Close Lobsters - The Most Fascinating Facts Anywhere

1. They came from Paisley's punk underground

Close Lobsters emerged from the alternative music culture around Paisley and Glasgow in Scotland. Singer Andrew Burnett has described the group's origins in the local punk scene, where bands such as Defiant Pose and XS Discharge were part of the surrounding musical world. Their later jangling guitar sound might suggest a different starting point, but punk's independent spirit remained important to them.

2. Their name combines two rejected names

The band's unusual name has a wonderfully unceremonious origin. Andrew Burnett recalled that the members were considering “The Close” and “The Lobsters” before combining the two. The word “close” also has a Scottish meaning: a narrow passage or communal entrance between buildings. The resulting name was odd enough to stick.

3. The Fall were an important influence

Burnett has discussed the group's admiration for The Fall, particularly their uncompromising attitude and Mark E. Smith's songwriting. The influence helps explain why Close Lobsters were never simply a collection of jangling guitars. Their songs could be strange, abrasive and rhythmically insistent, with a slightly confrontational edge beneath the pop melodies.

4. Their influences stretched well beyond indie pop

In a retrospective interview, Burnett named artists including The Clash, The Only Ones, The Go-Betweens and Kraftwerk among the band's wider musical reference points. That mixture is revealing: Close Lobsters could draw on punk urgency, melodic guitar pop and more mechanical or experimental sounds without settling comfortably into just one category.

5. “Firestation Towers” was about a real Paisley building

The song that brought the band to wider attention took its title from a disused fire station in Paisley, near Causeyside Street. Burnett explained that he saw the neglected building as a symbol of the damage he believed modern town planning had done to the town. It is an unusually specific local subject for a song that subsequently travelled around the international indie scene.

6. The June Brides helped them get onto C86

Close Lobsters' appearance on the NME's influential 1986 C86 cassette came about through a recommendation from another band. The June Brides declined the invitation and suggested Close Lobsters instead. Burnett later confirmed the story, making it a particularly pleasing example of one independent group opening a door for another.

7. C86 helped them and restricted them at the same time

The compilation gave Close Lobsters valuable exposure, but Burnett later reflected that the association could also become a burden. The C86 label came to define a broad range of guitar bands, sometimes obscuring their differences. Close Lobsters had a tougher, more psychedelic and sometimes darker character than the neat image of jangly indie pop could convey.

8. They signed to Fire Records

After “Firestation Towers” reached listeners through C86, Close Lobsters signed to Fire Records, the independent label that released their early singles and albums. Their choice placed them outside some of the better-known London indie-label networks. The relationship with Fire became central to the band's original recording career and later reissues.

9. Their debut single had an extraordinary title

“Going to Heaven to See If It Rains” was released in October 1986. Its title captures something of the group's off-centre imagination: poetic but slightly absurd, with a hint of surrealism. The song introduced their knack for joining a memorable guitar hook to lyrics that did not necessarily explain themselves at first listen.

10. “Never Seen Before” strengthened their reputation

Their second single, “Never Seen Before”, appeared in April 1987. It helped consolidate the momentum created by the C86 appearance and debut single. Rather than relying on a single compilation track to define them, Close Lobsters were building a run of releases that established them as one of the more distinctive British independent guitar bands of the period.

--

11. Their debut album was recorded in Leamington Spa

Foxheads Stalk This Land was recorded in Leamington Spa in 1987, with John Rivers producing. Rivers had worked with artists including Felt and The Pastels, and Burnett later praised his ability to bring out qualities in the band's songs that the musicians themselves had not fully recognised. The location is a reminder that the British indie scene was built through a network of studios far beyond London.

12. The album title began with a more offensive word

Burnett explained that the title Foxheads Stalk This Land grew out of a deliberately rude expression that could not be used in the band's release at the time. “Foxheads” became the replacement, with the surreal wording also reflecting the influence of The Fall. The title has since become one of the most memorable names associated with the band's catalogue.

13. Rolling Stone praised their debut album

Foxheads Stalk This Land received attention beyond the British independent press. A review in Rolling Stone praised the record's guitar pop while arguing that the band had more to offer than the chiming guitars associated with the jangle-pop style. That recognition is striking given that Close Lobsters remained a cult act rather than becoming a mainstream success.

14. “Let's Make Some Plans” travelled beyond the band's own records

One of their best-known songs, “Let's Make Some Plans”, was later covered by The Wedding Present on the B-side of their “California” single in 1992. The connection linked two bands whose music could be melodic, energetic and emotionally unsettled. The song's life beyond the original Close Lobsters recording is evidence of its lasting appeal among fellow musicians.

15. The band toured extensively in America

Close Lobsters developed a following on American college radio, helping them secure an invitation to the New Music Seminar in New York in 1989. This led to extensive touring in the United States, alongside dates in Britain, Germany and Canada. Their reach was therefore considerably broader than their relatively modest mainstream profile might suggest.

16. Their second album arrived in 1989

Headache Rhetoric, released in 1989, followed their debut with another collection of the band's distinctive guitar-led songs. It appeared during a period when British independent music was changing quickly, with new styles and labels competing for attention. The album completed the original band's pair of studio albums before their extended period away from recording and touring.

17. Their hiatus followed a demanding period of touring

Burnett has described the band returning from their American tours in 1989 feeling exhausted and disillusioned. Their disappearance from the active music scene was not simply a case of one unsuccessful record or a sudden change in fashion. The demands of touring, the realities of the music business and personal circumstances all formed part of the longer story.

18. Their history was affected by a personal tragedy

In a later interview, Burnett spoke movingly about the death of their friend and fellow band member Johnnie in 1992 after a long illness. He described the group as being left devastated for a long time. This personal loss is an important part of the band's story and helps explain why their lengthy absence was about more than the usual cycle of a band splitting up.

19. They returned to the stage in 2012

Close Lobsters resumed playing live in 2012, beginning with Madrid Popfest and subsequently appearing at events in Glasgow, Berlin and New York. The reunion reconnected them with the audience that had kept their records in circulation, while introducing their music to younger fans who had discovered C86 and the wider indie-pop archive years after its original release.

20. Their comeback included genuinely new music

Their return was not limited to nostalgia. In 2014, Close Lobsters released the EP Kunstwerk in Spacetime, followed later by further new material. In 2024, they released the EP Stepping Across, returning to work with John Rivers in Leamington Spa. Their continuing activity has allowed the band to extend its story well beyond the two albums that first made its reputation.

--

Other Artists

• The June Brides
• The Mighty Lemon Drops
• The Go-Betweens
• The Pale Fountains
• That Petrol Emotion
• The Chameleons
• The Icicle Works
• The Wild Swans
• The Sound
• The House of Love