 Milkshake Moustache | |
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| Origins | Leicester, England |
| Genres | Rock |
| Years Active | 1970 – 1981, 1992 – 1993 |
| Members | Scott Poulter (Guitar, Vocals), Debbie Yeart (Keys, Vocals), and Julie Treem (Drums, Vocals) |
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Debbie, Julie, and Scott (C. 1976)Milkshake Moustache
Early Life
All three members of the classic rock band, Milkshake Moustache, grew up in the English city of Leicester. They were all even brought up on the same street, Pengelley Lane in the south part of the city. Scott lived at number 24, Debbie lived at 32, and Julie lived opposite in 27. The band had known each other most of their lives and had been friends on and off for the majority of their childhoods. The three would often visit each other after school to have fun in the local park or in each other’s gardens. The trio jumping between gardens over the fencing wasn’t unheard of either. They even formed the Gumball 5 Gang with a couple of other kids from their estate. It was mainly just a group to hang out with and play games with. They group got up to all sorts within the area and became well known for their fun japes.
When the three started growing up and reached secondary school they all took a keener interest in music. It was around this time that Tony’s Milkshake Bar opened up in one the streets between their Pengelley Lane and their school. The gang would walk past it every day and frequent it as much as they could afford to do. They were fascinated by the jukebox in the corner of the cafe. Their music knowledge was pretty slim at that time and the many singles in the collection broadened musical horizons. They were so inspired that they decided there and then to form a band. They didn’t have much money for instruments, but that Christmas, Santa was incredibly generous to them and they each got a special something they could use.
The next few months involved furious practicing. Although they were pretty rough and ready in their early days. So much so that their parents would share responsibility for hosting their jam sessions, so not one family had to listen to them all the time. It took a while, but they eventually got better much to their parent’s relief. They were getting so accomplished that Scott’s parents invited them to perform at a BBQ they would be having in their garden for the whole neighbourhood. Sadly, due to the British weather, the BBQ turned into a buffet indoors, but the band impressed none the less. After their first proper gig, the band now needed a name.
Their name came from a funny tale about Scott and Debbie. Apparently both of them went to the milkshake bar together, and both ended up with milkshake moustaches. A rumour was then started by another kid living in the road who saw it all. He went around telling everyone that the couple had kissed each other after school and that’s why they both had frothy top lips. Whether they did or not is a closely guarded secret within the group. The rumour eventually subsided, but the story persisted into their adult lives and that’s how we got the name Milkshake Moustache.
The band stayed close while going through secondary school with them finding it harder to practise together due to school work. All three left school and one by one started their new careers and moved homes as well. Scott became a car mechanic, Debbie worked as a receptionist at the local dentist, and Julie started a small florist shop. They all still lived and worked in Leicester though.
History
Slow Beginnings
Thankfully for the plight of rock history, the band members stayed close even while not living as near to each other. They regularly met up together outside of their working hours. Time would also be spent chatting about their musical ambitions. It was in 1970 that the group decided they wanted to have anther crack at music; this time a bit more professionally. They sent word out to any local venue that might allow them to play. Anywhere that would have them they would go to. It took a lot out of each of them playing quite a few nights a week along with their 9 to 5 jobs. It was a fun hobby for all three of them and they couldn’t think of anything else they would rather be doing with their evenings.
The local pubs and clubs enjoyed their rock music, and so did their patrons. Some venues would even serve milkshakes for the night as a homage to the group. The band enjoyed these small gigs as it was a perfect way to hone their craft without worrying too much about the crowd’s opinions. They kept getting booked for the gigs and they kept performing to anyone who would host them. It gave them the chance to come up with new songs one night and play them to an audience the next. It really was a useful and fulfilling time for the band. Around this time they thought it would be fun to create a single of one of their most popular songs, Pretty Please (With a Cherry on Top). They saved up enough of their money from the small gigs they were doing to afford a day at a small recording studio in the centre of Leicester. They just about had enough time in the studio to get a single of the song that they were pleased with. Along with the cost of the studio they also guaranteed a very limited run of fifty 7″ singles for the band within a few weeks of recording. The band thought it would be a great momento to remember their time together and to give out to family and friends too.
For a bit of fun the group asked Tony, the owner of the milkshake bar they all loved, whether they could put their new single into the jukebox. He loved the idea and within a week their single was available to choose at his cafe. The band were thrilled and were incredibly pleased that their hobby had led to this point. Little did they know what a master stroke this was.
