We Free Kings - Preacher's Songs (1988)

Following my recent post from The Green Telescope, a comment from santaci alerted me to a band that Telescope member Colin Blakey joined when he left them, and so after a bit of research we now have a post from We Free Kings.

We Free Kings were an Edinburgh-based folk/punk/rock act formed in the mid-1980's by Joe Kingman on vocals and guitar, Seb Holbrook on guitar, Phil Bull on cello, Colin Blakey on whistles and reeds, Pam Dobson on melodeon, Aidan Reilly on mandolin, Geoff Pagan on violin, and Kenny Welsh on drums. Blakey had been a member of The Green Telescope, who released a couple of singles in the mid 80’s, and one day he saw  a bunch of hooligans busking opposite the market, and he had his whistle with him and asked if he could join in. Before long he was gigging and recording them around Edinburgh, and a few weeks later he heard about an Irish tour that they had lined up, so he phoned Joe Kingman, and he was told that there was a seat on the bus for him.  They built up a sizeable Scottish following through energetic live dates with acts like The Waterboys, and Kingman used to share a flat with their singer Mike Scott. After a self-financed storming debut single in 1986 with ‘Death Of The Wild Colonial Boy’, they signed to D.D.T. and released their debut album, ‘Hell On Earth & Rosy Cross’ in 1988. The following year Blakey left to join The Waterboys in Ireland, and so Kingman, Holbrook, Pagan & Bull then regrouped with Mark Ritchie (guitar), Simon (bass) and Grangemouth drummer Greg Drysdale (ex-One Over The Eight), and this line-up released the 12” single ‘Howl’ for Avalanche Records in 1990. They were later thrown off a UK tour with The Waterboys by an insecure Mike Scott, and the band split almost immediately afterwards, with Drysdale joining The Diesel Kings, and Bull, Pagan, Holbrook, and Kingman joining The Clan. This post collects together their singles and EP’s plus a few previously unreleased demos, and highlights yet another overlooked band of the 1980’s.

 
Track listing
 
01 Love Is In The Air (single 1986)
02 Death Of The Wild Colonial Boy (b-side of ‘Love Is In The Air’)
03 Oceans (from the ‘Oceans’ EP 1987)
04 Wipe-Out Gang (from the ‘Oceans’ EP 1987)
05 Still Standing (from the ‘Still Standing’ EP 1987)
06 Run Run Run (from the ‘Still Standing’ EP 1987)
07 Unholy Ground (from the ‘Still Standing’ EP 1987)
08 This Train (from the ‘Still Standing’ EP 1987)
09 Easter Road (previously unreleased)
10 King Of Thieves (live on FSD 1987)
11 Preacher’s Song (previously unreleased)
12 Be So Cruel (from the ‘Howl’ EP 1988)
13 Silver Or Lead (previously unreleased)
14 Underwater (previously unreleased)