14 Iced Bears

14 Iced Bears were a British indie pop band associated with the C86 music scene. Formed in Brighton in 1985, by Robert Sekula and Nick Emery [1] the band featured a shifting line-up of musicians across their seven-year existence, centred on songwriter and vocalist Rob Sekula and guitarist/songwriter Kevin Canham. Their jangly indie pop was characterised by a fuzzy protopunk-influenced guitar sound, and saw them receive modest critical acclaim in Britain's music press as well as prompting disc jockey John Peel to recruit them to record a couple of sessions for his programme on BBC radio.[2] The group released a handful of singles, including "Come Get Me" on the influential Sarah label, and two full-length albums: the eponymous 14 Iced Bears (1988), and Wonder (1991).[3]

14 Iced Bears
OriginBrighton, England
GenresIndie pop
Years active1985–1992
LabelsThunderball Records, Borderline, Slumberland Records, Frank Records, Sarah
Associated actsBlow Up
Past membersRob Sekula
Kevin Canham
Alan White
Dominic Minques
Nick Emery
Nick Roughley
Steve Ormsby
Bill Cox
Will Taylor
Graham Durrant
Tim White
Rob Colley
Sue Freeman

They reformed in 2010 and toured the US east coast, the US west coast in 2011, as well as some concerts in London, including a John Peel night with Vic Godard, Viv Albertine and the TV Personalities. Robert Sekula announced from the stage of Indietracks Festival 2012 on 7 July that their set had been their first at an outdoor festival. In July 2013, they released a 2-CD retrospective of their total output Hold On Inside on Cherry Red Records. The month previously, their track "Balloon Song" was included in the comprehensive 1980s indie compilation CD Scared to Get Happy, which featured bands such as The Stone Roses, Primal Scream and The Jesus and Mary Chain (Cherry Red Records).

Robert Sekula released a solo single "Not Santa Claus" in December 2019 on bandcamp.com

Influence

In 2003, 14 Iced Bears were mentioned in the song "Twee" by Tullycraft, and "The Balloon Song" was recorded by The Aislers Set for their 2001 album, The Last Match.

Discography

Albums and EPs
  • 14 Iced Bears (Thunderball Records, 1988)
  • Precision (Thunderball Records, 1990) – a compilation of singles
  • Wonder (Borderline Records, 1991)
  • Let the Breeze Open Our Hearts (Overground Records, 1998) — compilation of singles and first album
  • In the Beginning (Slumberland Records, 2001) – a compilation of previously released material and live recordings
  • Hold On Inside (Cherry Red, 2013) — compilation spanning all the band's releases

Singles

14 Iced Bears

  • "Inside" / "Bluesuit" / "Cut" (Frank Records, 1986)
  • "Balloon Song" / "Like a Dolphin" (Frank Records, 1987)
  • "Balloon Song (live) (7" flexi, split with the Hermit Crabs)
  • "Lie To Choose" (Penetration, 1987) (7" flexi, split with Splendour in the Grass)
  • "Come Get Me" (Sarah Records, 1988)
  • "World I Love" (Thunderball Records, 1989)
  • "Mother Sleep" (Thunderball Records, 1989)
  • "Falling Backwards"/"World I Love" (Surfacer, 1989) (split EP with Crocodile Ride)
  • "Hold On" (Borderline Records, 1991)
  • "Inside" / "Balloon Song" (Slumberland Records, 2001)

Solo

  • Robert Sekula "Not Santa Claus" (Bandcamp.com, 2019)

Various compilations
  • CD86 (Sanctuary Records Group, 2006)
  • Scared to Get Happy (Cherry Red, 2013)
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References
  1. Larkin, Colin:"The Guinness Who's Who of Indie and New Wave Music", 1992, Guinness Publishing, ISBN 0-85112-579-4
  2. "BBC - Radio 1 - Keeping It Peel - 14 Iced Bears". Bbc.co.uk.
  3. Strong, Martin C.: The Great Alternative & Indie Discography, 1999, Canongate, ISBN 0-86241-913-1
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