The year was 1987. A wide variety of established artists were dominating the Billboard charts, from established solo male artists including Michael Jackson, George Michael, Sting, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Bruce Springsteen to rock legends including Aerosmith, INXS, REM, and U2 to newcomers Whitney Houston and Debbie Gibson to the genre some call hair metal with records from Poison, KISS, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Great White, and Guns N’ Roses.
In the midst of these multi-faceted genres arrived a quartet from Los Angeles by the name of Lions & Ghosts. Frontman Rick Parker, guitarist Michael Lockwood, Todd Hoffman (bass), and Micheal Murphy (drums). The band took its influences from The Beatles, glam rockers T.Rex, classic songwriters The Byrds, and more. Their love of memorable choruses and lyrics with a psychedelic twist shone through on their debut album, Velvet Kiss, Lick of The Lime. The record received a good amount of airplay for its first single, “Mary Goes Round,” and “Contradiction” from Southern California alternative rock radio institution KROQ. The band toured a good deal, supporting acts as varied as Gene Loves Jezebel, Love and Rockets, The Church, The Alarm, Dramarama, Guns N’ Roses, amongst others. Chances are, if you were at a cool show in the late 80s in L.A. at the Hollywood Palladium or the Palace, you saw Lions & Ghosts opening for someone. And more than likely, you fell in love with this band.
Velvet Kiss, Lick Of The Lime was recorded at Tony Visconti’s Good Earth Studios in the Soho district of London in the first part of 1987 and was produced and engineered by Peter Walsh (Simple Minds, Heaven 17, Gene Loves Jezebel and more). The group spent several months recording, then added the icing by having Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex, Thin Lizzy) arranging and conducting a sixteen-piece string section for several tracks.
Michael Lockwood has recorded, produced, played live, and written with many noted musicians, including Aimee Mann, Carly Simon, Fiona Apple, Jon Brion, Bijou Phillips, Susanna Hoffs and more. He has recently partnered with his manager Jeff Keller to start their new record label Sparkle Plenty which is distributed through Deko Entertainment.
“Gurl I Love You” is the first new recording by Lions & Ghosts in over 30 years and today we are excited to premiere it here on Glide. For longtime fans of the band, the song is both a return to form and something entirely new. Here we find Lockwood fully embracing a dreamy power pop sound that feels sunny and care-free. We also get big shimmering guitars and a paisley pop wash colorful musical textures. It’s easy to hear notes of Tom Petty and Beck in the vocals, and the lush orchestral flourishes add nuance to this heart-warming song. By sheer chance, Lockwood was asked to do a session by a local artist at Rick Parker’s studio in Los Angeles. It was a night full of old stories and many deep conversations. Parker and Lockwood started exchanging song ideas and the outcome was the new single. The track features Parker on vocals and bass, Lockwood on guitars and mellotron, first class session keyboardist and Los Angeles veteran Patrick Warren adding strings and John Wilmer on drums. The track was mixed by Rick Parker, produced by Lockwood and Parker, and picks up where they left off over 30 years ago.
Michael Lockwood describes the inspiration and process behind the song:
What are the odds that when you get called for a session, you end up sitting next to the singer you shared the stage with nearly 30 odd years ago? Slim, but that’s precisely what happened when Michael Lockwood showed up at Rick Parker’s studio in the Hollywood Hills. “It was magical,” explains Lockwood as he recounts the meeting of two old friends. “It was as if no time had passed; it was fluid and musical.” They soon began passing musical ideas back and forth. Eventually, they came back together in the studio and created a shiny little pop gem known as … “Gurl I Luv You.” Upon completion, Parker said to Lockwood, “Strange; it sounds like Lions & Ghosts” Strange indeed.
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One Response
Hey Rick. I used to be in a band called The Jetz and we played with you and Todd when you guys were in Banner a few times. Loved that band. Became a huge Lions & Ghosts fan after that. I was in a band called The Love In around the time you guys got got signed. I think I badgered you a few times for a warm up spot because we pretty much idolized you guys. Anyway, I pull up your records atleast once a year to listen to them. About 1/2 an hour ago I asked Alexa to play Lions & Ghosts and your new song came on. I searched it and found this article. Great song. When and where are you going to play? Kurt Stake