Do It Yourself

Product Information

Due to Squire's past work with the Stone Roses, the band were met with intense media interest and speculation before they had recorded or released anything. Not only was this delivered on the day of release, the little hand written note inside the packing was noted and appreciated. This pressing sounds decent to be honest - there’s plenty of detail on offer and John Squire’s guitar work is mesmerising in places. Way back in 2005 I purchased a CD-r of 10 tracks from the unreleased 2nd album sessions from a friend of a friend. John Squire uses long, winding guitar solos and chilled out atmospheres throughout Do It Yourself to make an album that, while nowhere near as pioneering or memorable as his work with the Stone Roses, is still a great listen with some surprise bangers.

Seahorses - Do It Yourself - Wax and Beans Seahorses - Do It Yourself - Wax and Beans

A short UK tour in December 1997, with support from American alternative rock band Third Eye Blind, promoted the album's release, as did subsequent support slots with The Rolling Stones, U2 and Oasis. Now with a massively successful US tour opening for sweet soul darlings Thee Sacred Souls behind him, 2023 is sure to be a propitious year for Daptone's newest signee. Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing Jalen perform live knows that he is one of the most captivating performers on today's soul scene. He later released two solo albums and toured both, before announcing he was quitting music to concentrate on his art. Squire later commented on his reasons for ending the band that "I thought 'This sounds shit, we don't deserve to be in this place.Fletcher was playing in local covers band, The Blueflies, as a last-minute replacement for the band's regular bass player who had pulled out of the gig. He later commented on his relationship with Squire that "I don't have any contact with him now, I didn't really when I was in the band – he was quite elusive. The band's split was officially announced on 23rd January 1999, with a press release citing musical differences.

THE SEAHORSES - DO IT YOURSELF - Music On Vinyl THE SEAHORSES - DO IT YOURSELF - Music On Vinyl

The band entered Olympic Studios with producer David Bottrill in January 1999 to record the album, with the working titles of Minus Blue and Motocade, and tensions came to a head between Squire and Helme. Do It Yourself is the only album by the Seahorses, the band formed by John Squire, formerly guitarist in the Stone Roses. The album features the singles “Blinded By The Sun”, “Love is the Law” and “Love Me and Leave Me” (Co-written by Liam Gallagher) The album was produced by Tony Visconti (T. Due to this, he attempted to launch a solo career whilst still in the Seahorses, and claimed that the Seahorses' management informed him that they would sue him if he started touring playing his own material whilst still a member of the band. Helme pursued a solo career and went on to attack John Squire in the press, describing his material as "muso wank".After John Squire left The Stone Roses, he formed The Seahorses in 1996 together with Stuart Fletcher, Chris Helme and Andy Watts.