Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    Banner
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
      • Playlists
    • Television
      • Shows by Decade
        • 1950s Television
        • 1960s Television
        • 1970s Television
        • 1980s Television
        • 1990s Television
      • Shows by Genre
        • Comedy
        • Drama
        • Kids TV
        • Variety
        • News & Sport
        • Advertisements
      • Shows by Country
        • UK TV
        • USA TV
        • Australia & NZ TV
        • Canada TV
        • Europe TV
        • Japan TV
      • Shows A to K
        • Shows A
        • Shows B
        • Shows C
        • Shows D
        • Shows E
        • Shows F
        • Shows G
        • Shows H
        • Shows I
        • Shows J
        • Shows K
      • Shows L to Z
        • Shows L
        • Shows M
        • Shows N
        • Shows O
        • Shows P
        • Shows Q
        • Shows R
        • Shows S
        • Shows T
        • Shows U
        • Shows V
        • Shows W
        • Shows X
        • Shows Y
        • Shows Z
      • Shows 0 to 9
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • 1950s Music
        • 1960s Music
        • 1970s Music
        • 1980s Music
        • 1990s Music
      • Music A to K
        • Music A
        • Music B
        • Music C
        • Music D
        • Music E
        • Music F
        • Music G
        • Music H
        • Music I
        • Music J
        • Music K
      • Music L to Z
        • Music L
        • Music M
        • Music N
        • Music O
        • Music P
        • Music Q
        • Music R
        • Music S
        • Music T
        • Music U
        • Music V
        • Music W
        • Music X
        • Music Y
        • Music Z
      • Music 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • 1950s Movies
          • Movies 1950
          • Movies 1951
          • Movies 1952
          • Movies 1953
          • Movies 1954
          • Movies 1955
          • Movies 1956
          • Movies 1957
          • Movies 1958
          • Movies 1959
        • 1960s Movies
          • Movies 1960
          • Movies 1961
          • Movies 1962
          • Movies 1963
          • Movies 1964
          • Movies 1965
          • Movies 1966
          • Movies 1967
          • Movies 1968
          • Movies 1969
        • 1970s Movies
          • Movies 1970
          • Movies 1971
          • Movies 1972
          • Movies 1973
          • Movies 1974
          • Movies 1975
          • Movies 1976
          • Movies 1977
          • Movies 1978
          • Movies 1979
        • 1980s Movies
          • Movies 1980
          • Movies 1981
          • Movies 1982
          • Movies 1983
          • Movies 1984
          • Movies 1985
          • Movies 1986
          • Movies 1987
          • Movies 1988
          • Movies 1989
        • 1990s Movies
          • Movies 1990
          • Movies 1991
          • Movies 1992
          • Movies 1993
          • Movies 1994
          • Movies 1995
          • Movies 1996
          • Movies 1997
          • Movies 1998
          • Movies 1999
      • Movies A to K
        • Movies A
        • Movies B
        • Movies C
        • Movies D
        • Movies E
        • Movies F
        • Movies G
        • Movies H
        • Movies I
        • Movies J
        • Movies K
      • Movies L to Z
        • Movies L
        • Movies M
        • Movies N
        • Movies O
        • Movies P
        • Movies Q
        • Movies R
        • Movies S
        • Movies T
        • Movies U
        • Movies V
        • Movies W
        • Movies X
        • Movies Y
        • Movies Z
      • Movies 0 to 9
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Radio
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Music»Music by Decade»1980s Music
    1980s Music Music T 2 Mins Read

    Talulah Gosh

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    Formed in February 1986, Talulah Gosh were a guitar-pop group from Oxford, who formed because they wanted to support The Pastels. They quickly became one of the leading bands of the twee pop movement (“innocent” music, naive image, sloppy clothes and hairstyles, hesitant stance, “Cuties”, anoraks etc).

    Led by Marigold and Pebbles, Talulah Gosh (from the Jodie Foster character in Bugsy Malone, nobody knows where the missing ‘L’ went) blended young guitars, which half-hustled with an infectious joy, with a bright, wide-eyed innocence which recalled the Marine Girls.

    Live, they stood stock-still, smiled sweetly and then blew the audience away with a hurtling and shambolic wall of guitar, sending shards of splintering little girl pop perfection flying like crippling pop shrapnel through songs with titles like Beatnik Boy, Steaming Train, and Pastels Badge.

