Perfect Disaster Radio

Having tested the water as Orange Disaster, then the Architects Of Disaster, these calamitously inclined types finally settled on the Perfect Disaster in 1984, as the original rhythm section departed to form Fields Of The Nephilim. The initial UK-based line-up comprised Phil Parfitt (guitar/vocals), Allison Pates (guitar), John Saltwell (bass) and Malcolm Catto (drums), although personnel changes were to plague the band’s career. Ignored by the British music scene, the Perfect Disaster took their twisted, broody guitar sound to France for their self-titled debut album in 1985. There followed a couple of years of blank struggle on both sides of the English Channel before the band signed to Fire Records at home and released the critically acclaimed Asylum Road. Prior to this, Saltwell and Pates both left, disillusioned, to be replaced by bass player Josephine Wiggs (b. 26 February 1965, Letchworth, Hertfordshire, England) and guitarist Dan Cross. In 1989 better prospects lurked over the horizon: the Up album, which stretched splendidly from fiery two-chord blasts to near-suicidal ramblings, coincided with prestigious live shows with the likes of the Jesus And Mary Chain. The band’s initial inspiration, based upon singer Parfitt’s spell working at a Victorian mental institution, looked set to reap rewards. The public, alas, did not share the critics’ enthusiasm for the band. The 1990 release Heaven Scent, for which Jon Mattock was borrowed from Spacemen 3 to play drums, continued the Perfect Disaster’s foray into the darker side of alternative music. Rumours of the band’s demise, which persisted throughout 1991, were finally confirmed. Wiggs had left during the recording of Heaven Scent to spend more time on the Breeders, a project that also involved Tanya Donelly from Throwing Muses and Kim Deal of Pixies, allowing John Saltwell to return on bass. Parfitt went on to write alongside Jason Pierce (Spiritualized) and work with the short-lived Psychotropic Vibration, before forming Oedipussy.

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