Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
The Birmingham, UK-based band Sally originally began as a trio in 1996 with members Andrew Parker (guitar), Peter Brown (bass), and Darren ‘Dirty’ Donovan (drums, vocals). The three adopted the name Sally in tribute to the heroine ‘Sally Hardesty’ from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and played music heavily influenced by the likes of Fu Manchu, Mudhoney, and Sonic Youth.
In 1997, guitarist Nigel Baker joined the line up and as a quartet, recorded two Demos. Sally was beginning to build buzz with their live gigs around Birmingham and after a particular show supporting Orange Goblin, were approached by Cathedral’s Lee Dorrian. He offered the band a recording deal with his label, Rise Above Records, which they offered and by recording time, vocalist Lee Smith (Penance, Mourn, Eternal) had officially joined the band.
S/T track “Four Twelve“:
The ‘Sally’ S/T full-length debut was released in 1999 and displayed a decidedly much heavier musical direction for the band. In fact, Nigel Baker was unhappy with the shift in sonic density and soon exited the band. Sally continued on as a quartet and in 2004, issued their sophomore album (after a pair of splits with Mistress in 2002), the Billy Anderson-produced ‘C-Earth‘.
This second Rise Above Records release found Sally delving even deeper into the heavier side of their music, something Anderson was well adept at capturing. Unfortunately, Sally would disband not long after the album’s release. There was a 2010 reunion of the Parker /Smith /Brown /Donovan lineup with the public assurance of new music at some point but that has yet to materialize.
C-Earth track “Araukarisei“:
