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The Corn Dollies
(England) London
The Corn Dollies emerged in 1987 when the three original members, Steve Musham (voice/guitar), Tim Sales (guitar), and Jack Hoser (drums) were joined by Californian bass player Steve Ridder, and released their first single, 'Forever Steven' on their own Farm Label. The two tracks on the single, and a number of other unreleased tracks, were produced by Robert Forster of the Go-Betweens at HAMMA Studios in Dalston, London. The single received critical acclaim, racking up 'single of the Week' status in Sounds and Record Mirror, and bought the band to the attention of Medium Cool label boss Andy Wake. Originally brought in to add violin during a recording session, Jono Podmore joined the band on a full-time basis.

The band recorded and released a number of singles for Medium Cool, before the label's demise, after which they, and most of MC's roster, moved to Nick Ralph's Midnight Music. Midnight had already released a successful compilation of the band's Medium Cool material in France, where, along with Spain, the band built a strong following. Originally, The Corn Dollies seem to have been influenced by The Byrds, Go-Betweens, and REM, but later recordings and live appearances saw them creating a much harder, less acoustic sound, seemingly at odds with the band's bucolic name. They probably suffered because they eventually didn't really fit into the 'twee' indie bracket and didn't always have much in common with the bands they were often identified with. The later singles, 'Map of the World' and 'Joyrider', bear little relation to the strummings of 'Forever Steven' and 'In Bethpage'.
With Steve Ridder having to return to the USA, the band seemed to reach a natural conclusion, and after recording a third unreleased album ('Past Caring'), called it a day in 1991.

Joe Lion

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Releases:
Forever Steven (7")
on The Farm Label
- About to Believe
Be Small Again (7"+12") October 1987
7" Ltd. to 1000 copies / 12" Ltd. to 2000 copies
- Be Small Again
- In Bethpage (7" only)
- Rubber Fish (12" only)
- The Big House (12" only)
Shake (7"+12") July 1988
7" Ltd. to 1000 copies / 12" Ltd. to 2000 copies
- Shake
- Climbing Stairs
- Gathered Up (12" only)
Map Of The World (7"+12") October 1988
7" Ltd. to 1000 copies / 12" Ltd. to 2000 copies
- Map of the World
- People Gone
- This Is Mine (12" only)
The Corn Dollies (LP) 1988
on Midnight Music - tba
- Forever Steven
Nothing Of You (12") May 1989
12" Ltd. to 2000 copies / 7" released in France via Midnight Music
- Nothing Of You
- Polly West
- Wrecked
- Be Small Again (Mix)
Wrecked (LP) 1989
on Midnight Music
- Wrecked
Joyrider! (12")
on Midnight Music
Forever Steven (12") February 1988
12" Ltd. to 2000 copies
- Forever Steven
- About To Believe
- Sweetheart Rose Special
- About to Believe
On compilations:
Bananas!  (LP) 1989
on Rodney
- This Is Mine
Zine Cool Flexi  (FLX) 1989
on Zine Fanzine
- Map Of The World
on Spasm/Midnight Music
- Le Freak
Edge Of The Road  (LP) April 1988
UKLP Ltd. to 5000 copies / USLP Ltd. to 1000 / K7 Promo Ltd. to 1000
- Mouthful of Brains
- What Do I Ever
on Cherry Red Records - CRCDBOX10
- Be Small Again
Last updated: 10-Nov-2008 © 1994-2024 TweeNet Creative Commons License