Flaming Hands were one of the great inner-city Sydney bands of the early 80's, led by singer Julie Mostyn and astute songwriter/guitarist Jeff Sullivan. Their intense yet tuneful blend of 60's soul, R&B and psychedelic pop attracted a loyal following, leading them to sign to the Phantom Records label and to issue the promising 'I Belong To Nobody' single in September 1980, featuring soul covers originally recorded by The Marvelettes and Soul Incorporated. By the time the first single was released, Paul 'Sluggo' Maheno had joined on sax, and this new line-up issued the Lobby Loyde-produced 'Wake Up Screaming' single in March 1981, which coincided with another line-up change, with Sullivan, Mostyn and Sluggo being joined by newcomers Grant Conner on bass, Peter Bull on keyboards, and Alan Brown on drums. This new line-up supported The Clash at their epic seven-night stand at Sydney's Capitol Theatre during February 1982, during which time The Clash’s manager Bernie Rhodes became something of a Flaming Hands fan. The band's next single 'It’s Just That I Miss You' was issued a month later, but by the end of the year Sullivan and Mostyn had grown dissatisfied with their lack of progress and inability to gain a major record deal, and they broke up the band. Bull later joined Paul Kelly and The Coloured Girls, while Sullivan and Mostyn started to put together a new band called Tunnels And Trains, but a year later they'd reverted to Flaming Hands, and they finally signed to Big Time (through EMI) and prepared to record an album. With the help of INXS members Andrew Farriss and Garry Beers, Sullivan and Mostyn recorded the 12" single 'Cast My Love', which came out in October 1983, followed by the 7" single 'The Edge' in March 1984. By this time Flaming Hands consisted of just Sullivan, Mostyn and Sluggo, but with assistance from session players they completed their self-titled debut album, which also spawned two more singles, 'Break Down And Cry' and 'Out Of Our Hands'. By mid-year the band had returned to the live arena with a line-up of Sullivan, Mostyn, Sluggo, Tim Leitch (keyboards), DC Robertson (bass) and Michael Prowse (drums), but at the end of 1985, with still only a cult following to show for five years of perseverance, Sullivan and Mostyn finally laid Flaming Hands to rest. Despite their lack of commercial success they were a pretty good band, as can be heard from this collection of singles, b-sides, demos and live recordings, none of which appeared on their album.
Track listing
01 I Belong To Nobody (single 1980)
02 The Stranger (b-side of 'I Belong To Nobody')
03 Wake Up Screaming (single 1980)
04 Sweet Revenge (b-side of 'Wake Up Screaming')
05 It's Just That I Miss You (single 1981)
06 Go Or Stay (b-side of 'It's Just That I Miss You')
07 Falling Apart At The Seams (demo 1981)
08 What Is Love (live 1982)
09 Seek And Find (from 'Paths Of Pain To Jewels Of Glory' compilation 1983)
10 Kismet (b-side of 'Cast My Love' 1983)
11 Love Execution (live 1983)
12 Sacrifice (b-side of 'The Edge' 1984)
13 Hold Tight (demo 1984)
14 Open Windows (b-side of 'Breakdown And Cry' 1984)
