Скачать или смотреть Ella Mental - Magic mother

South African band formed in Johannesburg in 1983 by:

1. Heather Mac – lead vocals
2. Tim Parr – lead guitar, vocals
3. Hermann Eugster - drums
4. Adrian Levi - bass

Tim Parr, who had been a member of Baxtop, first spotted Heather Mac doing a cover of “No Woman No Cry” at a folk club called Mangles in Braamfontein in 1981 and asked her if she would be interested in singing a few songs he wrote. A month later, with Heather still doing mainly backing vocals, they tried out a few musicians like Robbie Whitelaw and Larry Friedberg but eventually settled on Punka and Gary Khoza from National Wake. Gary was soon replaced by Adrian Levi, however, and Punka he was replaced by Hermann Eugster on drums. The name of the band was derived from a D.H. Lawrence poem.

Ella Mental combined strong melody and punchy guitar riffs with theatrical elements, like creative lighting, mime and costumes. They debuted at the Oxford Hotel, Rosebank, and in 1984 released an EP that included 4 songs: “Pressure”, a live recording of “Small Towns”, “Point of View” and “Once Awake” (which was recorded live at the legendary Chelsea Hotel). In the same year they also appeared at the Concert In The Park and released the 7” single “See Yourself (Clowns)”, as well as their first album “Uncomplicated Dreams”. The band toured the country extensively and released 3 more singles: “Hey Girl (Song For Jenny)”, “30 Million Lonely People” and “Mad Man”, but in 1986 decided to emigrate to Ireland. They held their farewell concert at the Summit Club in Johannesburg.

Ireland proved to be a challenge and “the big break” took too long for Adrian Levi, who decided to return to South Africa after a year, and for Hermann Eugster who returned to his home in Switzerland. Tim and Heather continued, however, and their big break came when Warner Bros. spotted Ella Mental (that now included a number of Irish musicians) at the Marquee Club in Soho. A 6-month trip to Los Angeles followed where they released the album “Ella Mental” in 1989. Although the album was never released in South Africa, it was in the USA, Australia, England and Europe, but received mostly lukewarm responses.

Ella Mental finally disbanded in 1992, but reunited in December 2022 when they appeared at Camel Rock, Scarborough, Die Boer Teater in Stellenbosch, Die Koelkamers in Paternoster and at the Karoo Art Hotel in Montagu.

This song is from the album "Uncomplicated Dreams", released in 1984.