The Melons

The Melons were the lovely and beautiful Vanessa Turner and Katy Shelagh Gaffin who met in the late 80s Nottingham indie scene while Katy (or Sheggi Clarkson to those who have a death wish) was singing in the Rolling Stones of indiepop, the Fat Tulips. Vanessa and Katy became close mates and Vanessa would dance on stage during Tulips' gigs. As the legend goes, Katy's bathroom had such good acoustics that our two heroines decided to record a demo in it. Soon after, major label (and pig van proprietors) Heaven Records released the infamous "Melons flexi" with the coolest fanzine EVER. In a total fit of insanity, Mark Radcliffe starting playing it on his BBC Radio One show and eventually invited Vanessa and Katy in to do two live sessions. The Melons started playing shows in Nottingham and London with a backing band consisting entirely of Katy on guitar and a really bad drum machine (although, Paul from the Fat Tulips filled in when Katy destroyed said machine with a Scottish battle-axe after a royalty dispute.) On the advice of a fella by the name of Mr. Daniel Treacy, the Melons were signed by the brilliant Ian and his Damaged Goods label (home and previous home of Manic Street Preachers, Helen Love, and too many other awesome bands to mention...) Damaged Goods released two singles - "From Hell to Helsinki" and "Fast Lane." Both singles were played by the BBC and the Melons had features in either the NME or Melody Maker (or both, who can remember?) The Melons never quite split up, but went on a mini-break when Katy got married to Josh Gaffin, and moved to New York City where her sole reason for living is the consumption of margaritas. Vanessa is married to Tim from the Razorcuts and is the proud mum of two gorgeous kids. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.