SproutFacts! Basic information about the band, its chronology, and trivia.


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The sources for this information are John Birch's book, "Myths, Melodies & Metaphysics: Paddy McAloon's Prefab Sprout;" my own clippings, early Kitchenware Sprout fan club letters, and random comments from the occasional fan..

Birthdates and places:

June 7, 1957 -- Patrick Joseph McAloon, Durham
January 4, 1962 -- Martin McAloon, Durham
May 31, 1963 -- Wendy Smith, Middlesbrough
February 12, 1959 -- Neil Conti, Luton

Chronology:

·         1968-1975 -- Paddy attends Catholic Seminary, Ushaw College, as a lay student. An acquaintance of his during this time, Michael Callaghan, added this information:

"Paddy was, as you say, at Ushaw, but the seminaries of the N.England amalgamated in 1973 and so he came down to Upholland College in S.Lancashire Nr.Wigan, and was there from 1973-1975.

"I was already there and he joined our sixth form and we were in the same class for English A level. In addition, I also started to play music with him and his close friend Tony Coyle (who taught in Bishop Auckland, when I saw him last). Note that Tony was acknowledged for technical support on Andromeda Heights.

"They were both brilliant guitarists, I was a bum guitarist, but also played recorders especially tenor, which interested Paddy to the extent that he wrote a song for the school Christmas concert for 2 guitars and tenor recorder. He was so self conscious that he told everybody that it was an obscure Peter Gabriel song and as he was the King of musicology in our eyes we never questioned it! For the life of me I cannot remember the title of that tune.

"We also played at a teachers/parents school evening at a local town under name "The Doubles" which was a name he and Tony had appeared under before in another small concert; its naffness appealed to him especially as there were 3 of us at the time."

·         Around 1972 -- Paddy conceives of the name "Prefab Sprout" ("It's a name I chose when I was a kid. I was 14." BEST magazine (Fr.), 7/97) but doesn't use it yet. The name is his attempt at creating an unusual name, like Tyrannosaurus Rex, Moby Grape, Grand Funk Railroad etc. that were popular at the time. (The story about the mis-heard Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazelwood lyric providing the basis for the name was made up by Paddy.)

·         1974-ish to 1979 -- Wendy attends Brookside Secondary School. According to an acquaintance, Elane Crane:

"We both went to Brookside Secondary School (Marton Road) in Middlesbrough, Cleveland, England. She and I had some classes together (English Lit. and what not). In her fifth year (last year of secondary school) she was in 5D (5 Durham) which is a classification of grade level. D/Durham, R/Richmond, W/Whitby, and Y/York. Durham and Richmond were considered the more intelligent students, Whitby - average, York - below average. The head teacher at her school at the time was Mr. Bulmer, and deputy head was My.(sic) Bagley. She was quite introverted as I recall, very thin with short blonde hair. She never wore makeup, but usually always wore her uniform which was a gray or black blazer, red and white striped tie, white blouse and blue or gray skirt."

·         1974(?) -- Paddy forms the band "Avalon" with four friends. Living in Witton Gilbert, County Durham. Band plays the South Tyneside and Durham region. Mostly playing covers. Band breaks up due to college or work opportunities.

·         1975-78-- Paddy ("Patrick") attends Newcastle Polytechnic, studies Humanities, obtains a "lower second" (school information provided by a classmate and is unconfirmed). McAloon family living in Witton Gilbert. Paddy and Martin work at their father's garage.

·         1976 or 7 -- Paddy forms Prefab Sprout with Martin McAloon on bass and Michael Salmon on drums. Playing mostly original tunes.

·         1979/80 (approximate) -- Wendy is the girlfriend of John Sunter, the guitarist at the time in a band called "Instant Bop" according to fellow band member Ian Self. The two bands cross paths frequently. (John is acknowledged in the sleeve credits for Swoon and Steve McQueen and may have crewed for the Sprouts).

·         February 25, 1982 -- Prefab Sprout records "Lions in My Own Garden, Exit Someone" and "Radio Love" for their first record, released on their own Candle label. The label's motto: "The Wax That Won't Get On Your Wick." Wendy Smith begins providing backing vocals for the band at live shows shortly after this. (For information on the release dates for all Prefab Sprout records, see the Discography. Primarily, only album release dates will be noted here.)

·         September 17, 1982 -- Prefab Sprout records "The Devil Has All the Best Tunes" and "Walk On," this time with Wendy as a Sprout on backing vocals, joined by her friend Feona Atwood, also on backing vocals. About this time the band is noticed by Keith Armstrong, manager of Newcastle's HMV record store. Band is signed by Kitchenware Records (formed by Armstrong, Paul Ludford, and Phil Mitchell) in March 1983 and "Lions../Radio Love" is re-released as a Kitchenware single in April, 1983.