In 1972 a Dekaf executive named Fred Jules had stopped in Leicester on his way to Newcastle for a meeting. He had his son with him as it was the school holidays and wanting to make the trip worthwhile for him, took him to Tony’s Milkshake Bar. By sheer coincidence one of the local kids had just put on MM’s single on the jukebox. Fred’s ears immediately pricked up as he had never heard the song before. He loved the rock vibe that the song gave off and he could see that the others in the cafe liked it too. He immediately went up to the counter to ask Tony who the band were. Tony wasn’t too sure so opened up the jukebox to look at the single inside. Once Tony knew it was Milkshake Moustache he was able to tell Fred who they were and where he could find them. Fred put off his travelling for a day and managed to catch the band in a pub just down the road. He approached them after their gig and told them his story, he also propositioned them with working with Dekaf Records.
High Times
The trio had never really meant to become a fully fledged recording band. They were more than happy to work their normal jobs with music as their hobby, but the offer from Fred at Dekaf was too good to pass up. Dekaf put up some money straight away to help them record their first album. They also gave them the run of their studio in Coventry. After a few weeks of practise and recording, the band ended up with their debut album, Drink Up, We’re Going in 1973. They were incredibly proud of the final product as were Dekaf. The album was marketed and sold by the record company with much early success. It sold well within the midlands allowing them to play at bigger and better venues. The buying public lapped up their smooth rock songs with sometimes funny and sometimes poignant lyrics. The classic rock guitar with the harmonies of the trio was also critically acclaimed pretty early on.
Things really started to speed up when the band were interviewed for Rock, Stock, and Barrel magazine as part of their top 10 up and coming rock music acts. The increased exposure led to more venues booking up the trio and wanting them for all sorts of guest appearances. One big deal for the group was being asked to host a weekly hours show on their local Leicestershire radio station. This led to the Double M Hour becoming a staple on the station every Sunday night for three years. It allowed them to let their personalties shine through and also play any new track they had just recorded. The show also helped them grow into the local music scene and led them to make friends with many local bands.
To build on the growing success of their first album, Dekaf encouraged the band to go back to the studio to create a second one. The group still had their regular jobs at this point, so it was still quite hard to find time during the day when they could all get together to write the new songs and record them. Their minds were changed when they were booked to play on the popular music TV show, Eyes and Ears. It was a great way to get the band even more fans nationally, but also get their image on the boxes of millions. The show went well even though they had to mime their song, much to Scott’s professional chagrin. What it did show was that the band had really made it, and with that in mind, all three members of the band quit their jobs to pursue their burgeoning careers. With the new time to dedicate to their music, they finally released their second album, Swirls in 1975. This was then followed up with their third album, Neapolitan in 1976 a year later.
Going Steady
The next couple of years were spent touring and promoting their trio of albums. Wherever they went they got a good reception and the crowd were always lively and responded well to their music. They picked up fans in every town and city they gigged at. Their albums were selling at a good rate in shop and they were continually asked to appear on TV. Their style of rock music had a very broad appeal. Their colourful covers brought in the younger listeners while hardcore rockers loved the almost prog like tracks on the albums.
It wasn’t just their sales that were going steady, but Debbie and Scott also starting going out together. There had always been a bit of chemistry between them even as kids, but now they were together a lot more sparks began to fly again. Perhaps the original milkshake kiss rumour was correct after all. One thing led to another and in 1977 Scott proposed to Debbie and got married a year later in 78. It was a rock and roll wedding with plenty of other musical guests attending the ceremony. Julie was one the bridesmaids and the best man was one of the other original members of the Gumball 5 Gang all those years ago. No expense was spared and the whole day was a great occasion for all those who were there. In celebration of the year’s festivities, the band released their fourth album, Pomp and Ceremony. The overarching themes of the album were love, marriage, and tradition. It was also the first time in the band’s history that they had some songs that Julie didn’t perform on. The happy couple created 3 duets for the album all about their love and adoration for each other.
The album did very well with the added publicity of the superstar wedding. It allowed them to tour nationally and now internationally playing at any venue they fancied. Their brand of rock was particularly enjoyed by countries in Scandinavia, so along with the tour dates there, Debbie and Scott also used the opportunity for a long honeymoon in a lovely part of the globe. When they returned to the UK they returned to their old stomping ground to perform at the The Jelly Jamboree. They had performed here in 1972 before they had even recorded their first album. It felt like a sweet homecoming gig to record for a live album. The Live at the JJ album was released in 1979 featuring live performances of their classic songs plus a few new ones written on tour. It was really an album for the avid fan who wanted to hear different versions of their favourite songs.
Strained Relations
Their international tour had them playing at a large amount of dates across the UK, Europe, North America, and even East Asia. It took a lot out of them and during point of the trip made them incredibly homesick. Unfortunately this brought the irritable sides out of the band members. As a band they had always got on well and only had minor squabbles, but something about being stuck together non stop for the best part of two years started to grate. Even between the married couple.
