About The Sweetest Ache

The Sweetest Ache started life in Swansea in the late 80s as The Spirals, initially fronted by guitarist, Stuart Vincent. Upon joining the band, Sweetest Ache vocalist, Simon Court, took over as frontman. The Spirals changed their name to The Sweetest Ache, perhaps because Manchester band, Inspiral Carpets had risen from indie obscurity to become unlikely regulars on Top Of The Pops. In fact, singer, Simon Court claimed in an interview in a local newspaper that he was a former member of said band. Whether that was an untrue brag, or a mix up by the paper itself is not known. After selling a demo tape at gigs around Swansea, the band signed to Sarah Records. The second single was released on the same day as the debut. After a third single, Simon Court split from the band under unknown circumstances. A female vocalist, Louise, replaced him. Her tenure in the band was brief, as she was due to go away to university that year. Louise only recorded one track with the band ("Briaris" from the debut album, named after Stuart's then flatmate). Simon was quickly reinstated and sang vocals on the remainder of the album. It sold reasonably well, reaching number 12 in the indie chart. A one-off single for Sunday Records, 'Sweet Soul Sister', was the first sign of what was to come next. The Sweetest Ache were moving away from the jangly Sarah sound of their early releases, adopting American west coast influences. The American influence was fully realized on their second album, Grass Roots. By this time, Simon had left the band for good, to be replaced by guitarist, Peter Stone. The band's relationship with Sarah Records had soured completely. Grass Roots was eventually released by Vinyl Japan. Though Grass Roots eventually sold approximately 10,000 copies, it initially sank without trace. The new direction wasn't a hit with many former janglepop fans and the album was widely dismissed by critics. Meanwhile, The Sweetest Ache disbanded. A thaw in relations between Stuart and Simon saw them work together in the early 2000's as acoustic duo Mumbles (named after a Swansea suburb). Both also became members of indie-rock band, Shooter. In 2008 Peter Stone, Rob Lloyd and Neil Edmond formally of the Sweetest Ache formed the Milestone band and have a free down load 7 track mini album...visit myspace or type in the Milestone band/mountain road. The songs are similar to the later music the Sweetest Ache made following a more west coast rock direction.