Origins: The Wild Swans, Mark I (1980–1982) The Wild Swans formed in 1980 when Paul Simpson, who had left the Teardrop Explodes after the recording of their first single, teamed up (on vocals) with Jeremy Kelly (guitar),
Ged Quinn (keyboards), James Weston (bass) and Justin Stavely (drums). An opportunity arose when
Pete de Freitas of
Echo & the Bunnymen (an old friend and flatmate of Simpson's) agreed to fund their first single "Revolutionary Spirit" (1982,
Zoo Records). he was credited under his middle names, Louis Vincent. Despite turning out to be Zoo's last ever release, and the A-side being accidentally mixed in
mono rather than
stereo, the single received a measure of critical acclaim and in time, developed cult status. The single spent 9 weeks on the
UK Independent Chart, peaking at No. 13. Subsequent to the release of "Revolutionary Spirit", weekly rehearsals were given a degree of urgency when the band was offered a
BBC Radio 1 John Peel session. Songs on this session, all written by the team of Simpson, Quinn and Kelly, included "No Bleeding", "Enchanted" and "Thirst". By this point, the band was rounded out by two new members: Baz Hughes (bass) and Joe McKechnie (drums). The Wild Swans were sporadically active in the early 1980s; touring with Echo & the Bunnymen in 1981 following a residency with the Teardrop Explodes. A
David Jensen session came in spring 1982, with the band penning and performing "The Iron Bed", "Flowers of England" and "Now You're Perfect". The group split very soon after this BBC Radio 1 session was broadcast.
Post-split: Care and the Lotus Eaters (1982–1985) Once the band split, Kelly and Quinn started up
the Lotus Eaters with co-founder Peter Coyle. Strangely,
Arista Records, who had refused to sign the Wild Swans, then snapped up both of the offshoots. Both groups issued several singles, with the Lotus Eaters scoring a chart hit, and releasing an album in 1984. Care, meanwhile, reached number 48 on the UK charts with the single "
Flaming Sword". Both bands had broken up by 1985, with Care having recorded an unreleased album.
Revival: The Wild Swans, Mark II (1986–1990) In 1986, the session recorded for the
Radio 1 John Peel show was finally released on
Strange Fruit Records, containing the tracks "No Bleeding", "Enchanted", and "Thirst". It repeated the single's success, peaking at No. 13 on the independent chart. Titled
Bringing Home the Ashes (1988,
Sire/Reprise Records), and featuring uncredited session players on keyboards and drums, it was produced by
Paul Hardiman and yielded two singles, "Young Manhood" (which first appeared on the 1987 Sire Records promotional sampler
Just Say Yes) and "Bible Dreams". Simpson is nowadays disparaging of the sound developed on the album and feels that some of the aura and magic surrounding the (Mark I) Wild Swans had been lost. "Major label thinking is like a virus, you forget why you started the band and fall into the 'hit' record mind-set". He went on to offer even more stark words of wisdom for those thinking of setting up a band: "Major labels suck the poetry from your bones and fill the gaps with a cement made from cocaine and crushed teenagers." It was produced by
Ian Broudie, and featured a line-up of Paul Simpson (vocals, mellotron, effects), Joe Fearon (bass), Ian Broudie (guitars, keyboards),
Chris Sharrock (drums) and
Ian McNabb (additional guitars, vocals). Sharrock and McNabb were both of the Liverpool three piece
the Icicle Works. In February 2010, Paul Simpson said "For the first time ever I am happy with the results, the unmixed tracks are sounding so good its scary. It may be 20 odd years late but I think we have finally made the definitive Wild Swans masterpiece." The 13-track album featured 11 new songs alongside the A-sides of both 2009 singles ("Liquid Mercury" appearing in a noticeably different form from the original single mix.) The B-sides, which included the track after which the album is named, did not appear on the album. Joining the sextet as guest performers on a handful of the album's newer tracks were Will Sergeant and
Candie Payne; Ged Quinn painted the album cover. In May 2011, the band issued a 3-song EP of outtakes from the
Coldest Winter sessions entitled
Tracks in Snow, followed by a five-date UK tour in June. Producer Rich Turvey played keyboards and Stuart Mann joined the band on drums. Later that year, the band performed two successful shows in the
Philippines, one concert in
Cebu City on 30 September and the other at the
SM Mall of Asia,
Manila on 1 October.
After 2011 The Wild Swans have neither played live nor released any new material since 2011. In 2019, a posting on Paul Simpson's website announced that the Wild Swans were recording material (in November 2019) intended for release in 2020 or 2021. The band line-up was indicated as being Simpson,
Marty Willson-Piper, Ricky Maymi, Edgar Jones, Stuart Mann and Richard Turvey. Since Simpson's 2019 announcement, there have been no further specific updates about the recordings, or the band's personnel. However, the front page of Simpson's website noted in 2021 that "Paul is working on his long awaited book and also a new ‘Wild Swans’ album." Simpson's book
Revolutionary Spirit was issued in late 2023. Most recently, after initially touting a potential release date of "early 2025", the site now promises a new Wild Swans album in 2026. ==Discography==