Named when a girlfriend called Lulu stood in front of a Flesh For Frankenstein poster, Flesh For Lulu flourished in London’s postpunk free-for-all after amateur synth-pop duo Nick Marsh and James Mitchell added ex-Wasted Youth guitarist Rocco Barker and bassist Glen Bishop to become one of the Batcave’s most beloved outfits. Their glammed up collisions of the Stones, underbelly Americana and classic rock suss that could see them transform Jody Reynolds’s Endless Sleep into a funereal goth anthem earned them a deal with Polydor, BBC sessions and rave press for the album that followed nightstalking debut single Roman Candle in 1984.
Making its CD debut, the album reveals itself as an overlooked rock‘n’roll gem rather than any dated goth curio, elevated by its robustly melodic songs. Marsh’s compelling vocals turn soaring Batcave anthem Subterraneans into the era’s most poignantly poetic rhapsody, and conquer the Stones’ Jigsaw Puzzle to show his roots beneath the hairspray.
The Expanded Edition adds 12-inch remixes and B-sides, along with Peel, Janice Long and Kid Jensen radio sessions and an informative booklet, completing a fitting tribute to a great lost band and the underrated talents of Nick Marsh, who sadly succumbed to cancer in 2015.
