Alyson over at What's It All About, Alfie recently published a post about 'Flaming Star' by Elvis Presley, the title track of the first LP she ever purchased - a great song, too often overlooked. An early, lyrically darker, version of 'Flaming Star', unreleased until the 1990's, was titled 'Black Star' and was thought to have been a reference point for David Bowie's song of the same name. But I digress. Alyson's post got me thinking about the band who presumably took their name from Elvis' hit, when they formed in 1994 - The Flaming Stars. I've got the first two Flaming Stars LPs and they're great, so it's a bit of a mystery to me how I allowed them to slip off my radar around the turn of the century. To date the band have released seven studio albums plus a double compilation of John Peel sessions and, only in the last few days, returned to the stage following a period of hiatus. They've been described as being '...like a fistfight between Jerry Lee Lewis and the Voidoids...', though I seem to recall recommending them to one of my own customers many years ago, as a cross between The Jesus & Mary Chain with a sense of humour and The Godfathers. Frontman Max Décharné certainly has a keen turn of phrase. See what you think.
The Flaming Stars - Bring Me The Rest of Alfredo Garcia
The Flaming Stars - The Face on the Bar Room Floor
