Formed in 1979 by the brothers Simon and Justin Jones and Graham and Nicholas Havas in a small village in Worcestershire, England and inspired by the ideology of a still-developing post-punk movement, And Also The Trees from their very beginnings were different. Unlike more urban contemporaries such as PIL, Joy Division and The Gang Of Four, And Also The Trees were influenced almost exclusively by the landscape and history of the rural environment that surrounded them – an influence that has remained throughout their entire existence to this day.
Learning to play their instruments as they composed, their first recordings were raw and naive but powerful and original enough to attract the attention of The Cure who invited them to tour with them, (in 1980, 81 and 84) and who produced their self-released mini album ‘From under the hill’ (Robert Smith) and their first, self-titled, full album (Lol Tolhurst), released in 1983.
The album caught the attention of John Peel for whom they recorded a session in 1984.
Those recordings reflected their early, post-punk roots, but it was with 1986’s Virus Meadow – an album of rich, pagan melancholy and disturbing laments – and the resulting European tours, that And Also The Trees truly found their own identity. Their fans became enraptured by the dramatic, poetic nature of their work.
Subsequent albums The Millpond Years (1988), Farewell To The Shade (1989) and Green Is The Sea (1992) continued in this rich, creative, and influential vein elevating And Also The Trees to an almost mythical status particularly in France but also Germany, Belgium and Switzerland where their audiences have always shown great loyalty. They were also the gateway to transatlantic audiences for the first time via a highly successful US tour in 1991.
The release of The Klaxon in 1993 saw the beginning of a new chapter for And Also The Trees. The esoteric, rural influences were replaced by a 50’s beat-group feel, still challenging and lyrical but somehow more urbane. The twanging guitars, Morricone trumpets and growling organs punctuating a trilogy of releases including Angelfish (1996) and Silver Soul (1998).
1998 to 2003 was a period of change and contemplation. The band moved away from their Worcestershire roots and became geographically separated.
Simon Huw Jones - vocals
Justin Jones - guitar
Paul Hill - drums
Grant Gordon - bass
Colin Ozanne - clarinet, guitar and organ