Applicant: Fidel Villeneuve Vocal/Guitar/Cubase

Applicant: Paul Blades Guitar/Backing Vocal

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Applicant: Adam Boult Drums

Applicant: Jeffrey James Kaoss Pad/Melodica/ Backing Vocal/Jumping

THE STORY SO FAR...

The story begins in the Rock-Mecca that is Wolverhampton. Five miles West lies a high school that serves the local satellite villages and inside it’s grounds, on another non descript sunny afternoon, an unenthusiastic teenager with soap in his hair walked into his compulsory careers advice session held in the dusty corner of the library. "What have you considered doing when you leave school?" asked Peter Rees, the careers advice man. "Well, I thought about being something like a sonic art terrorist", was the reply. The boy was asked to return on another date when he could think of something more suitable to say, but he never went back. Two years on and recording as Fidel Villeneuve, he was signed to Atari Teenage Riot’s record label (Digital Hardcore) making a crazy distorted 220bpm mess on an Akai sampler while living in 304 Holloway Road - Joe Meek's haunted studio flat in London! (top right picture) Fidel's first record, Kill Life on DHR Imprint Less than 20 (made for for youngsters). The album received a 7/10 review in NME by Kitty Empire. (under that) Joe Meek, the Telstar Man. Recording pioneer and outsider. In a tiny flat above a leather shop, Joe was the first UK man to have number #1 in USA, only for his life to end in tragedy and disaster.

Watching all this was keenly school friend and guitarist Paul Blades. The two would often bump into each other at shows quite regularly, something for which Wolverhampton was quite blessed with. For over a decade, its closest rival – Birmingham - had no suitable music venue for roughly 90% of the bands that existed or wanted to tour. Bands would either have to play the Jug of Ale (capacity of about 6), or the National Exhibition Centre (capacity of the entire population of Ireland) with nothing suitable in-between. Wolverhampton also had a better reputation, and the atmosphere made it a better place for the bands to go. Pretty much any decent metal, rock or Indie band going would therefore play in Wolverhampton, a rich seem from which both Paul and Fidel would benefit from. Fantastic acts would be seen, drunk and moshed to – the cities inhabitants forging folklores as they went. Fidel and Paul saw Kenickie sang out of a megaphone sang hanging out of the Varsity balcony when a thunderstorm blew out the city's electricity supply. Fidel and his friend Brian (Fidel’s DHR recording partner and later to form the $hit) were once even bought a McDonalds meal by Flavor Flav when Public Enemy played the Wulfrun, escorted by the S1W’s all the way!

Slowly but surely though, the bands dried up, and Wolverhampton became a much less fun place to be. Not even Super 2008 (the Chinese Tat store that sold trinkets and holographic religious clocks) could be relied upon to be open. Both Paul and Fidel could see not only their music, but their lives slipping away had they of stayed. After hearing that his school friend had run off to London, Paul came to move up too to pursue his vision of his own band. After recording for Matchbox Records, Paul and Fidel found themselves sharing a flat together. After seeing bands like the Mad Capsule Markets, and to a lesser degree Test Icicles, it suddenly occurred to Fidel and Paul that it were not only possible, but incredibly exciting to form a band using elements of Fidel’s Digital Hardcore work, and Paul’s more established guitar forms. This suited Fidel as after his 4th album, he wanted to try something new, and he started playing guitar live again for the first time in 5 years.

(Left) Paul playing guitar in Wolverhampton. (Centre) Brian in his later guise lead singing with the $hit (Brian also shared the room in the Joe Meek flat with Fidel and the pair made 2 more albums together recording as the Bureau de Change released by D-Trash Records). (On the right) Fidel is sprorting the sports casualty look he made his own in Wolverhampton.