    They signed to the Edinburgh label 53rd & 3rd, recording their first single over a weekend trip to Scotland in the summer of 1986.

    Many people tended to react to Talulah Gosh with derision or outright hostility. The music press loathed them and in some quarters their name is still a byword for the effete underachieving tweeness of pre-Madchester indie.

    The band were taken more seriously in the US, where people were less inclined to scoff at hairslides and lollipops and recognise a steely feminism at the core of their approach. They were an influence on the unique punk scene in Washington’s Olympia, and thus on the Riot Grrrl movement it spawned.

    Singer Liz Price left in late 1986 and was replaced in the new year by Eithne Farry, a punk girl from Battersea.

    The group announced their breakup in early 1988. In an interview at the time, Amelia explained how Mathew (her brother) wanted the band to play hard-core punk, Peter wanted to be like The Stooges, Chris wanted to go into avant-garde noise and Eithne into hip-hop. Amelia herself favoured disco.

    With such unity of purpose, it is really no wonder that Talulah Gosh split up, playing their last show at the London School of Economics on 5 February 1988.

    Elizabeth Price went on to win the 2012 Turner Prize for her video The Woolworth’s Choir of 1979.

    Drummer Mathew Fletcher committed suicide in 1996.

    Elizabeth “Pebbles” Price
    Vocals, tambourine
    Amelia “Marigold” Fletcher
    Vocals, guitar
    Peter Momtchiloff
    Guitar
    Chris Scott
    Bass
    Mathew Fletcher
    Drums
    Eithne Farry
    Vocals, tambourine

    Related Posts

    • Lilac Time
      Lilac Time
      Turning his back on pop stardom as a solo performer, Stephen 'Tin Tin' Duffy dropped the 'Tin Tin' part of…
    • prodigalsons000
      Prodigal Sons
      When Prodigal Sons formed in Wollongong, Australia, in 1985, they were known as Instant Party (named after the flip side…
    • balaamtheangel1986
      Balaam and The Angel
      Originally made up of the three Morris brothers - Jim (guitar, keyboards, recorder), Mark (vocals, bass) and Des (drums) -…
    • marinegirls00
      Marine Girls
      This British quartet was formed by four Hertfordshire school friends: Jane Fox (bass & vocals), her sister Alice (vocals &…
    • pastels5
      Pastels, The
      When The Pastels formed in Glasgow in the early 80s, Postcard Records boss Alan Horne assumed they had been invented…
    • clubska
      Club Ska
      Formed in January 1986 by four former members of The Allniters and led by Jamaican vocalist Patou ("Pat") Powell, Club…
    • woodentops6
      Woodentops, The
      Taking punk's DIY ideal and applying it to stripped-down acoustic pop, South London five-piece The Woodentops achieved a great deal…
    • halfmanhalfbiscuit22
      Half Man Half Biscuit
      Half Man Half Biscuit formed in late 1985 when Nigel Blackwell and Neil Crossley recorded a batch of the curious…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleTamam Shud
    Next Article Tall Dwarfs, The

    Comments are closed.

    NC Radio Player
    Search the site
    Nostalgia Central has been a labour of love since 1998. The site carries no advertising, and I rely on donations to help with running costs and to keep the site running for your entertainment and education.

    If you find the site informative or enjoyable, please consider a donation – no matter how small.
    Thank you so much. Enjoy your trip in the time machine!
    You may also like

    • Close Lobsters, The
      Close Lobsters, The
      Indie pop band, The Close Lobsters, hailed from Paisley in Scotland and first came to prominence with the track Fire Station…
    • prodigalsons000
      Prodigal Sons
      When Prodigal Sons formed in Wollongong, Australia, in 1985, they were known as Instant Party (named after the flip side…
    • pastels5
      Pastels, The
      When The Pastels formed in Glasgow in the early 80s, Postcard Records boss Alan Horne assumed they had been invented…
    • woodentops6
      Woodentops, The
      Taking punk's DIY ideal and applying it to stripped-down acoustic pop, South London five-piece The Woodentops achieved a great deal…


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Copyright © 1998, 2023 Nostalgia Central. Run by volunteers. Funded by donations.
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.