Taking you into a pop-sike nightmare!

The Lucid Dream were a UK rural psychedlic garage rock group from the beginning of the 1990's, whose live shows enthralled all those who saw them. This site has been created to tie in with the forthcoming retrospective album release in America.

An Elegant Chaos - October 1986 to December 1988

AN ELEGANT CHAOS - October 1986 to December 1988

Line Up:
Vocals / Lead Guitar: Ant Walker
Bass: Dave Battersby
Rhythm Guitar / Keyboards: Craig 'Spadge' Sparey
Drums: Stuart Paveley

Note: the first Eight gigs with 'Happy' the drum machine, Stu Paveley joined in July 1987

An Elegant Chaos Gig 1 – The British Flag, Gloucester Thursday February 27th 1987
Set One: Dependant / Out On Your Own / The Real Me / Deeply Removed / Only The Best / Dreams Never End / What I’ve Done / The Enchanting Smile / Leaving You Now
Set Two: Why Should I Care / A Moment In Time / Time Of Life / Lies / Nothing At All / Reality Encore: Villiers Terrace / Dependant


An Elegant Chaos Gig 2 – The British Flag, Gloucester Thursday March 5th 1987
Supporting Major Detail
Dependant / Out On Your Own / Only The Best / A Moment In Time / Nothing At All / Leaving You Now / Villiers Terrace



An Elegant Chaos Gig 3 – Oxstalls Tech, Gloucester Friday March 20th 1987
Supporting The Jeremiahs
Dependant / Out On Your Own / Time Of Life / A Moment In Time / Nothing At All / Leaving You Now / Why Should I Care / What I’ve Done / Villiers Terrace


An Elegant Chaos Gig 4 – The British Flag, Gloucester Friday April 10th 1987
Set One: Dependant / Out On Your Own / The Real Me / Drowning / Only The Best /
Dreams Never End / Reality / The Enchanted Smile / Leaving You Now
Set Two: Why Should I Care / A Moment In Time / Time Of Life / Lies / Nothing At All /
What I’ve Done / Villiers Terrace / Dependant / Drowning


An Elegant Chaos Photo Shoot, Stroud, Friday April 17th 1987


An Elegant Chaos Gig 5 – The Shed, Stroud, Friday April 17th 1987
Set: Dependant / Out On Your Own / The Real Me / Drowning / Only The Best /
Dreams Never End / Reality / The Enchanted Smile / Leaving You Now / Nothing At All / Time Of Life / What I’ve Done / Villiers Terrace Encore: Dependant / Drowning



An Elegant Chaos Demo Tape Number One May 1987 (Happy 001)
Side One: Dependant / A Moment In Time / Time Of Life / Nothing At All
(recorded between February 17th and 30th April at Ant’s EP 161 Studios)
Side Two: Out On Your Own / Only The Best / Leaving you Now / Villiers Terrace
(recorded live at the British Flag, Gloucester, 26th February 1987)


‘Man Replacing Drum Machine’

Saturday 30th of May and we had one of first proper interviews! The local newspaper the Gloucester Citizen agreed to our request for an interview in the local bands page and we trudged along for a photo shoot as well. The article came out in the paper’s edition of Saturday June 6th 2007 with a photo of us taken on the fire escape of their St John’s Lane offices below it. It was quite a lengthy article which we were all well pleased with and was headed up ‘Man Replacing Drum Machine’. The article kicked off by saying how ‘the days of the drum machine are strictly numbered as far as local band An Elegant Chaos are concerned. Their machine has served them through ‘live’ gigs, but is about to be ousted by a real live drummer’. We tried to be cagey about who it was in the interview just saying that he came from Dymock! In the interview we cited The Bunnymen, New Order and Julian Cope as being influences with ant stating how the City lacked a good alternative live music venue. It promoted our forthcoming gigs as well as the cassette! 