Paul and Fidel were joined by Mush (later to join Tin Can Telephone/Client/Ten Benson) on bass guitar. She had studied in Wolverhampton, and was the girl in the silver cat suit with red hair everyone stared at. She could also lay claim to have lived in the coolest student house in Whitmore Reans, albeit the smelliest too from all the kittens yet to be housebroken. The smell meant she too had fled and now found herself in London. The trio formed a band called Formula Bone, where Fidel programmed a backing track, and the three rocked out. The “pop n’ roll” formula was beginning to gel and the demo’s made in Fidel’s bedroom were played by Steve Lamacq on the radio, and finding favour with Sean McClusky. John Brainlove (another Wolverhampton affiliate) after splitting with the $hit, began to realize that London was probably a better place than Wolverhampton to expand his record label plans (I mean there’s only so much networking that you can do with the cowboy), and he too moved down to London. John and Fidel had started working together with John helping to spread the music Fidel and the band were creating. John had started to book the first ever Brainlove tour, but disaster however was only round the corner. Fidel simultaniously had ended up in a psychiatric day hospital and fallen out with Mush forcing her to quit the group. The two wouldn’t speak for over 2 years. (above right) Mush playing with Formula Bone in Wolverhampton. This was one of the very first Brainlove shows, and also included the $hit. (right centre) Cover of the demo played by Steve Lamacq. Mush is in the centre with Paul and Fidel either side. On air, Steve Lamacq described it as "a spirited raqcuet", a feat all the more remarkable as the group never made it into a studio - Fidel recorded everything in whatever room he was renting at the time. (bleow that) John Brainlove by Brainlove DJ's inside Koko, Camden.

With Paul still on board, Fidel put out some feelers for potential bandmates so they could play the tour John had booked. Out of the Applicants, Jeffrey James stood out – a science student form Hong Kong with no musical experience, but who was applying for a job in a mortuary. Fidel asked her to look after the electronics/backing track so no matter what happened, he could at least rock out for this tour. However it soon became apparent that Jeff was going to rock out much more than Fidel or Paul put together, fearlessly jumping into any audience that would have us covering them in fake blood as she went. And with that Applicants were born.

(pictures above and right) Collage taken from the first Brainlove tour. The woman in the peacock suit with Fidel is Bishi, who also played on the tour. The other bands were the Open Mouths, The Evenings (later to transfrom into the Keyboard Choir) and Napoleon the IIIrd. The tour went to Leeds, Oxford, London, culminating in a show in somebody's kitchen in Brighton. Applicants headlined the show in Leicester and there were 2 people. The promoter still gave us a receipt for that which John Brainlove kept.

The band wowed and scared people up and down the country with their blend of catchy pop hooks, heavy detuned guitars and distorted electronics gripped with their unpredictable live show. Highlights included playing headlining the upper room at Frog, and most bizarrely, to over 2,000 on a Romanian beach!

Applicants’ first release was a split 7 inch with Brainlove records – with Applicants contributing two songs Crappuccino! / Filthy – to their side. It was picked up by Mark Riley who played it on his BBC 6 music show. Following that, Brianlove teamed up with Tigertrap Records (released the first Tiny Masters of Today single and home to Infants) to present Applicants’ debut album – “Life in the Bus Lane”. The 11 track LP contained the single Crappuccino, as well as the well received “He’s a Man”, and anthemic History has been kind to Spike Milligan”. “Life in the Bus Lane” was recorded with Oli Horton, Trademark front man, who has also gone on to record sessions with Foals and Anat Ben David. The record coincided with the group making a very limited number of “Life in the Bus Lane” oyster card wallets in three exciting colours. The band's gigging did not relent, and to date Applicants have played gigs with some of the following amazing bands: Polysics, Napoleon the IIIrd, Bearsuit, The $hit, The Victorian English Gentlemen’s Club, Bishi, Pagan Wander Lu, 4 or 5 Magicians, Fuck Buttons, Tim Ten Yen, Aela, The Retro Spankees, Lonely Ghosts, the Macabbees to name but a few.

In 2008 the group were joined on drums by bitter newspaper hack Adam Boult to beef up the drama of Applicants’ live shows and recordings to unprecedented new heights. One can only speculate if it was this employment role that has encouraged him to hit those skins quite so hard with those sticks. Jeff's musical role was expanded also during this time.

All four Applicants are half way through recording the follow up to Life in the Bus Lane – demos of which have started to appear on the Applicants’ MySpace player (click on the link below).