Laughter In The Garden

Laughter in the Garden were formed in Southampton UK in 1982 and existed for 2 years. They recorded and released a 4 song 12" EP on vinyl in 1982 titled 'A Corridor of Statues'. Their songs were played many times by John Peel and David 'Kid' Jensen in the summer of 1982 and subsequently the band recorded a Radio 1 session at BBC Maida Vale which was aired twice on Jensen's show in the Autumn. The session was produced by Dale Griffin who also produced the first Smiths session a week later. One of the tracks - 'Desperate Remedies' was the shortest song ever recorded for a BBC session. The band were popular live, packing out venues such as Bath Mole's and The Joiner's Arms, Southampton. The future looked positive but, under guidance from poor management, LITG were hastily signed by Crash/Satril Records who decided to take over. They recorded and released the single 'Clutch Tight' in 1983. This was by far the band's weakest song and was totally over-produced. The single was played by Kid Jensen but then banned by the BBC after Tony Blackburn objected to the cover photograph. The band appeared three times on TV - a local BBC Children's show, a BBC documentary following the band and a live performance on ITV's pop show 'DJ'. The band split around 1984. Line up: Andy Wallace (2) (guitar and vocals) Pauline Mayers (vocals and keyboards) Mark Cross (9) (drums and vocals) Tom (bass) Victoria Doyle (sax) Roselyn Journeaux (clarinet).