An Elegant Chaos Gig 6 – The British Flag, Gloucester Friday June 12th 1987
Set One: Reality / Everytime I See Your Face / Out On Your Own / Only The Best / Real Me / Drowning / The Enchanted Smile / Leaving You Now / What I’ve Done
Set Two: Dependant / A Moment In Time / Walk Through / Spare A Thought / Nothing At All / Time Of Life / Villiers Terrace / Hup Two Three Four / Where It All Ends


An Elegant Chaos Gig 7 – The Axiom Centre, Cheltenham, Sunday June 21st 1987
Set One: Walk Through / Everytime I See Your Face / Out On Your Own / Only The Best / Real Me / Drowning / The Enchanted Smile / Leaving You Now / What I’ve Done
Set Two: Reality / Dependant / A Moment In Time / Spare A Thought / Nothing At All / Time Of Life / Villiers Terrace / Hup Two Three Four / Where It All Ends


An Elegant Chaos Gig 8 – Café Continental, Cheltenham, Sunday July 5th 1987
(Last gig with ‘Happy’ the drum machine)
Set One: Sometimes / Walk Through / Everytime I See Your Face / Out On Your Own / Only The Best / Real Me / Drowning / The Enchanted Smile / Leaving You Now / What I’ve Done
Set Two: Reality / Dependant / A Moment In Time / Spare A Thought / Nothing At All / Time Of Life / Multitude Of Complexity In My Shoes / Villiers Terrace / Hup Two Three Four / Where It All Ends


An Elegant Chaos Gig 9 – Malt ‘N Hops, Gloucester, Sunday 30th August 1987
Supporting Major Detail (first gig with Stu Paveley on drums)
Set: Drowning / Out On Your Own / Time Of Life / The Enchanted Smile / Dependant /
What I’ve Done / Hup Two Three Four / Where It All Ends


 An Elegant Chaos Gig 10 – British Flag, Gloucester, Friday 18th September 1987
Set: Drowning / Out On Your Own / Only The Best / The Enchanted Smile / Leaving You Now / A Moment In Time / Walk Through / Time Of Life / Dependant / What I’ve Done / Nothing At All / Villiers Terrace / Hup Two Three Four / Where It All Ends

An Elegant Chaos Gig 11 – Café Continental, Cheltenham, 5th October 1987

An Elegant Chaos Gig 12 – The Brewery Tap, Cheltenham, 21st October 1987

An Elegant Chaos Gig 13 – Oxstalls Tech, Gloucester, 11th November 1987


An Elegant Chaos Gig 14 – Café Continental, Cheltenham, 22nd November 1987

An Elegant Chaos Gig 15 – Malt ‘N Hops, Gloucester, 3rd December 1987

An Elegant Chaos Gig 16 – Herefordshire House Hotel, Malvern, 12th December 1987

An Elegant Chaos Gig 17 – British Flag, Gloucester, 25th February 1988

An Elegant Chaos Gig 18 – Coney Hill Sports & Social Club, Gloucester,
Saturday 5th March 1988
(supporting Death Planet Commandoes)


An Elegant Chaos Gig 19 – Community Centre, Newent, 26th March 1988


An Elegant Chaos Gig 20 – Malt ‘N Hops, Gloucester, 10th April 1988

Recording of ‘Dependant’ at Trak 16 Studio’s in Gloucester, 19th April 1988 for the Shine Hard Compilation Vinyl LP. Mixed on 11th May 1988. Released Autumn 1988.

We saw an advert in the local press that the local recording studio in Gloucester Trak 16 studios were looking for local acts to be on a compilation album. The deal was we would pay £150 to be on it and have 50 copies of the album to sell. It featured a right old mixture of band’s on it from all walks of musical styles! We went in and recording our trusty live favourite with the catchy riff ‘Dependant’. We were relatively happy with the results considering we had a producer / engineer who didn’t quite get our ‘sound’ and we mixed the track on the 11th May 1988. It eventually came out later in the year and the compilation was called ‘Shine Hard’!. So we had made it on to vinyl at last!



                                Above: Photo Shoot for Inner Sleeve of Album April 1988

An Elegant Chaos Gig 21 – British Flag, Gloucester, 30th April 1988

An Elegant Chaos Demo Tape Number Two July 1988
Side One: Drowning / Sometimes / Multitude
Side Two: Living In Harmony / Spare A Thought / Where It All Ends
(Drums Recorded at Time Out, the rest at EP 161 Studios)


An Elegant Chaos, in stylish mood
New demo tape from an ambitious band
THE CITIZEN, GLOUCESTER

It was also time for our next interview / article in the local paper in Gloucester, The Citizen. Quite a lengthy piece and picture appeared on their ‘Scene Around’ page. Once again the photo shoot took place on the papers fire escape! The article promoted the demo tape which was available in local record stores like ‘The Music Box’ and also stated our forthcoming local dates. The article started by stating; Escaping the roughness of their early sound with a stylish new demo tape  are Gloucester-based An Elegant Chaos. The band have returned from the studio with ‘Living In Harmony’, a new six track set of short, uncomplicated songs, which in their own words, “knocks spots off” their first stab at a demo last year. Ant stated: “It’s much more us. They’re the best six songs which we have being doing live for about a year or so”. The article went on to state how we’d pretty much exhausted the live scene locally with not that many venues to play at. “Where have you got to play these day’s” complained Spadge. “There’s the Malt and Hops and that’s about it. We’ve got to move away from the area if we are to progress”. The article also stated how we had the intention of releasing a single even if it meant doing it ourselves!



An Elegant Chaos Gig 22 – Café Continental, Cheltenham, 3rd August 1988

An Elegant Chaos Gig 23 – The Swan, Cheltenham, 10th August 1988

An Elegant Chaos Gig 24 – Village Hall, Tibberton nr Newent, 9th September 1988
(with Ironeyeser)

An Elegant Chaos Gig 25 – The Bridge Inn, Bristol, 13th September 1988

An Elegant Chaos Gig 26 – Café Continental, Cheltenham, 25th September 1988

An Elegant Chaos Gig 27 – Oxstalls Tech, Gloucester, 14th October 1988

An Elegant Chaos Gig 28 – The Tropic Club, Bristol, 21st October 1988
Supporting The Janitors.
Set: Shake / Dependant / Multitude / Nothing At All / Living In Harmony / She Cracked / Spare A Thought / Always There / Going All The Way / Transmission / Interstella / Hup Two Three Four / Where It All End’s

An Elegant Chaos Gig 29 – The Pied Bull, Islington, London 26th October 1988
Set: Shake / Dependant / Multitude / Nothing At All / Living In Harmony / She Cracked / Spare A Thought / Always There / Going All The Way / Transmission / Interstella / Hup Two Three Four / Where It All End’s
(with Vodka Tourists and Durango 95)

An Elegant Chaos Gig 30 – The Swan, Cheltenham, 2nd November 1988

An Elegant Chaos Gig 31 –Coney Hill Sports & Social Club, Gloucester,
10th December 1988


Stu had already decided that he’d call it a day after the gig. He was on the point of moving away to Newcastle Polytechnic so he thought this was a good time for him to all it a day. A pity really has he was an excellent drummer. We didn’t want to revert back to using the drum machine again but we found it hard to replace him. After much deliberation we also thought it would be a good time to have a new identity so the gig at Coney Hill was our thirty-first and last as An Elegant Chaos and in January 1989 we soon evolved into Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.

And so that was it as far as An Elegant Chaos were concerned, 31 gigs, a track on a vinyl compilation album and we recorded two Demo Tapes!

So it was now time to move on……………..

For the first three months of 1989 Ant, Spadge and Dave were joined by a new drummer Phil Morris but after four gigs, Phil left and it was then in the months following that Stu who had drummed in An Elegant Chaos told Andrew 'Smurf' Mirfin to go for an audition and it wasn't long before The Lucid Dream was realised.


THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO GIGS

Gig One: Cross Keys, Barnwood, Gloucester, 31st October 1989
Gig Two: Welsh Harp, Gloucester, 6th November 1989
Gig Three: Café Continental, Cheltenham, 4th March 1990
Gig Four: Malt ‘N Hops, Gloucester, 10th March 1990