Stump were an Irish-English indie/experimental/rock group consisting of Mick Lynch (vocals), Rob McKahey (drums), Kev Hopper (bass) and Chris Salmon (guitar). Their music has been described as a mixture of Captain Beefheart and The Fall, and they are best known for their influential, critically acclaimed, but poor selling 1988 album, '' A Fierce Pancake''.

Early years

Their first release was a four track EP ''Mud on a Colon'' issued in 1986 through the Ron Johnson record label. This was followed by a self released mini album, '' Quirk Out'', produced by Hugh Jones, which included their cult hit "Buffalo". "Buffalo" appeared on ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' influential '' C86'' compilation, and a video was made by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

which was shown on '' The Tube''. Continuous UK touring, regular coverage in the UK music press - including cover features in both the ''NME'' and ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'', and a return to ''The Tube'' for a live performance of "Tupperware Stripper", ensured that ''Quirk Out'' stayed in the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...

s for 26 weeks, peaking at number 2.Lazell, Barry (1997
''Indie Hits 1980-89''
, Cherry Red Books A session for the

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

radio show recorded in February 1986 was released as a Peel Session EP on Strange Fruit Records the following year. Following these successes the band were signed to Ensign Records.

''A Fierce Pancake''

Their only album, '' A Fierce Pancake'', (named after a term meaning 'deep conundrum' in '' The Third Policeman'' by Flann O'Brien) released in 1988 was recorded in Berlin and London produced by Holger Hiller with assistance from Stephen Street and was mixed by Hugh Jones after an unsuccessful session with US producer John Robie. The recording process was often fraught with arguments amongst the band as to the sound and direction of the album. However, the group were pleased with the finished results and three singles were released from the album: "Chaos", "Charlton Heston" (which reached number 72 in the UK Singles Chart in August 1988 and therefore became their only national chart success) and a re-released "Buffalo" (the latter only featuring on the US edition of the album). The album did not bring the crossover success the label had hoped for and, after recording a few b-sides and some demos, they split up at the end of the year.

Legacy

Stump's persistent and growing cult following prompted the release of ''A Fierce Pancake'' on iTunes; Hopper had previously reported on his website that their entire catalogue had been out of print since 1990. The "Pancake" download prompted the release of a 3-CD set containing ''Mud on a Colon'', ''Quirk Out'' and ''A Fierce Pancake'', as well as the group's post-"Pancake" b-sides and demos and their compilation appearance, "Big End". This was released by Sanctuary Records in 2008 under the title ''The Complete Anthology''. Mick Lynch died in December 2015.

Discography

Albums

* '' Quirk Out'' (1986), Stuff (UK Indie No. 2) - mini-LP * '' A Fierce Pancake'' (1988),

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

Singles and EPs

* ''Mud on a Colon'' EP (1986), Ron Johnson ( UK Indie #39) * ''The Peel Sessions'' EP (1987),

Strange Fruit "Strange Fruit" is a song written and composed by Abel Meeropol (under his pseudonym Lewis Allan) and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939. The lyrics were drawn from a poem by Meeropol published in 1937. The song Protest song, protests the Lynch ...

(UK Indie #13) * "Chaos" (1988),

* "Charlton Heston", (1988), Ensign ( UK #72)Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, * "Buffalo" (1988), Ensign

Compilation albums

* ''The Complete Anthology'' box set (2008),

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

* ''Does the Fish Have Chips?'' (2014),

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as w ...

Members

* Mick Lynch - Vocals * Kev Hopper - Bass * Chris Salmon - Guitar * Rob McKahey - Drums

References

External links

* Kev Hopper'
"Stump Story"
gives a comprehensive history of the band included pictures and press cuttings - this effectively formed the sleeve note to "The Complete Anthology" and, in addition, details the group's personal reunion of 2006.
"Stump frontman Mick Lynch passes away"
* * {{Authority control Musical groups from Cork (city) English alternative rock groups English new wave musical groups English post-punk music groups English experimental rock groups Irish alternative rock groups Irish new wave musical groups Irish post-punk music groups Irish experimental rock groups Musical groups established in 1983