After The loft had released the classic single “Up The Hill and Down The Slope” great things were expected of them but the tensions of having three singers/songwriters in one band led to the band fragmenting into three separate groups: The Wishing Stones, The Caretaker Race, and The Weather Prophets.
The Weather Prophets were the brainchild of Pete Astor and when forming the band decided to distance himself from the indie clique that existed at that time and recruit other band members who had little knowledge or interest in that scene. Alan McGee of Creation decided that The Weather Prophets were the sure fire hit of the three bands and when he was approached by Warner Brothers to create a label for them he took the band along with Primal Scream along for the ride and the fame and fortune that was sure to follow. A few singles, and the debut albums by each band later (in the Weather Prophets case “Mayflower”) McGee and his bands returned to the fold of Creation maybe wiser but definitely not richer. It seemed the British public at large were falling over themselves to throw money at Velvet Underground and Byrds influenced pop. Primal Scream took note, deciding with the next album Stooges rock was where it was at while The Weather Prophets showed faith in their convictions with their second, and more consistent, album “Judges, Juries and Horsemen.” The album once again highlighted Astor’s capacity to craft a classic tune but at that point outside of the scene Astor didn’t feel a part of no one was listening. The band split soon after with Astor releasing a series of albums since both solo and under the Wisdom Of Harry name. This year Cherry Red released an excellent Weather Prophets collection which you can find details of from the link below.
You can buy the Weather Prophets compilation CD here
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