Mother Earth

In Early 1990,  Eddie Piller wanted to re-create the 'post-mod' sound, 'when the main movers of mod went rock', Humble Pie, The Faces, Free etc.

Originally formed around the 'non-musical musician', Bunny, a close friend of Piller, plus a collection of studio musician's, they set about creating a hypnotic blend of funk, psych, trip hop and blues rock. Bunny christened the project Mother Earth. Acid Jazz released the track on a comp, a solution to how to preform the project live was required.

The resulting band were ex- Wolfhound, Matt Deighton on guitar and vocals, Neil Corcoran on the bass guitar, Shauna Greene on backing vocals, Bryn Barklam on the Hammond organ & Chris White providing the beat on drums. Signing on the dotted line to Acid Jazz Records in 1991, after a few more compilation outings, their debut LP hit the shops in June ’92. Stoned Woman was a classic debut with the NME giving it a 10/10 review. 

But it was on the live circuit where the band began to establishe them-selves, Bunny having left to persue a DJ career, touring with artists such as Jamiroquai, Gil Scott Heron and Corduroy.
 
The tour hardened outfit slotted in studio time between gigs to record 1993’s album The People Tree. Mainly a vehicle for Deighton's song writing talents, the LP captured the group's tight rocky folk-funk sound beautifully.  

By ‘95 Mother Earth’s live reputation was as strong as ever, but on disc they were being overtaken by Brit pop bands. Their third album You Have Been Watching, despite receiving good reviews, just didn’t fall into Camden-ites shopping bags. Matters were not helped by Deighton’s growing involvement with Paul Weller’s live and studio work, whom he eventually joined as a full time guitarist. This in turn lead to him replacing Noel Gallagher in Oasis, (Gallagher famously walking out on the eve of their ‘Be Here Now’ U.S. tour). With his high level of session work and a side-project solo LP Villager (released in 1995), Deighton quit the band.

Matt Woodman came in to replace Deighton and the band recorded new material with UB40 at the controls, some of which featured on the ‘rarities’ album The Further Adventures Of Mother Earth.

Other collaborators on this final release and related session musician line-up live-work include Gregory Issacs, Tom Robinson, Paul Weller, Mike Bandoni, various members of Galliano, Graham Day from The Prisoners, Richard Searle from Corduroy, Simon Bartholomew of The Brand New Heavies and Kym Marsh of Coronation Street and Hearsay fame.

Dieghton still releases solo albums and currently plays for Chris Difford.

Barclam plays with Secret Affair.

White is working on new material.

Corcoran, now an Australian resident, sometimes visits family in the UK on which occasion the original line-up reform for one-off shows.

And word is they are playing this summer !