The Rosslyns - discography

[this page only updated in 2025, following unlikely 'resurgence' in 'interest']

'Singles'

1. February 1990: On the beach with the Rosslyns (My Secret World MSW 2)

5-track chrome cassette demo on boutique fanzine-aligned Chelmsford label, limited to 100 copies (none left). Produced by Howard Reed in Kelvedon, Essex in December 1989. Tracks: Things are different now / Sixteen / Someone's Happy / A Dream Come True [uncredited track] / Warhol. 

YouTube: here. Discogs: here.

2. October 1990: "Paperchase (if you want you can break my heart)" (Rosslyns Fan Club RFC 001)

2 track cassette. Tracks: Paperchase / Kirsty. 

Almost completely lost/forgotten second demo tape, on sarcastically named 'own label' following the messy collapse of the My Secret World corporate empire.

YouTube: here.

3. date unknown, 199?: "Between New York & New Year" / "We're Doing It For The Kids" (white label)

Planned comeback/swansong (delete as appropriate) 7" single, apparently sent to a pressing plant in the US but they kept the $ and the master tapes. There might be a test pressing out there somewhere!

4. February 2023: "safe routes for refugees, now!" (d/l EP)

Tracks: Good Songs, Old Songs / Admirals / Winter, after the funeral.

Bandcamp benefit single for Refugee Council, out-takes from old tapes. (Alternative EP titles included "Rejected by Harriet" )

5. September 2024: "1989" (d/l EP)

Tracks: Things are different now / Haven't heard already / 16 / Think of love.

Bandcamp benefit single for Autistic Girls' Network, released for the 35th anniversary of the first band recordings. The remaining 4-track recordings from 1989, unexpurgated. Different recordings from the versions on the Harriet Records anthology (see below).

6. December 2024: "with him in your arms" (d/l EP)

Tracks: Old Carthusians (E7) / Old Carthusians (SW9).

Bandcamp benefit single for Parkinson's Society, both versions of the song different from version on the Harriet Records anthology.

7. June 2025: "disused underground stations still fascinate" (free download)

Track: disused underground stations still fascinate (remix)

Soundcloud version of very early rough demo.

Albums

In 1990 the band said they didn't believe in albums and would never release one. They have at least honoured this.

Artist compilations & anthologies

16 January 1991: "Ranson Is 6/7 Of Cranson" (Kill Thatcher KT 002)

33-track C90 made for Matt's 18th birthday, in order to compile every demo and back-of-the-sofa offcut recorded up to that point. Also the master tape for at least one song. Limited edition of one, unsurprisingly: track listing unremembered. Title a football-related riff on X-Tal's "Reason Is 6/7 of Treason".

July 2022: "All We Ever Did Was Try" (Harriet Records SPY 16)

Unlikely retrospective on legendary Stateside label, featuring tunes from first 3 releases above plus a few more exhumations from the archive. Tracks: Things are different now / Sixteen / Someone's happy / Paperchase / Kirsty, etc / A Dream Come True / We're doing it for the kids / Between New York & New Year / There's always next year / She's more than milk to me / Charmtrap / Old Carthusians / wrenching hearts! left and right / Stakhanovite Endeavour / Warhol / Hooded top.

Appearances on v/a compilations

? 1990 "Just Another... Compilation" (Flippin Ace Recording Co)

Alongside some far better bands including the Ammonites, the Cudgels, the Dentists, Fat Tulips, the Gravy Train, the Groove Farm, Panda Pops, the Sainsburys, the Sedgwicks, Strawberry Story and the Vicarage Garden...

The Rosslyns contribution, "I Can Feel My Life Slipping Away From Me" (great title) was a rough / early mix of Tim Alborn favourite "Paperchase"

November 1990 "Dandelion" (label unremembered, sorry)

Again, alongside superior bands including White Town, Honey Bunch, Strawberry Story, the Ammonites again, Allen Clapp, Po! and Small Factory.

The Rosslyns also featured on other compilation tapes in 1990, quite possibly including "My Secret World", a Fragrant Lobster one and one by the guy out of the Deskimoes. Sometimes bands offered songs for tapes that never happened, but not infrequently people used the songs without telling the bands first (or at all). The featured Rosslyns song tended to be "Things Are Different Now" although we think one of them also featured "Kirsty".

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Other Rosslyns pages on the blog:

Illuvia Vapor Y Velocidad interview, 1989
The Rosslyns

The Rosslyns - Illuvia Vapor Y Velocidad interview, 1989

Taken verbatim from Illuvia Vapor Y Velocidad. Text copyright Sara Bermejo, 1990

THE ROSSLYNS 

Si hay alguien que quiere demonstrarnos el pesimismo a través de sus letras ellos son los Rosslyns. De nuevo inconformismo y desesperación impregnado de tiernas melodías. De nuevo la cruda realidad.

