...a garage band from London/UK. That's garage as in loud guitars, valve amps, cheap electric organ and trashcan drums. They play live in the studio, live on the radio and live on stage. Formed in December 1994, they have toured in Europe, USA and Japan. And during the years the played 7 (seven!) PEEL SESSIONS. Their Discographie is filled with many, many releases. Singles, EP's, LP's, etc...

When people ask what kind of music THE FLAMING STARS play, it makes not much sense in hanging a label on it. ..some uptempo stuff with loud guitars, some lazy piano & fingerclicking, some footstomping and shouting, some flamenco guitar and a bunch of other stuff besides. What does it sound like? It sounds like the Flaming Stars.'

Following on from the double CD collection "London After Midnight - Singles, Rarities & Bar Room Floor Fillers 1995-2005" - released in May 2006 and covering the highlights of 10 years of their career for the now defunct vinyl Japan label, "Born Under A Bad Neon Sign" is the first new studio album for Ace Records. Recorded between March and May 2006 at Ed Deegan's Gizzard Studio in East London, it features thirteen songs, including a very special guest appearance (singing a duet on the title track) by Holly Golightly. Sometime around 1998, Max Decharne sang a duet with Holly on one of her singles. By the way: In the entire 133 tracks which THE FLAMING STARS released since 1995, she's the only person apart from the band members who's ever appeared on one of their recordings.

Ed Deegan, who recorded and mixed the album, has been working with the STARS at various times since 1995 - made a couple of albums with him at Toe Rag Studio and his Gizzard Studio is set up very much along the same lines. The method of making a FLAMING STARS album has never really changed - seven or eight days of recording followed by two or three more for the mix, and try to capture everything as live as possible.

There's some 60's garage 'Senator McCarthy's Paranoid Witch Hunt Blues', some kind of Russian/ East German love song 'Treptower Park', a Pinetop Smith meets Martin Rev boogie number 'All The Same To Me', a southern soul-style ballad 'Too late To Turn Back' Too Early To Say Goodbye' and of course the title duet 'Born Under A Bad Neon Sign', a hard-luck romance set to French 60's background.


-THE FLAMING STARS-
Fünf Herren aus London (ehemaligen Mitgliedern der STINGRAYS und GALLON DRUNK) pendeln gekonnt zwischen Garage-Punk, Swamp-Blues und Spaghetti-Western-Themes, was einem ernsthaft den Glauben an die Kraft des Rock'n Roll zurückbringen kann.
Sicher, soetwas haben schon viele Bands erfolglos versucht, a b e r: Die FLAMING STARS sind absolut echt, authentisch und "sowas von lässig" (nicht nur wegen ihren ebenso altmodisch wie auch coolen Anzügen), daß selbst im Zeitalter der totalen Digitalisierung die Herzen der "kaltblütigen Musikkritiker" von Gitarren im warmen Sound der Röhrenverstärker erhitzt werden (Rolling Stone, NME, BBC, Radio 1, etc.). Die schlaksige Erscheinung des Frontmanns Max Décharné mit markanter, dunkler Stimme sowie die "Trashcan Drums" unterstützt vom unaufhaltsamen Bass erledigen dann den Rest...
Die FLAMING STARS sind eben eine 100%ige Live-Band: sie spielen live im Studio, live auf der Bühne oder live im Radio.

Eine Band die seit Mitte der 90ger SIEBEN Peel-Sessions einspielte, deren Veröffentlichungen in diversen Magazinen bei den "10 wichtigsten Platten" genannt werden, Europa, Japan und die USA bereiste, zum Leidwesen der Fans jeweils immer nur eine handvoll Konzerte in jedem Land spielt, deren Sänger Max Decharné ebenso erfolgreich als Autor tätig ist ("Straight from the fridge, Dad", "Hardboiled Hollywood"), wo das Kompliment "Trendsetter für derzeit erfolgreiche Garage-Rock Bands" auf völliges Unverständnis stösst, und und und.... Nennt man so eine Band nun Pre-Trendsetter??? Egal ! Auch auf dem letzten Album "BORN UNDER A BAD NEON SIGN" lassen THE FLAMING STARS wieder extrem lässig ihren ur-eigenen Charme spielen. Da bleibt kaum eine Chance vergleichbares zu suchen, was somit einmal mehr bestätigt, dass die STARS eben nur wie die STARS klingen können...

"Like a fistfight between Jerry Lee Lewis and the Voidoids" Melody Maker (UK)

"In their native England, The Flaming Stars are garage rock royalty with a six-year string of albums, singles and Peel sessions beloved of folks as far away as Japan's Michelle Gun Elephant." The Boston Phoenix (USA)

"Fuses garage punk and spaghetti western twang with a bit of Tom Waits thrown in for good measure - a mix which has gained them a sizeable cult following both at home and in Europe." Music Week (UK)

"The singer gives the impression of being drunk" Isaac Hayes,(guest singles reviewer), Time Out (UK)

"Yes, believers, you can play raucous garage blues, feel the devil-dogs of rockan-RAAHHWWLL nibbling at your parts and still have tunes...
Top class." NME (UK)

"Forget the Kray Twins, it doesn't get much more suave than this. The Flaming Stars combine searing melodic guitar, trashy drums, and smooth crooning that'll work you over like a good batch of martinis at an after-hours pad; the band can sound as evil as Nick Cave's Birthday Party or as tragic as the Tindersticks."
chicago.citysearch.com (USA)

"L'ambience 3V (Velvets /Vega / Vegas)" Dig It (France)

"Simply cool"
Rolling Stone (Germany)

ACE RECORDS /  BIG BEAT