A fitting epitaph for a band that weren't afraid to stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons.
Much as we all perhaps like to think we’re experts in our chosen field, when it comes to the wealth of ‘hard rock’ bands that have come and gone over the best part of the last five decades, nobody can realistically claim to have the inside track on everything. Speaking from a personal perspective, having worked with Rock Candy for the last seven years I can hand on heart say I’ve discovered some great bands of whose very existence I was previously blissfully ignorant – Mothers Finest and Detective stand out for starters – and Dave Reynolds’ favourites Candy is another.
Emerging from the same late 70’s LA glam scene that would eventually spit out platinum sellers such as Motley Crue and Poison, Candy might have had the same larger than life image and persona, but stylistically speaking they were cut from rather different cloth. Talent spotted by Kim Fowley and acquiring the services of then future Guns N’ Roses axeman Gilby Clarke before eventually signing on the dotted line with Polygram Records, their blend of 70’s glam and pop with a dash of post punk angst (think The Sweet meets Bay City Rollers meets Slade with a dash of The Monkees and a soupcon of The Clash) soon began to open doors.
Recorded over in Miami under the watchful eye of Jimmy ‘Teeth’ Ienner and Raspberries guitarist Wally Bryson (although in retrospect they admit that Fowley would have been a better choice as his work on earlier demo’s was what really captured the essence of the band), their one and only album ‘Whatever Happened to Fun...’ was completed in February 1985 but it would be a full eight months before it finally hit the vinyl racks.
Packed with bubblegum pop rockers like ‘American Kix’, ‘Kids In The City’ and ‘Turn It Up Loud’ it was perhaps a little muted when compared to the sleazier glam acts of the day, but conversely a real throwback to the glory days for those with memories that stretched back a decade or so. Despite being a big hit on the local underground scene, ‘Whatever Happened To Fun...’ failed to translate into big sales on a national or international scale, and the band went their separate ways soon after its release – front man Kyle Vincent went solo, rhythm section John Schubert and Jonathan Daniel hooked up with Ryan Roxie (who was briefly a member of Candy just before the final split) and formed Electric Angels, whilst Gilby Clarke ... well, we all know what happened there!
Rescued from the dank, dusty vaults and given a fresh coat of shiny new paint, ‘WHTF’ is a fitting epitaph for a band that weren’t afraid to stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons.
Dave Cockett
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