·         July (?) 1983 -- Michael Salmon leaves the band (reports as of 1998 or so had "Mick" driving a cab in the Durham area). Prefab Sprout spend the next year trying to find a drummer. Use session drummer Graham Lant for "Swoon" recording sessions, completed in August 1983.

·         October 1983 -- Kitchenware releases "The Devil.../Walk On" as a single; band plays a few gigs with drummer Daniel James. Other drummers over the coming months include David Ruffy, Steve Dalder, Louis Connolly, and others.

·         October 1983 -- Keith Armstrong takes Swoon tapes to CBS in London. Muff Winwood signs the band to an eight-album distribution deal, with Kitchenware retaining management of the band.

·         December(?) 1983 to February 1984 -- Prefab Sprout's "New Way of Life" tour, includes opening for Elvis Costello.

·         March 1984 -- Swoon released. The band tours UK and Europe to support Swoon at this time. If anyone has a list of tour dates for both the Swoon and Steve McQueen tours, I'd appreciate it!

·         April 28, 1984 -- Neil Conti's first gig with the Sprouts, in Dublin

·         June 1985 -- "Steve McQueen" released. Kevin Armstrong (guitar) and Michael Graves (keyboard) join band for ensuing "Two Wheels Good Tour. " Which included UK, Europe, and a couple shows in Japan. Thomas Dolby discusses how he got involved with the Sprouts for this recording. He also adds a few words about Langley and Jordan. (Thanks to Ron Collings for the link!)

·         September 1985 -- "Protest Songs" recorded. According to one story, it was originally intended to be released for one week only(!) starting December 2, 1985. Album is shelved due to success of "When Love Breaks Down."

·         March 1988 -- "From Langley Park to Memphis" released.

·         June 1989 -- "Protest Songs" released.

·         August 1990 -- Jordan: The Comeback" released. Ensuing tour of UK and Europe includes Jess Bailey (keyboards), Paul Harvey (guitar) and Karlos Edwards (percussion).

·         July 1992 -- "Life of Surprises - The Best of Prefab Sprout" released. After this, Neil Conti leaves the band (essentially he is "let go"); exactly when unknown. Takes on sessions work with Deep Forest among others. Wendy and Martin work with children in "music therapy," speech pathology (Wendy) or teaching music (Martin) depending on which rumor you choose to believe. Paul Smith becomes the "percussionist" in the subsequent Andromeda Heights recording sessions.

·         April 19, 1997 -- Sprouts mime (lip-sync) "A Prisoner of the Past" on the UK's national Lottery Show. Sessions drummer Mark Drapeau sits in.

·         May 1997 -- "Andromeda Heights" released.

·         May 31, 1997 -- Sprouts perform live on Irish TV. (If you haven't already -- because the previous performance was lip-sync'd -- add Mark Drapeau to the list of "official" Sprout drummers.)

·         August 1997 -- Paddy marries (wife 'Victoria;' date uncertain). He met his future wife in the classical music section of a Newcastle record store.

·         August or September, 1998 -- Paddy becomes a father, a daughter (date uncertain).

·         August or September, 1999 -- Paddy becomes a father for the second time, another daughter (date uncertain).

·         October, 1999 -- "The 38 Carat Collection" released.

·         November 1999 -- Prefab Sprout's "Official" web page created, three years after this site was created. They decline to link to this site.

·         March-April 2000 -- Sprouts tour Great Britain and Ireland. Wendy doesn't tour because of the recent birth of a baby, but Neil Conti is included. Jess Bailey fills in on keyboards

·         June 10, 2000 -- Sprouts play the Fleadh Festival in London.

·         Early 2001 -- While word of the impending release of a new album excites fans, the biggest news is that Paddy has developed a significant medical problem with his eye(s)/eyesight. This affects the release date of the new album, pushing it back from May to June.

·         June 18, 2001 -- "The Gunman And Other Stories" released in Europe, (on their new label, EMI/Liberty rather than Sony/Columbia) produced by Tony Visconti. Neil Conti and Wendy Smith are not on the album (Neil is not approached at all); Paddy uses studio musicians instead, and in some cases "programmed percussion."

·         June 2, 2003 – “i trawl the MEGAHERTZ,” a mostly musical Paddy McAloon solo effort, is released.

·         October 2004 – www.prefabsprout.com the “official” site domain registration lapses and is no longer accessible.

Label:

Kitchenware Records
Saint Thomas Street Stables
Saint Thomas Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 4LE
England
Their email address is fans@prefabsprout.com  I have no idea if it works though.

Directors: Keith Armstrong, Phil Mitchell, Harry Armstrong, though Phil has now left the company.

Who is this man? Find the answer below...


Trivia

·         The voice who does the "I want to have you's" on "Wild Horses" is not Wendy's; it belongs to Jenny Agutter, an actress perhaps best known as the girl in Nicholas Roeg's film "Walkabout"

·         "He'll Have To Go" and "The Streets of Laredo" are the Sprout's only commercially released "covers" (i.e. Paddy didn't write them).

