The three members of the Leicester and London-based
Bronco Bullfrog -- Andy Morten (drums, vocal), Mike Poulson (vocal, guitar), and Louis Wiggett (bass, vocal) -- came together after playing in various "neo-'60s" beat/psych bands. They decided to combine their musical interests -- which include the usual power pop suspects, i.e.
Big Star,
Raspberries,
the Beach Boys,
the Beatles,
the Who,
the Hollies, etc., not to mention a growing love for Southern California canyon rock bands like
the Byrds and
Buffalo Springfield -- into one group. Taking their name from an obscure and gritty late-'60s English movie (starring actor Sam Shepard in the title role),
Bronco Bullfrog eventually began recording at Y Studios in Leicester between September 1996 and February 1998. These recordings were later collected as their self-titled debut and released by the U.K.-based Twist Records in 1998. A follow-up,
seventhirtyeight, was issued by Twist in 2000. After its release, the Madrid, Spain-based Mushroom Pillow Records reissued the band's first album on October 1, 2000, and in February 2000, released The Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker, which was recorded by
Liam Watson at London's Toe Rag Studios. ~ Bryan Thomas