Wedding Present, The

The Wedding Present, formed from the ashes of Lost Pandas, were founded in Leeds, England, in 1985. The only constant member throughout the group's history was singer/songwriter David Gedge. The initial line-up included guitarist Peter Solowka, bassist Keith Gregory, and drummer Shaun Charman.

Named in honor of the Northern Irish soccer player, "George Best", the Wedding Present's debut LP, appeared on their own Reception label in 1987. "Tommy (1985-1987)" - an overview of early singles, covers, and radio broadcasts - followed in 1988.

The next LP, "Ukrainski Vistupi V Johna Peela", brought together John Peel session dates with a sampler of traditional Ukrainian folk tunes. It also marked the recording debut of new drummer Simon Smith, recruited after Shaun Charman exited to form Popguns, The. After reaching the Top 40 with the single "Kennedy," the Weddoes returned in 1989 with the LP "Bizarro" and the single "Brassneck," produced by Steve Albini. The 1991 release "Seamonsters" was also produced by Steve Albini and marked the departure of Peter Solowka, replaced by guitarist Paul Dorrington.

Instead of recording a new studio LP, the Wedding Present spent the whole year 1992 issuing a single on the first Monday of each month. Later compiled as the two-volume "Hit Parade" set, the singles featured original material on their A-sides and cover songs on the B-sides.

After the departure of Keith Gregory (to found Cha-Cha Cohen), David Gedge remained as the band's last original member; the Weddoes then resurfaced with new bassist Darren Belk for 1994's "Watusi", produced by Steve Fisk. After a rather uneventful 1995, the group returned in 1996 with the "Mini EP", later reissued with bonus tracks as "Mini Plus". The full-length "Saturnalia" appeared at the end of the year, followed early in 1997 by the single "Montreal".

In 1997, Gedge called a temporary halt to The Wedding Present and started to work on a solo project that eventually led to a new band, Cinerama. Cinerama actually started as a duo that Gedge shared with his then girlfriend Sally Murrell, together with a shifting line-up of collaborators.

At the end of 2002, Gedge split up with Sally and moved to Seattle, where he worked on new stuff for an album. In 2004, he reformed The Wedding Present and the band released their sixth studio LP "Take Fountain".

In 2008 the band released the new LP "El Rey", engineered by Steve Albini, the man behind 1991's success "Seamonsters".