·         Prefab Sprout was originally signed to CBS Records Muff Winwood, brother of Steve.

·         According to a 1991 Rolling Stone article, other names considered for the band's name included Grappled Institution, Dry Axe, and Village Bus (thanks to Dennis Petticoffer for bringing this to my attention!)

·         "Two Wheels Good," the name used for the "Steve McQueen" album in North America, is a literary allusion to Animal Farm by George Orwell. As I recall, the quote goes something like "Two legs bad; four legs good." I'll try to get the exact quote here.

·         The closing line to "Bonny" is "Save your speeches, flowers are for funerals."

·         In addition to Wendy Smith and Jenny Agutter, ANOTHER woman sang vocals on a Sprout release: Feona Atwood; she performed on the single The Devil Has All the Best Tunes/Walk On.

·         The band's US distributor, Epic records, twice promoted the band as "Prefab Sprouts." When I called Epic US to find out about their plans for Andromeda Heights, no one remembered that the Sprouts had been on their label.

·         A visitor to these pages writes: "I was wondering if most Sprout fans know what the opening dialogue from "Blueberry Pies" is and where it came from. I found out quite by accident one evening a while ago, when I heard someone on TV say, "And Dugan, who cheated in class; guess what he's doing now? (pause) He's a priest." It was from the very first episode of the TV series "The White Shadow." Jim Willis (played in this episode only by Jason Bernard), the principal of Carver High School, spoke the line to Ken Reeves (Ken Howard), the title character of the show."

·         Protest Songs was originally promoted as having 12 songs on it, but the album only had 10.

·         The word "Rollmo" came to Paddy in a dream in which Michael Jackson was producing one of their records. He said the song needed a some "Rollmo;" he adjusted a knob that would add a "touch of magic" to the recording.

·         The word "Rollmo" is permanently banned from usage on California vehicle license plates. (For a small fee, California, like many US states, allows individuals to special-order their vehicle license/registration plates with letter-number combinations of their own choosing.) The office that approves these plates gave me the following various reasons for dis-allowing the plate: The word "Rollmo" was 1) obscene, 2) an incitement to violence, and 3) an insult to homosexuals. I'd try to explain their logic to you, but it is beyond all explanation.

·         Kevin Armstrong should not be confused with Keith Armstrong, one of the Kitchenware founders. KEVIN Armstrong played some guitar on Steve McQueen/Two Wheels Good and toured with them on the Two Wheels Good tour.

·         The phrase "Look Out Memphis Tennessee!" appears on the run out section (the part after the recording) on Swoon, on the original vinyl and probably UK pressings only. Many other Sprout recordings have similar messages scratched in.

·         Various individuals have been credited with producing "Lions in My Own Garden, Exit Someone." "T. Gavaghan" is listed on the label for the Candle single (a picture of the label is at the top of my Sprout Collectables page); his role is then described as "sound enhancement" once you get to the Kitchenware releases of "Lions" that followed the Candle single. Later, on the 7" single of Nightingales that includes "Lions" (SKEP39), the producer is listed as just "Prefab Sprout." And then, on SKTCD60, the producer is listed as Hal Remington!

·         In any event, "T. Gavaghan" is Terry Gavaghan, owner of Guardian Studios in (as I am told) "Pity Me" Durham. The studio was in the front room of his terraced home. (per Ian Self)

·         Bearpark & Langley Park are near Ushaw College, which Paddy attended. (per Martin Adams)

·         According to Paddy, Swoon is his "least favorite" of the band's releases.

·         While a Sprout, drummer Neil Conti played drums on the Mick Jagger/David Bowie release of "Dancin' in the Streets" and performed on Live Aid with Bowie.

·         Prefab Sprout has had more drummers (at least 11) than Spinal Tap (8 that I know of)!

Prefab Sprout drummers:

** Neil writes that the story that he responded to a Prefab Sprout advertisement that stated they wanted a drummer who was "better than David Ruffy" is absolutely not true. To quote Neil: " I have never heard of or seen an advert asking for a drummer that is 'better' than Dave Ruffy. I certainly don't think I am a better or a worse drummer than Dave and I don't care - these things are un-quantifiable anyway. Dave is a good friend of mine and there is no competitiveness between us..."  Actually, I never believed the story.  I think it was Paddy winding up one of his interviewers.

Spinal Tap drummers:

·         For fun, check out the connections between Prefab Sprout and Michael Jordan!

Directory -- Discography -- Collectables -- More Sprout Info -- Paddy: On The Records -- Most Recent Album -- Gallery -- PrefabLinks -- Sign Guestbook View

Yes, that's Wendy. Yes, that's me. Yes, that's my arm around her. Who looks like they're enjoying this more? (Taken backstage after the Sheffield show, Jordan Tour, 1990.)

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