Paris emerged out of the successful covers band Drops of Brandy c 1978.
The band were -
Pat Millar: Lead vocals Steve Roberts: Guitars and harmony vocals Tim Constable: Keyboards and harmony vocals Mick Harrington: Bass, later replaced by Fran Pettifer: Bass Ted Duggan: Drums later replaced by Danny Livesey: Drums Songwriters: Tim Constable and Clive Barnwell
Paris are now on BandCamp with some cool tracks
And My Space
Keyboard player and songwriter Tim Constable takes up the story -
"In 1975 Tim Constable and Clive Barnwell, who met at the same grammar school and shared an interest in songwriting, had been developing their skills for about five years. The time had come to try and get their work into the public arena, but at that time were not playing, other than Clive doing the odd gig at teacher training college. Then they discovered that Coventry club band 'Drops of Brandy' had advertised for original material to add to their covers act. They met up with Tim and Clive, and expressed an interest in using some songs. At the same time, Tim had come to the decision that the only way their songs would start getting played was for him to join a band as keybaord player. After a brief time with club act 'Blaze', he was invited to join 'Drops of Brandy', whose main work at the time was as resident band at Bailey's in Derby.
While the experience of gigging was useful, there was little development in the original material front - being a covers
band, new chart material had to be learned constantly. As it happened, guitarist Steve Roberts and drummer Ted Duggan were also keen to start performing original material too. Drops of Brandy split, with Tim (keyboards), Steve (guitars) and Ted (drums) determined to form an originals band. They recruited bass player Mick Harrington, then eventually found singer Pat Millar - the lineup was complete. Paris gigged in and around Coventry, with music that was melodic and energetic, with strong riffs and tight harmonies. Mick left soon after the bookings started, replaced by Fran Pettifer. Later, Ted left to join a professional outfit, replaced by Danny Livesey. However the current music scene was post-punk/ new wave, and Coventry was getting known for the Two-tone label a high-energy approach to ska and reggae.
Paris gained some popularity, and even caught the attention of up-and-coming recording facility Q-Studios, just outside Leicester. They even 'beta-tested' the new video facility they were building. But despite the quality of their music, not being fashionable, and without a manager (despite efforts to find and work with one), the band started feeling frustrations, especially Tim. Eventually Tim sensed the move towards synthesiser bands, and also developed a relationship which was to become his first marriage. He left the band, which continued with a few of the original songs, but devolved into another covers band.
Other things being equal, the music of Paris could have brought pleasure to many. Coventry is pretty much off the map so far as the music industry is concerned, and without a manager with contacts and who knew what they were doing, the odds were stacked against them. This website has been set up as an archive of some of the music, maybe for a new generation to discover and enjoy, and for those precious few loyal fans to re-discover after nearly 30 years. I hope you enjoy the content, it will be added to now and again. But there is not much high quality material, the majority of recordings being done in Tim's notorious flat in Spencer Avenue!"
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