¿Quienes sois y cuando os formásteis ?

KIERON: Empezamos en el verano del 88, somos todos adolescentes, la línea es, Howard (bajo), Ollie (teclados), Kieron (guitarra y voz) y Andy (batería).

Mejor gira que recordéis: 

Kieron: Ehhhh... Cualquier gira con una atmósfera agradable, es siempre la gente lo que hace una gira especial. HOWARD Tocamos la primera gira (2 canciones 5 minutos) para una audienca do poco más do 12 personas para el colegio la semana de caridad el miércoles

Banda independiente favorita: 

Kieron: Ummm... tenemos muchas, pero probablemente los Razorcuts. Nos gustan mucho también los Pastels, Wedding Present, Bubble Gum Splash y las bandas de Sarah.

Howard Hum... me gustan Family Cat, Inspiral Carpets, My Bloody Valentine y los Weather Prophets.

Describir vuestra habitación: 

KIERON: Es mi "mundo secreto" donde puedo estar solo cuando quiero. Es también donde escribo las canciones, por que las canciones son sobre cosas que me preocupan y pienso en esas cosas en mi habitación cuando leo o escucho música, y también está mi cama que es donde sueño.

Dinos un objeto que describa tus cualidades.

KIERON: Me temo que no tengo realmente ninguna cualidad.

Howard: es una pregunta dificil, diría que un fusible de 12 amperios. La última cosa que comiste o bebiste.

KIERON: bien, me tomado una taza de té... an y también una espléndida manzana. Comemos muchas fruta, somos vegetarianos.

Si pudieses cambiar el mundo que harías ?

KIERON: una gran pregunta, Amaría un mundo donde la gente no se preocupase del estilo, pero si de cada uno, plantaría millones de árboles y el campo, estaría lleno des animales, habría iglesias y molinos de viento en vez de pubs y discotecas, oh... y chicas con vestidos de flores. No ocurrirá pero me gusta so[]ar.

H: Probablemente no mucho porque no sabría por donde empezar. Definitivamente que se marchase Thatcher. Aparentemente la señora Thatcher cae bien en el extranjero, no creas una palabra de esa escoria insensata. En EEUU haría lo mismo con Bush y los remplazaría por alguien con sentimientos humanos, en China devolvería la sanidad al país, también reservaría unas vacaciones para el grupo en España donde somos más conocidos que aquí gracias a gente como VOSOTRAS!!! La primero que haces cuando te le vantas.

KIRON: Pienso que mañana más bonita y espero un día soleado. Normalmente llueve aquí en Inglaterra.

H: Miro el reloj y vuelvo a dormirme otra vez.

Fetiches:

KIERON: Mi secreto más intimo, no soy fetichista, alguna gente dice que tengo como fetiches las flores, pero prefiero llamario una obsesión de salud, me gustan las orquídeas, los narcisos, las rosas.

HOWARD: el mazapán!!

Planes futuros. 

KIERON: ¿Para los Rosslyns ? Sólo queremos ser amados, realmente no hacemos planas, hacemos cosas. Con suerte más discos y giras pronto, en calquier tiempo en cualquier lugar.

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Other Rosslyns pages on the blog:

Discography
The Rosslyns

The Rosslyns

The Rosslyns, Central Park, Chelmsford, 1990: photo © Matt Rowson 

@YouTube here: @Discogs here.

Unbelievably obscure band alert. The Rosslyns were an (un)popular teenage beat combo from Billericay, in Essex who were all at school at the time and in other bands too at the time (primarily the Albinos and Casual Death, later Xabbortschz). Think proto-pop scrambled bedroom impro mess on baby guitar amps and you're probably there, the sort of music where you know they should be doing their maths homework instead but the textbooks are still sitting, unopened on the floor.

They did get featured in a couple of international fanzines - Spain’s Illuvia Velocidad Y Vapor and Massachusetts’ fantastic Incite! A scan of that interview by Tim Alborn, who also founded Harriet Records, can be found in issue #18 here, with a knowing but perhaps overly generous review of their "On The Beach" tape in the previous issue. 

Casual Death, live at Danbury Village Hall, 1990

We thought the Rosslyns should be documented somewhere - nobody else was going to do it, so we've put up the Spanish interview and 'discography' ourselves. (Edit: the YouTube and Discogs came later, so now we're not completely alone). Enjoy, if you're one of the 100 people who owns Rosslyns 'product' - or who once owned it, and donated it to landfill...

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Other Rosslyns pages on the blog:

Illuvia Vapor Y Velocidad interview, 1989
Discography