Secret Shine
Secret Shine are a British indie band formed in the early 1990s, who were signed to Sarah Records. Their early releases with Sarah and A Turntable Friend followed a pop style, before the band went in a more shoegaze direction with the 1992 release Untouched, triggering comparisons with Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine.
Secret Shine | |
|---|---|
 Secret Shine in Berlin in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Amelia's Dream |
| Origin | Bristol |
| Genres | Indie rock, shoegazing, dream pop |
| Years active | 1991–1996 2004–present |
| Labels | Sarah A Turntable Friend Clairecords Razorblade |
| Members | Scott Purnell Jamie Gingell Kathryn Smith Dean Purnell Tom Adams |
| Past members | Nick Dyte Paul Vowles Dean Tyler Tim Morris Richy Lee |
Career
1990 to 1996
The group originally formed under the name Amelia's Dream.[1] After sending a three-song demo to Sarah Records, Scott Purnell and Jamie Gingell recorded their first single for the label, "After Years". After recruiting three more members (Nick Dyte, Dean Purnell, and Paul Vowles) they recorded "Unbearable", a single for the German label A Turntable Friend. The addition of Dean Tyler to the lineup was followed by the single "Ephemeral" on Sarah. Later, Purnell and Gingell recorded some demos that became the Untouched album.
In 1993 the album was recorded and released, along with the single "Loveblind". The addition of vocalist Kathryn Smith saw the band enter the Indie charts and become part of the emerging shoegaze scene. At that point, the band took a hiatus as Purnell and Gingell returned to complete their final year of university, but the band subsequently reformed and recorded the Greater than God EP.[2]
After the recording of the Each to the Other flexidisc, Dean Tyler left the band, followed by Nick Dyte. Tim Morris joined on drums, the rest of the lineup being Jamie Gingell (vocals and bass), Scott Purnell (guitars), Dean Purnell (guitars), and Kathryn Smith (vocals). The next single, "Wasted Away", was released on Spoiler Records as Sarah had recently folded. After playing a gig in Oxford in early 1996, the band decided to stop, though they never officially split.
2004 to Present
In 2004, a retrospective collection called After Years was released by the Tonevendor label, containing all their Sarah material (apart from the first single, and including the Untouched album), which became a catalyst for the band reforming.[3] Around this time, Tim Morris died, and the band reformed to record an acoustic eight-track tribute record, Morris.
Another album, All of The Stars, was released on 8 April 2008,[4] followed by The Beginning and the End on 5 January 2011.
In October 2014 Secret Shine signed with shoegaze and dream pop record label Saint Marie Records.[5] The next full-length album, There Is Only Now, was released on 17 March 2017.[6]
On 25 June 2020, the band self-released a new single "Ember".[7] In an interview around that time the band said that this was intended to be the first of five single releases during 2020-2021 that would be form the basis of a new album in 2021, to mark the band's 30th anniversary.[8] Another single, "Empyrean", was released on September 26, 2021.[9]
Discography
Albums
| Title | Label & Cat# | Date | Format(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Untouched | Sarah 615 | March 1993 | LP, CD |
| After Years | Tonevendor | February 2004 | CD |
| Morris - Acoustic Tribute Album | None | May 2005 | CD |
| All of the Stars | Clairecords FERN074 | April 2008 | CD |
| The Beginning and the End | Secret Shine shine01 (Self-Released) | January 2011 | CD |
| There Is Only Now | Saint Marie Records | March 2017 | LP, CD |
EPs
| Title | Label & Cat# | Date | Format(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| After Years | Sarah 53 | September 1991 | 7" |
| Greater than God | Sarah 89 | May 1994 | 10" & CD |
| Elemental | Razorblade RZ01 | February 2006 | CD |
| Beyond Sea and Sky | Razorblade RZ03 | October 2006 | CD |
Singles
| Title | Label & Cat# | Date | Format(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unbearable My Only Friend |
A Turntable Friend 007 | September 1991 | 7" |
| Ephemeral - Honey Sweet Secret Shine |
Sarah 61 | April 1992 | 7" |
| Loveblind Way Too High Honey Sweet (CD only) |
Sarah 71 | April 1993 | 7" & CD |
| Wasted Away Wish Coming True |
Spoiler SSS001 | February 1995 | 7" |
| Each Time Anything About Me |
self-released | July 2014 | 7" |
| Ember | self-released | June 2020 | Digital download and streaming |
| Empyrean | self-released | September 2021 | Digital download and streaming |
Tracks on Compilations
| Album Title | Label & Cat# | Track(s) |
|---|---|---|
| There And Back Again Lane | Sarah 100 | Temporal |
| Battery Point | Sarah 359 | Deep Thinker |
| Gaol Ferry Bridge | Sarah 530 | Loveblind |
| Fountain Island | Sarah 583 | Grey Skies |
| Engine Common | Sarah 628 | Honey Sweet |
| In this Place called Nowhere | Quattro 2011, Sarah Japan | After Years |
| La Rue Du Chat Qui Peche | Quattro 2024, Sarah Japan | Loveblind Temporal |
| Birth of the True | Sugarfrost Frosty2 | Take me Slowly |
| Test Tones Vol. 1.1 | Clairecords FERN 035 | Way Too High |
| Dear Future | King Records KICM 3239 | Dear Future |
References
- Secret Shine at Allmusic
- https://web.archive.org/web/20070212141532/http://www.secretshine.co.uk/biography/greater-than-god 1
- https://web.archive.org/web/20061125202724/http://www.secretshine.co.uk/biography/back-for-good 2
- Review of All of the Stars. Pop Matters, 8 January 2009.
- "Secret Shine Joins Saint Marie". Saint Marie Records. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
- "There Is Only Now CD Album, by Secret Shine". Secret Shine. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
- @SecretShineUK (13 June 2020). "It's coming Sunday 14th June," (Tweet). Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2023 – via Twitter.
- King, George (19 July 2020). "INTERVIEW: Secret Shine 'Ember' see their dark dream pop bliss perfected". Louder Than War. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
- @SecretShineUK (27 September 2021). "Wow 30 year anniversary!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023 – via Twitter.