Left to right : STEVE FIELDING
(Bass) ; PHIL HENDRIKS (Lead vocal , guitar) ;
MARK COLERIDGE (Drums , vocals)
; IAN "STRANG" BARNES (Guitar , vocals)
Following the departure of John
Mayor (drums) and John McVittie (bass) in
mid 1986, PHIL and STRANG soldiered
on with yet another incarnation of the band.
Steve Fielding had been rehearsing
with a band next door to the STIFFS rehearsal
facilities.When he heard that
the bass player`s position was vacant he quickly learnt
the bass parts to the band`s
entire set before asking for the job.
Auditions were held for a drummer.
First of all the band employed the services of
Peter Long(a.k.a. 'Fong') who
played a few dates in Holland with the band before he made the
fatal mistake of demanding more
money than anyone else.
At a gig in Liverpool was a
young drummer called Mark Coleridge who had
toured with Gary Glitter,as
well as his own "indie band" Glass Torpedoes who had had
releases on Rough Trade records.
He had just completed an Irish tour with Smokie
and liked the "Glam" sound of
the STIFFS. A week later he made his debut with the band.
This line-up gigged incessantly
for 2 years , only finding time to record 2 tracks in 1987:
"CHELSEA GIRLS" -
an example of the "Glam" sound
that this line-up achieved.
"STAR STUDDED SHAM"-
A cover of the HELLO single,
penned by Russ Ballard, which had flopped in the U.K. in 1976.
HELLO`s manager David Blaylock liked the version enough to suggest that
the STIFFS should record a song
written by HELLO`s guitarist , Keith Marshall.
Russ Ballard was also interested
enough to suggest the band record some of his own titles.
"TONIGHT WE DANCE":
Throughout 1987 record company
interest had been minimal. In a desperate attempt to
find a new sound it was suggested
that the band record a cover of a song written by Keith Marshall,
ex-guitarist of HELLO who had
scored a solo hit in the early `80`s with "Only Crying".
The song, "Tonight we dance"
was a radical departure for the band , being more of an
orthodox Rock song with an extremely
commercial hook-line. Pat Benatar had wanted to
record the song but thought
that the original lyrics to the verse were too "obscure".
Phil Hendriks altered the song`s
lyrics for similar reasons , although he didn`t receive a
credit for the alterations !
The STIFFS recorded their version in early 1988 but so far it
has never been issued.
"RUNNING IN THE RAIN":
One of the songs put forward
by Russ Ballard which the STIFFS recorded in 1988.
The band treated the song to
a new "Bon Jovi-esque" arrangement, still trying
desperately to create a "new"
sound for themselves , though by this stage enthusiasm
was waning and new original
material had all but dried up.
"GIRLS ALL OVER THE WORLD":
The last new song ever recorded
by the band , written by Phil Hendriks.
Phil says...."I always liked
this recording as it captured the positive energy that had been
missing for a couple of years
, albeit in a more refined state. I thought we`d accidentally
created a new sound for the
band to develop , although the lyrics tell you where most
of our heads were............I
still think Strang`s guitar line would be a great theme for a sports show.."
Almost immediately after the
recording the band left for a 2 month tour which
effectively finished off the
group . It was to be 11 years before anyone outside of the
band even heard "Girls.."
Strang and Mark Coleridge worked
together again in 1989 in a short-lived band
by the name of GIANT , with
bassist/vocalist Phil Free and a keyboard player who
we know only as The Proffessor.
They lingered long enough to make one charity
record which is virtually impossible
to find and which features Coleridge in an
uncharacteristic role as lead
vocalist on one of his own compositions on the flipside.
For anyone looking to find a
copy here are the details:
GIANT : "Heartbeat"/ "Shout it from the heart" - IMPACT records 1989
If you find a spare copy send
us one as we don`t have one!!!
Good hunting !!