The Telescopes, like most bands, spent their early days in 1987/88 touring and gigging around, gaining a following before releasing any records. Support slots with Spacemen 3, The Darling Buds and The Pooh Sticks brought them to a wider audience, with their first recording being a split 7" flexi with Loop on the Cheree label, an offshoot of the Sowing Seeds fanzine. Their first single proper was "Kick the Wall" in August 1988, which was a three minute slice of noise over a sneering punk/Stooges-influenced vocal. Their second single, "7th # Disaster", released in April 1989 garnered rave reviews from the music press.
Their next release, "The Perfect Needle" in September '89, brought them a reputation as contemporaries of My Bloody Valentine, combining noise and distortion with great songwriting. Their debut album, "Taste", also featured incendiary guitar effects accompanied by Lawrie's terrifying snarl, with tracks such as "Oil Seed Rape" and "Silent Water" conjuring Jesus and Mary Chain or MBV at their most brutal.
Their next release was the "To Kill a Slow Girl Walking" EP in January 1990. Shortly after their label folded, but the band had gained a good enough reputation for them to have been spotted by Alan McGee. Their first release on the Creation label was "Precious Little" in April 1990, followed by "Everso" in December. These two singles a dispalyed a mellower sound, stripped of distortion, that relied more on a dreamy, psychedelic style, and this was confirmed with 1991's "Celeste" single, the "Flying" EP, and the "Telescopes" album, released in early 1992.
Regardless of, or maybe as a result of this, their records were not troubling the national charts and the band dissappeared almost unnoticed, although they never officially announced that they were splitting up.
Jo and Stephen formed Unisex with Nick Hemming, who have been described as "spacerock", with comparisons made to Add N To (X). Their debut album "Stratosfear" was released in 2001.
In June 2001, Stephen Lawrie announced that the Telescopes were re-forming after a 9 year gap. Stephen has explained that he hopes to continue his personal vision with the Telescopes alongside his efforts with Unisex, and his other band Fuxa.
The new, much anticipated album, "Third Wave" was due for release in June 2002.
IF YOU LIKE THESE, YOU'LL LIKE THE TELESCOPES: My Bloody Valentine, Catherine Wheel, The Verve, Slowdive, Spacemen 3, Spiritualized.