Hayes, Middlesex with school-friend Ed Moran. The Servants played their first gig at The Water Rats Theatre in London's King's Cross on 1 July 1985.
The line-up for most of the early gigs was: David Westlake, John Mohan, Phil King and Eamon Lynam (a.k.a. Neasden Riots). Declining offers from Statik, Stiff, and Él, they signed with Head Records, set up by Jeff Barrett, later head of Heavenly Records.
Westlake's urbane English song-writing was well received by the press, and the band was invited to record a John Peel session soon after the release of first single "She's Always Hiding" (March '86).
Keen to distance themselves from the "shambling" scene, the band earned a reputation for haughtiness. They grudgingly accepted an invitation by the then-popular NME to appear on their C86 compilation, insisting on the track being B-side of their first single – the wrong-footing "Transparent". The NME compilation turned out to sell well and the Servants became known for a lesser track.
The band's next release, the four-song e.p. "The Sun, A Small Star" (August '86), showed Westlake's song-writing becoming still more deft, the title-track being later described as "a 24 carat 'Brown Eyed Girl' classic".
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