Julie had started to resent her co stars after they had got married. Their wedding was talk of the town for quite a while and when tv companies contacted the band for interviews they only ever wanted to talk to the happy couple. One particularly hurtful comment came on an interview Debbie and Scott had with Graham Hush on his popular talkshow, Hush for Hush. Scott made an offhand comment saying that the band could probably work as a duet between the couple. He didn’t mean it, but Graham wouldn’t let the point rest. It was a large embarrassment for Julie when newspapers talked about the potential of the band becoming a duo in the morning editions.
Scott was upset at these sensationalist headlines and felt they had taken his words out of context. But from then on his relationship with Julie never quite got back to what it was. The sad thing was that Scott and Debbie’s relationship was going a similar way. The first year of marriage was bliss for the pair of them. But being on tour a lot together brought a lot of issues to a head. Very few couples are with their spouse 24/7 for months on end for good reason. It got to the point where even the smallest wrong word or odd habit annoyed the other. Even with the tension within the group they needed another album to fulfil their contract with Dekaf so they released Couple’s Therapy in 1981.
It was the perfect title for the perfect time of the band. The album was bookended with two songs that really summed up the feel of the album; I Hate You and I Love You were at the beginning and end of the album respectively. It sold reasonably well with the buying public and garnered mixed critical responses from reviewers. Some felt the album was a big change from their more upbeat music and they couldn’t see past that, while others thought it was a much more honest album for the trio and showed their musical maturity over the years. In the intervening years the album has been upgraded in the eyes of fans and critics becoming the go to album for anyone going through a breakup.
Sadly this was the end of the band at the time. Julie had lost some interest in pursuing the career, while Scott and Debbie had just launched divorce proceedings. The marriage had been a fairly happy one and the divorce was amicable. They really did love each other, but the pressure of the tour and the way they rush into into meant it couldn’t last very long. The group drifted apart from that point onwards leaving a wake of upset fans.
Reunion
It was early 1992 that rumours went around the rock community that Milkshake Moustache might be making a comeback. The rumours were true. Dekaf Records didn’t like the way that the band had left their fans in the lurch. During the 80s their records still sold well and the record company fancied one last bite of the cherry. The phoned up all three members of the band suggesting one more album and one more tour. Scott was now running his own car showroom purchased with his royalty money, Debbie became a session musician for other popular bands, while Julie had improved her florist business opening up more shops around the midlands. All three were excited to get the band back together. They never really fell out as such, but it was the long touring that made them fall out of love with music.
Thankfully, they were able to bury any past disappointment and return to the recording studio. The result was their final album, Hello Again. It was a fun tongue in cheek album with plenty of clever lyrics to delight the fans. Their music skill had not been lost over the last decade as their classic sound was complemented with with some more modern synths and drum machines. The launch of the new album was big news amongst rockers and more casual listeners alike. Their final tour was also a real event and all venues on the route were packed with fans coming from far afield to hear their favourite band for the last time. The new album and tour were incredibly cathartic for the group. It was the perfect way to heal old wounds and provide their fans with a lasting legacy. They could now part ways with no regrets.
Discography
What Happened Next?
The band created a classic lineup of albums that meant that even after the end of the group, they were still sought after for benefit gigs and tv interviews. They humbly reunited on a few occasions for charities that they wanted to support, but other than that they walked off into the sunset. Scott and Debbie remarried in 1996 after rekindling their relationship through their earlier reunion. They no longer had the stress of the band and touring to come between them and they were able to live a happy life as a couple. They had two children between them named Anthony (after the milkshake bar owner) and Rebecca in 1997 and 1999 respectively. Scott still runs his car showroom with Debbie coming on board as an administrator of the family business.
Julie stuck with her florist shop business until the internet started to take away her trade. Sadly she was undercut by clever new ventures that promised home delivery and click and collect services. She had to close her chain of florists in 2002. She can now be found making frequent tv appearances as a special celebrity guest. Whether it’s a quiz show, a cooking show, or even reality tv show, you can expect to see Julie having a go and earning a nice fee in the process as well as money for charity.
Milkshake Moustache hold a special place in rock history as being one of the few bands that knew when to call it a day. They came, they saw, and they conquered. Their music is enjoyed by countless fans all over the world, and their style still influences plenty of other rock bands to this day. Who would have thought that some local kids from Pengelley Lane in Leicester would have been able to climb right to the pinnacle of UK rock music and stay there in the eyes of the British public for years after they parted ways.