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The Golden Virgins

About Me

The Golden Virgins are a musical group whose output so far has been recorded at home in Sunderland, in the North East of England. Their highly acclaimed - and now very rare - debut single 'I've Seen the Light' was released in September 2002 by Rex Records, and, shortly after its release, the band signed to Hero Music Publishing and XL Recordings, with a view to creating some of the greatest albums and singles in the history of recorded music.
The Golden Virgins came into being when the former members of Sunderland scene godfathers Brilliantine managed to get hold of a four-track recording device. Over two drunken nights they recorded three songs: 'I've Seen the Light', 'Staying Sober' and 'From the Garage to the Country'. After months of listening to these recordings, the band became convinced that the songs were better than anything being played on the radio, and duly sent off a demo to labels they thought might be interested. The resultant A&R scramble has now passed into music business legend. Rex Records emerged victorious and released the home-recorded demo as the band's debut single.
Suave, enigmatic and aloof, The Golden Virgins have no truck with much of what passes for modern music; whether it be the dire chart-cover-fodder peddled by the latest crop of stage-school non-entities or the idiotic smack-boy posturing of the so-called 'alternative' rock scene, The Golden Virgins' response to such a dearth of individuality is an unequivocal thumbs-down..
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PRESS PLAY AND KEEP WATCHING THE VIDEO BELOW. SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN. THIS HOMEMADE VIDEO WAS MADE BY THE BAND FOR A PRESS CONFERENCE HELD BY XL RECORDINGS IN LONDON 2003. IT WAS MADE AS A SICKNOTE TO EXPLAIN THE BANDS ABSENCE..
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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 08/11/2005
Band Website: www.thegoldenvirgins.com
Band Members: The Golden Virgins are four in number:
Lucas Renney is the singer/guitarist/songwriter. He trained to be an English teacher at Sunderland University, but was saved by the eleventh-hour intervention of Hero Music and XL Recordings and is now free to prove that he is, in his own words, a 'genius-boy-poet-rocker' He regularly drinks himself into unconsciousness but can't really explain why.
Neil Bassett is the drummer and master of recording ceremonies. Standing at an impressive 6 feet and 7 inches tall, he used to work for a famous mobile phone company and enjoys drinking and socialising. His height makes him a target for aggressive drunks, but he disarms would-be assailants with his easy-going charm.
David Younger is the band's synth wizard, and his choirboy-turned-scientist background allows him to balance the spiritual and the secular with dazzling results; such is his aura of Zen-like calm that both men and women flock to him seeking spiritual advice and explanations of the mysteries of the Universe.
Allan Burnup is the bass player and designated van driver. The most recent recruit into The Golden Virgins' ranks, he is starstruck and easily impressed, and has greeted the impending success of The Golden Virgins by threatening to grow an afro and purchase a white suit. He is the successor to original bassist Ross Millard, who has now left The Golden Virgins to devote more time to his burgeoning Futureheads career. The Golden Virgins wish him well.
Influences: Leonard Cohen, Roxy Music, Nick Cave, Abba, Ennio Moricone, The Wedding Present
Sounds Like:

ROLLINGSTONE.com

“ Have we mentioned that "Renaissance Kid" by the Golden Virgins is like, the greatest song ever? Cause it is . . .”

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NME

The acidic barrage of Renney’s caustic tongue waxes lyrical on sordid affairs of the human heart, while his band craft songs of exquisite pop nous, sounding like arch grumpster Leonard Cohen aligned with the Pixies pop sensibilities – the end result being the kind of ace debut offering that doesn’t come around too often.

We should thank our lucky stars for the existence of The Golden Virgins. Praise be, indeed

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VUE WEEKLY

Golden Virgins combine miserable ballads—songs like “Stay Sober,” about an alcoholic’s slide past the point of no return—with ballsy, sloppy rock anthems about spying on girls and wanting to get laid. And it’s oh so engaging, because when the Golden Virgins decide to rock, they grab you by the scruff of your neck like a decade-late English version of the Replacements. You can almost sense singer Lucas Renney trying to suppress a chuckle or two when he spouts lines like “You, I got my eye on you, I see the things you do, ’cause baby I’m a camera watching you. I see what makes you tick, and how you get your kicks, and only you can my shutter click, click, click, click” (from “I Am a Camera”) or when he begs for sex (“I want to die inside her dress”) on “The Thought of Her.” If it wasn’t for the prevalence of way-too-important bands like Coldplay and Radiohead on the British scene, the Golden Virgins could be written off as a dumb rock band. But this is a rallying cry against those who want to make rock vehicle for their own pomposity—and it makes Songs of Praise one of most significant efforts to come out of the U.K. in a while.

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www.subbacultcha.com

The Golden Virgins are truly a strange and beautiful delight, veering between dark intensity and wry humour, via a soundtrack of giddy indie pop fun. This band have turned the love song into an art form of their own, tingeing everything with a sinister yet poetic genius. If you’re looking for something truly different, and remain ever-optimistic that British bands can lead the way, then The Golden Virgins could be your new hope.

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Record Collector

Don’t be fooled by the title, these are not religious sermons, nor are they in praise of anything. Rather, love, the only theme, is castigated at every turn, shown all too clearly by the opening line, Well fuck you love and fair thee well. There are copious musical treasures here. Produced by Cliff Jones of Gay Dad infamy, Songs Of Praise moves effortlessly from the mournful, elegiac chamber music of ‘Shadows Of Your Love’ to the brilliantly catchy ‘Renaissance Kid’. Best of all is the Cars-esque ‘I Am A Camera’ which opens with a naïve dance beat before exploding into a driving guitar and keyboard riff that will make even the coolest indie kid split his second-hand suit jacket.

True such joie de vivre is slightly disingenuous, as The Golden Virgins have made an album steeped in caustic self-loathing, in which love can destroy the human spirit. However it never comes across as self-obsessed or self-consciously melancholic. The listener is left feeling strangely uplifted and that the biggest irony of all


Record Label: Bunker
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

THE END

The Golden Virgins will be playing their last ever gig on Friday 27th October. The show is going to be at Independent (ex Bar36), Holmeside, Sunderland and tickets are priced £4.00 Rather than bl...
Posted by on Wed, 20 Sep 2006 10:46:00 GMT

VIRGINS ON 6

It has just been announced that 'I am a camera' by The Golden Virgins is the winner of this weeks BBC Radio 6 REBEL PLAYLIST on Steve Lamacq's show. The Virgins beat off competition from The Subways ...
Posted by on Wed, 09 Nov 2005 09:37:00 GMT

I AM A CAMERA : RELEASED 14th NOVEMBER BY BUNKER UK RECORDS

I AM A CAMERA : RELEASED 14th NOVEMBER BY BUNKER UK RECORDS (cat. no. BUNK013) by kind permission of XL RECORDINGS. b/w 'OTHER MEN' and 'I AM A CAMERA (SILENT BEAST REMIX)'. Sunderland's THE GOLDEN V...
Posted by on Wed, 09 Nov 2005 09:36:00 GMT