Bad Dream Fancy Dress: Space Goddess Biog
The legend of how ‘Bad Dream Fancy Dress’ were formed was created by infamous EL record label. The story went that two girls from Leigh-on-sea got drunk together then toured the London record companies asking for a record contract. To their utmost surprise someone at Cherry Red Records liked them and introduced them to the music Svengali Mike Alway. In true ‘Producer-esq’ style, within weeks they were booked into the recording studio with musician Simon Fisher Turner (The King of Luxemburg) and charged with making the first girl band, post punk, album. Thrown together in less than a week, ‘Choirs Boys Gas’ became an instant cult record, even knocking the then popular U2 into second place on NME’s album of the week. And when it started selling in Japan, El records accidently had their fist major record success on their hands. Hit Single ‘Curry Crazy’ even got daytime play on Radio One and Sounds, Melody Maker and John Peel all acclaimed them. But there were internal divisions, disagreements about the next music direction the band would take, Commercial or Indie; within a year they saw it all fall apart. Bad Dream Fancy Dress were to burn bright and disappear just as quickly into the archives of 80’s punk pop madness.
It was at this time that singer Cat Rees met Jeff Forehead in the Grand Hotel Leigh-on-sea. They agreed to record an EP and sent it to John Peel, he instantly phoned them back and said he wasn't going to play the record but he’d play the next record as he thought they had potential. Unfortunalkey he probably didn't realize it would take them almost twenty-five years to record the next album ‘Space Goddess’, and he has sadly passed away since.
And then Cat and Jeff split. Cat returned to Wales and her acting career. She eventually concentrated on being a mother of two daughters. Jeff had a sort and loud career with Indie music anarchists ‘Foreheads in a Fishtank’ before moving into producing television. As time passed Cat returned to acting principally known for her gangster role ‘Judith’ in the BBC welsh soap Pobol y Cwm. In 2010 she was asked to play the part of Emma Smith in Channel Five’s ‘Jack the Ripper the Definitive Story’, and it was while filming an exhausting sequence of blood, guts, stabbing and murder, that Jeff and Cat again met and picked up their relationship after twenty years.
Cat had had a fall on a slippery supermarket floor and was having problems with her foot and agreed to an operation that went horribly wrong. The plates snapped splitting her heel, she was unable to act or work. And the pair concentrated on script writing and commercial advertising. Cat’s condition continued to deteriorate and she was diagnosed with genetic arthritis, leading to a series of major operations.
On Christmas Day 2012 the worst storms in a generation were to hit the UK and the pair awoke to discover the River Medway had taken a detour through their Living room during the night. It was in this darkest hour of despair that a strange man knocked on their ‘flooded’ door and asked if they required food or a shower? Joe it appeared had also worked in music industry back in the 80’s, and had recorded some of Cat’s favourite bands. The three were soon laughing, jamming and making music for fun, the first song being ‘Breathe’ which now appears on the new Space Goddess Album.
Cat was offered a spinal fusion operation at Guys hospital and with little else that could be done lying on her back for several months, she started writing more songs. Jeff and Joe did the odd Jam and songs started to develop in their home studio. Very slowly outlines for an album started to form. But Cat’s condition wasn't improving to a point that she was in a wheel chair most of the time and unable to walk without sticks. About a year ago Cat finally had a catch-up appointment in Cardiff Hospital and the consult not happy about her condition decided to X-ray her hips. They had completely disintegrated and she was immediately offered a double hip replacement in February 2017. Just two months to finish the Space Goddess Album! Panic! The decision was made to concentrate on ten of the songs and get the vocal completed and recorded before the big op.
The ten completed songs now form the basis of ‘Space Goddess’ Bad Dream Fancy Dress, second Album twenty-five years after the first. Jeff and Cat have continued their friendship with Manager promoter Kevin Crace who had worked on their previous albums when he was at Pinnacle distribution. He’s been busy behind the scenes setting up distribution through ‘Nova Distribution’ and the album is now set for release on 9th March 2018, a year after the big op.
Cat is again on her feet and recovering. The pair are also talking about Live gigs and more releases in the future with the ‘Bi-onic’ Album and the rest of the unfinished recordings. They continue to work with Joe. It’s taken them a long time to get this album off the ground but they are really happy with the final songs and arrangements. Bad Dream Fancy Dress are now back with their new sensational Album ‘Space Goddess’.