The Beloved – ‘Happiness’

Two weeks ago I decided to revisit The Beloved by buying a copy of one of their compilation CDs. I remembered Jon Marsh singing in the video to Hello, though I was too young to be buying records at the time. Anyway, on Saturday I then found a vinyl copy of their 1990 album Happiness in the shop I work for. It has some monster songs such as Hello, Time After Time and The Sun Rising. You can hear (on track 5: Scarlet Beautiful) where Derrick May got his inspiration for his Strings of Life track. Unfortunately, the closing track Found isn’t the climax I’d wish for.

Has anyone heard their 1993 album, which included the single Sweet Harmony?

i remember them very well. crap really.

won hello at a club once.

god knows where it is now.

Derrick May wrote Strings of Life in 1987 a few years before the Beloved jumped into the er, house party. I doubt that the Beloved influenced Derrick May in anyway. I think it was he who was the pioneer, no?

Beloved were well behind the pace in terms of innovation

I knew Jon Marsh well, and promoted The Beloved in 1987 when they were a 4-piece guitar band who had listened to too much New Order. Like one or two others in the music game around that time, Ecstacy changed his world in 1988.

"Sweet Harmony" always reminded me of the Pet Shop Boys' "So Hard".

Played it to death circa 1990.

Never bothered with the next album though

I like The Beloved and they are still going, although its been 10 years since the last album X. Dunno if the new one will see the light of day, but you never know? Check out www.thebeloved.com for up to date news etc....

shaft wrote: Check out www.thebeloved.com for up to date news etc....

Unfortunately, that link doesn't work...

Yeah, I really like the Beloved - haven't got round to checking the album with "Sweet Harmony" ("Conscience" - which, if memory serves me correctly, is where Steve Waddington left to be replaced by Jon Marsh's wife?), nor the follow-up, "X". Must do at some point.

Jon Marsh did, however, provide vocals for Bent's "Beautiful Otherness" - very nice! :)

Yeah got that album,plus their first album.Well got into them when I bought YOUR LOVE TAKES ME HIGHER on 12",and white label 12". It was ages before I realised that SUN RISING sampled ORBITAL's Belfast.

MONTY wrote:

It was ages before I realised that SUN RISING sampled ORBITAL's Belfast.

Not sure it did. Think 'Sun Rising' came out a few months before Belfast, but clearly same classical source. I could be well wrong but i thought a track by the Orb off Adventures etc.... had a sample from same piece of music too. Nick will clear it all up in a bit. He knows.

BTW the second Beloved album or the one after Happiness was poop, but i admit I wore Happiness out in 1989/1990.

I used to get a letter every week off Jon Marsh in 86 and 87, and tapes of all the gigs, demos etc. When they decided to ditch the drummer and bassist in favour of keyboard stuff, he wrote to all the fans on their mailing list and asked them if they wanted to stay fans as the band were changing direction. Still got the letter somewhere. Happiness was one of the best albums for years, so pleased for Jon that he finally achieved the success he craved. Pity it all went wank after that though and he succumbed to the pull of drippy tranced out dross.

Not sure if you all know, but Jon Marsh was a seriously hardcore New Order fan in the mid 80s, went to gigs all over the UK and in Europe, and The Beloved supported the Order twice, at Doncaster Rotters and Hemel Hempstead Pavilion in 1985.

Burt Reynolds wrote: Not sure it did. Think 'Sun Rising' came out a few months before Belfast, but clearly same classical source. I could be well wrong but i thought a track by the Orb off Adventures etc.... had a sample from same piece of music too. Nick will clear it all up in a bit. He knows.

Bert, you are correct - it was from "O Euchari". Orbital's was by Hildegard Von Bingen, think The Beloved's was from a different performance, but the same song.

And, yup, "Sun Rising" came out just prior to "Belfast".

Will have to investigate the Orb bit - should know, but it's getting late... :p

Weren't The Beloved originally a four piece indie guitar band who sounded a bit like Joy Division before being bitten by the Ecstasy bug at the end of the 80s and reinvented themselves as the saviours of hippy dippy acid house? Talk about jumping on the first available bandwagon at the first slightest opportunity. Heard all of their hits (Sun Rising, Hello, A Sweet Harmony) from that period and to me its nothing but bland, trite rubbish if you ask me.

But at least they had one thing in their favour, they were nowhere near as rank as The Farm or The Soup Dragons.

By 'Eck! My Neck! wrote: The Farm or The Soup Dragons.

Yeah they were alright.

I know John Marsh turned into dj-ing, i think he did pretty well on the dj-scene in the UK?

I heard him a few times. Once @ Fabric in London. He played deep techy-house tunez which i really liked around that time.

Dunno if he still spins the decks, cd's or ableton...