Heavenly have returned with ‘Portland Town’, the first new song they have released in 29 years – listen to it below.
The cult Oxford indie band, who describe themselves as “riot twee”, released four studio albums in the 1990s, the last of which was 1996’s ‘Operation Heavenly’. They disbanded, however, after drummer Matthew Fletcher took his own life shortly before that record’s release.
They did reunite in 2023 for a show at Bush Hall in London and went on to play a number of shows together later that year, with Death In Vegas’ Ian Button filling in for Fletcher.
Now, they have released their first new music since ‘Operation Heavenly’, in the form of the prickly, infectious single ‘Portland Town’, which sees singer Amelia Fletcher sing: “I’ve never been brave, I’ve never been tough / But sometimes you have to say, that’s enough”.
They have also shared the track’s B-side ‘Someone Who Cares’, a more reflective, introspective tune – check that out below. The tracks are out now on a 7” released by Skep Wax Records and you can find it here.
Heavenly will play a show at London’s Islington Assembly Hall on July 19 – find tickets for the show here.
The Fletcher siblings, guitarist Peter Momtchiloff and bassist Robert Pursey were all previously members of the C86 band Talulah Gosh.
After Matthew Fletcher’s passing, the members of Heavenly decided to retire the band’s name, but continued under the name Marine Research for the 1999 album ‘Sounds From The Gulf Stream’.
They later played together in the band Tender Trap, releasing four further albums, and Amelia Fletcher and Pursey are also in the bands The Catenary Wires and Swansea Sound.
Upon their return in 2022, they announced reissues all four of their studio albums, beginning with 1991’s ‘Heavenly vs. Satan’.
